The Relevance of Dance in Folk Music Education The aim of this study was to investigate why and how dance and dance teaching can be relevant in educational programmes in folk music in Sweden. Many of these programmes include dance within them and that fact, in combination with my observation that there is an underlying cultural assumption that dance and music belong together, inspired this research. I wished to look at the function of dance within folk music programmes, and music teachers’ observations of how dance affects their students’ playing. The study has been conducted through qualitative interviews with four music teachers from different institutions, covering three themes: the purpose(s) of including dance in this kind of education, if and how they can see that the students have use for the dance knowledge in their playing, and how they look at the connection between dance and music in this genre. The result shows that there are several reasons for teaching dance as a part of educational programmes in folk music and also that the music teachers themselves use references to dance in their music teaching. These reasons can give dance pedagogues information about how some music teachers think dance is relevant and can be used in the planning of dance teaching. In conclusion, there is a discussion of how this study can be a part of understanding and developing pedagogy within the folk music genre.

The purpose of this essay is to inspire and find ways to incorporate different time signatures in jazz dance education. Through literature studies, a focus group and an own analysis leading up to the meeting with the focus group, I founded a base of knowledge, but also material to analyze. By comparing my different sources of information, I found that the different time signatures, have different qualities, but they are also affected by other factors such as the instruments, singing and how it is performed. During the meeting with the focus group, I also found that music and dance is personal and that feeling calm and secure with the music is important to be able to move freely to it. In the discussion I could see that there are a lot of ways that you can use different time signatures in jazz dance education. Some examples were to expand your musicality and musical knowledge, but also to highlight and use certain qualities in the different time signatures to develop your dynamic practice.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of intergenerational touch within dance education in upper secondary schools in Sweden, focusing on contact improvisation. In this study, interviews with dance teachers in four upper secondary schools have been used to examine teachers' ideas and choices regarding intergenerational touch in contact improvisation through idea analysis. This study explores how teachers relate to the no-touch discourse and the domain-specific ideology within the contact improvisation movement. It also examines what an ethical approach to intergenerational touch in contact improvisation within upper secondary education could be. The study shows that some strategies teachers use in relation to intergenerational touch could function to downplay or adapt to the no-touch discourse, but no causality can be proven. There is also a proximity between some strategies and the domain-specific ideology within the contact improvisation movement. An ethical approach to intergenerational touch requires teachers to be aware of influences from different idea systems and to be reflexive regarding their own history and basic assumptions. It also requires teachers to get to know their students well and be sensitive to them in every moment.

“it is like jumping down into a water-barrel”  – a study about dance pedagogues work with choreography in dance education This study examines how modern- and contemporary-dance pedagogues, in Sweden, work with choreography in their teaching. The purpose of this study is to through a phenomenographical perspective examine a selection of dance pedagogues perceptions of what the meaning of the phenomenon choreography has in their teaching. This is to hopefully contribute to an increased understanding of how choreography can be used in dance education. The research questions are How does three dance pedagogues perceive the usage of choreography in dance education? and Which pedagogical aspects can affect the teaching in dance? The study was researched through three semi-structured interviews which were processed and analyzed through Kvale´s interview-guide and Dahlgren’s &amp; Johansson’s phenomenographical method for analyzing. The results show three main categories of description that were distinguished; The student´s affect in the dance education, The teacher´s affect in the dance education and Knowledge from choreographic processes. Each category was perceived differently, yet many connected to each other. Though this is a small-scaled study, the variation of perceptions shows many different ways to recognize and understand choreography’s and pedagogy’s relation to each other. Further research needs to be done to verify if these factors are important to the bigger population of dance-educators. / <p>2023-05-05</p><p>Språk: Svenska</p><p>Praktiskt presentation. Geslatade del utav resultatanalysens tredje rubrik.</p><p>Stockholms konstnärliga högskola</p><p>Brinellvägen 58, Stockholm</p>

The Swedish school’s fostering assignment is a well-researched field within social science, but there is a lack of research regarding the assignment related to dance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to contribute to an understanding of the fostering assignment in relation to dance. This is a qualitative study aiming to give an insight to how dance teachers in upper-secondary schools interpret and include the fostering assignment in their work. The study also aims to address how different dance traditions affect how fostering is practiced in upper-secondary schools. The method used for collecting data is semi-structured interviews and the analysis is hermeneutic. The result shows a lack of an overall picture of what fostering in upper-secondary schools actually means and the fostering assignment’s changing and contextual character in relation to the shifting ideals of society. Dance as a practice and subject can contribute to students developing abilities relating to democracy, empathy, entrepreneurship, and also strengthen students’ identities and subjectification. In conclusion, the study stresses the importance of specifying the implementation of the fostering assignment on different levels (macro, meso, micro) within organisations. Otherwise, there is a risk that the fostering happening counteracts the content written in the curriculum.

This study aims to explore the defining characteristics of jazz dance as a genre with the ambition of reaching a deeper understanding of the art form as well as clarifying the foundations for my own jazz dance teaching. Using a qualitative research method, the study examines the perceptions of four dance educators, each with experience in dancing and teaching different forms of jazz. Drawing on a phenomenographic perspective, the study identifies variations in perceptions through semi-structured interviews and categorization. The findings present six descriptive categories of important components within jazz dance including Body and Music Interplay, Relevant Music Choices, Freedom, Play and Individuality, Contrasting Dynamics, Technical Finesse and Body Control, and Interaction and Expression. Furthermore, the study discusses the challenges of defining jazz dance but highlights the significance of embodied musicality and Africanist aesthetics as key elements of the art form, as well as emphasizing the concept of "swing" as central to jazz and the perception of “jazziness”. In conclusion the study shows a broad variety in perceptions which contribute to an increased awareness and understanding of jazz dance as well as providing tools for communication in jazz dance teaching. Ultimately the study encourages further research on the topic.

The meaning of this research is to make benefits of dialogical and norm critical approaches in dance visible and thus suggest new ways to enter dance education. The starting point of the research was to carry out a workshop project with a focus group outside the normative dance context, which here means a group outside the traditional dancefield among hobbyists: a varying, heterogeneous group of girls and young women with both different bodily and other challenges and also different knowledges and experiences in dance. The research aims to contribute to their artistic creation in dance through dialogue and bodily communication in a short period of time. The theoretical framework of this artistic-didactic research is based in normcritical perspectives, and the research is conducted by Practice as Research with methods in different forms of communication, such as verbal dialogue, bodily communication and written reflections. The research questions are: How can bodily communication be used as a resource in artistic creation in dance with girls and young women outside of the nomative dance context? How can this be done within a short workshop period? How can methods within norm critical pedagogy strenghten artistic creation? The research follows a process-focused reflection as a form of critical practice, which makes the personal development of the researcher visible. It also shows how the emphasis of the research changed from exploring bodily communication into more dialogical encounter with the focus group which created communication and helped the researcher see more creativity and courage in the individuals. The ending discussion of the research shows how dialogical and norm breaking approaches create possibilities to change dance education towards more democratic in relation to traditional teaching methods.

“To understand why we are doing what we do now” – a qualitative study of dance historyteaching within the course Dansteori. This essay illustrates how teachers at upper secondary schools relate to teaching dance history within the course“Dansteori”, focusing on the aim that students should critically review different dance history writings. The study uses interviews and open-ended questionnaires, and the material have been analyzed qualitatively and discussed inrelation to historical thinking and norm-critical pedagogy. The study shows that a historical-scientific perspective is important in how teachers talk about the subject, but less important when it comes to what students should gain fromtheir studies. Instead, a general knowledge of dance history and an ability to connect ones dancing to a historical context, is at the center. The study also shows a conflict between the content and the time given as well as the student’s maturity. In relation to the theoretical perspectives, the historical-scientific perspective is prominent. By contrast, the norm-critical perspective is not as clear, and as I understand it, the critical scrutiny lies primarily within the norm rather than as a means of looking outside the Western box. The next challenge is therefore to not only review the conditions for how history is created, but also to question and change the structures that create knowledge.

This essay illustrates how teachers at upper secondary schools relate to teaching dance history within the course “Dansteori”, focusing on the aim that students should critically review different dance history writings. The study uses interviews and open-ended questionnaires, and the material have been analyzed qualitatively and discussed in relation to historical thinking and norm-critical pedagogy. The study shows that a historical-scientific perspective is important in how teachers talk about the subject, but less important when it comes to what students should gain from their studies. Instead, a general knowledge of dance history and an ability to connect ones dancing to a historical context, is at the center. The study also shows a conflict between the content and the time given as well as the student’s maturity. In relation to the theoretical perspectives, the historical-scientific perspective is prominent. By contrast, the norm-critical perspective is not as clear, and as I understand it, the critical scrutiny lies primarily within the norm rather than as a means of looking outside the Western box. The next challenge is therefore to not only review the conditions for how history is created, but also to question and change the structures that create knowledge.

Without dance? – dance knowledge in an expanded perspective   The vocational dancer education in classical ballet's subject-specific intended learning outcomes means many years of dance training that requires sacrifices in other school subjects and other hobbies, without work guarantee. There are more dancers than there are jobs, which is why many people stop dancing after graduation. The survey’s purpose is to investigate what happens over time with the dance knowledge that is generated during the vocational dancer education. Is it still relevant to the person's sphere of life even outside a dance context? Five people, who completed the vocational dancer education in classical ballet in 2011 and 2012 and stopped dancing after graduation, are interviewed. The results are analyzed with a phenomenographic approach, the description categories or result are analyzed to a final outcome space, which indicates, through the ballet´s genre-determined structure and a cognitive thought pattern that is characterized by a given construction to understand the meaning of structure, a unique and profound body knowledge and social adaptability as a consequence of the education. Dance practice enables social adaptability, a visualization of people's complex reality, the understanding of the value of taking varying perspectives to manage and adapt to different people and social contexts.