Female Dance Trailblazers:
Through the Lens of Choreography

Mission

To enhance the learning of dance history through hands-on learning, choreography, in-depth research, and presentation.

Vision

Imparting knowledge is a teacher's primary purpose. Whether through mathematics, languages, or the arts, a teacher’s mission is to deliver information and assist in the assimilation of that knowledge. In the dance world, much of the work is kinesthetic; therefore, teaching dance history should also incorporate movement. This curriculum is designed to give the students a hands-on experience, which will help solidify their knowledge while challenging their development of artistic compositions.

The Curriculum

This curriculum will be presented in March each year during Women’s History Month due to its inherent nature of feminism and female focus. Each week students will explore a different female choreographer in history. The students will learn about each artist, their influences, trials and tribulations, and view old footage of their works and performances. Next, the students will analyze the choreography either through discussions or journaling. They will seek to understand what constitutes creative brilliance and what it takes to make a mark in the dance world. From there, the students will be given a choreography assignment that explores an individual artist's work and expands on it both in creativity and modernity. Finally, the dancers will present their work to the class and receive feedback. This curriculum implements the following steps: review, analyze, create, and present.

By presenting the dance history of female trailblazers through the lens of choreography is a way for young dancers to learn about the past and create for the future. The hands-on approach allows for superior assimilation of knowledge. A feminist pedagogy works in tandem with learning about the female artist of long ago by creating a safe and collaborative learning environment to choreograph new pieces. Finally, the discussions and journaling help to deepen cognitive thinking and analysis. This new curriculum aims to arm our next generation to honor those who paved the way while charging them with the responsibility to create new groundbreaking works of art.