'Making strides in dance education' The Star

THE art of movement is one of the oldest art forms but dance is often viewed as something one partakes for leisure, not for a course of serious study.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2014/09/14/making-strides-in-dance-education/#v4mIXMVqGUtb6mGa.99

As such, there is limited understanding on what dance education can provide as there is a misconception that dance is only about performing and entering competitions.

Although relatively new, but an emerging subject in Malaysia, dance education has various dimensions to it.

Besides the physical benefits, it enables students to develop skills in problem-solving, creativity, critical analysis, expression and communication.

Since dance provides all these benefits, it can also go a long way in helping promote social inclusion and nation building.

Sadly, dance education has yet to be acknowledged by the state as being relevant in national education planning, not only in Malaysia, but also in most parts of the world.

This was the consensus at the International Conference on Dance Education 2014 (ICONDE) held at Universiti Malaya (UM) last month.

Themed Dance Education – International Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, Creating: Challenges, Possibilities and Prospects, the conference was the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Jointly organised by UM’s Cultural Centre, the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), Tourism and Culture Ministry, and the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), the conference dealt with issues on dance education’s connections with other arts and science disciplines in developing curriculum design and instructional strategies.

During the conference, 36 local and international scholars, and leading authorities on dance education, presented a selection of papers, with a focus on dance education in tertiary institutions and the training of dance educators in schools, private studios, and other venues.

Dance education has only been acknowledged as a co-curricular activity and is not a ‘minor’ in the primary and secondary school curriculum, says ICONDE director Prof Dr Mohd Anis Md Nor. .

“Thus, dance education from kindergarten to secondary school is a voluntary, school-based initiative or a parent-teacher collaboration, further dividing the chasm between urban and rural schools or between elite and non-elite schools,” he adds.

Although a dance education curriculum has recently been instituted at the three Sekolah Seni Malaysia (arts schools), it has not met the curriculum standards for higher education at the tertiary level.

Prof Mohd Anis laments that the Sekolah Seni curriculum is under the Tourism and Culture Ministry instead of being under the Education Ministry.

Vital art form: Prof Mohd Anis feels that dance education should not be regarded as just a co-curricular activity in schools.

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) which is under the purview of the Education Ministry, approves programmes at university level.

“There is a big gap between graduates of Sekolah Seni and Diploma/STPM or pre-university requirements.

“A further problem is that the existing mentors/institution that are in charge of the Sekolah Seni dance curriculum do not have the expertise in dance education but only in dance performance meant for adult performers,” adds Prof Mohd Anis.

Currently, there are 900 primary and secondary schools in the country that have a six-months arts training programme run by JKKN.

Students who are members of Kelab Tunas Budaya in primary schools and Kelab Giat Budaya in secondary schools, are coached by the department’s professional choreographers.

While it’s an outreach programme for the children and provides feeders to the three Sekolah Seni schools, it isn’t enough.

Still, Prof Mohd Anis feels there is a future though it may not look promising unless clear trajectories are offered for dance education that is by offering practice-based (performance/choreography/production) or research-based (writing/analysing/criticism) learning programmes. He says, “Many universities offer dance education within the larger preamble of cultural studies/creative industry/heritage, etc without focusing solely on dance studies and dance education.”

Currently, only three institutions offer performing arts degree programmes – UM, UPSI and ASWARA (Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan) or the National Arts Academy.

UM established a dance major in 2005 and in 2014, revised its curriculum to incorporate a dance education track.

The Education Ministry has recently set up the MQA for the performing arts degree programmes, hence the conference was timely as it explored some of these issues in an international forum.

“Unless our educators are aware of the main challenges in providing world ranking dance education to our students, we may keep going on inventing things or even re-inventing the wheel because of our ignorance.

“In fact, astonishingly the conference also opened the eyes of dance educators from established institutions in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as to how backdated their programmes are, or how slow they are in accepting contemporary methodologies in dance training for different age cohorts,” says Prof Mohd Anis.

The keynote speaker at ICONDE was Prof Emerita Dr Marcia Lloyd of Idaho State University in the United States (US), who also launched her book Creative Dance: A Manual for Teaching All Ages, at the event.

As someone who has witnessed the growth and development of dance in Malaysia for the past 30 years, she opines that the field is burgeoning.

Workshop participants perform an activity lying down with their eyes shut and arms outstretched.

“So much potential has already been realised in the form of ASWARA and the three performing arts secondary schools that will be sending selected students to arts and dance programmes in varsities,” says Dr Lloyd.

She feels the term dance education needs to be carefully qualified because the field is very broad. In Malaysia, one’s dance education tends to be associated with attending dance concerts, taking dance classes in a studio, participating at co-curricular dance classes, serving as a patron of the arts and donating funds for dance.

“The US has had the luxury of professional dance organisations that have supported a variety of teachers, professional dancers, choreographers and technical artists.

“I belonged to almost all of them when I was teaching. We’ve had more time to develop dance education and school curricula in many schools across the country – though still sparse because of our religious beliefs, regional practices and traditions, and the public education system.”

Dr Lloyd has been teaching periodically since 1987 and has made the best of every teaching situation.

“The facilities in both countries provide challenges sometimes because there are not many real dance studios in schools in the US.

“Often, we have had to use the multi-purpose room after lunch, the hallway because of lack of facilities, or the gym.”

Dr Lloyd’s book is an updated edition of her 1990 work Adventures in Creative Movement Activities. It is aimed at all age groups and contains numerous lesson plans, illustrations and black and white photos.

There are examples of “brain dance” activities to improve cognitive and motor behaviour amongst younger students.

According to Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) dance education is a transfer of knowledge, not only aesthetically, but also scientifically. Once students leave the dance studious, they hardly practise their art.

“In traditional dance, people live within that environment so it becomes part of the culture.

“Most universities are focused on creating performers but we have to realise that it is not only the aesthetic element that is important.

“It’s not all about visual and cerebral compositions. Unfortunately, our society is not supportive of dance in other ways,” he says.

For the past five years, Prof Mohamed Ghouse and his team have been researching the field of movement therapy for special needs children, specifically those with cerebral palsy and autism.

“Dance education is not only about performing and entering competitions; it can be used as a tool for nation building and nourishing the soul.

“Sadly, it has yet to be acknowledged as being relevant in our national education planning,” he adds.

Working with neurosurgeons, the team has found that besides psychological changes, the rhythmic movements help improve these children’s articulation, flexibility, range of motion, swinging and striking actions, and voluntary control of limb movements.

“You have to find meaning in dance. A lot of people want arts to serve them but not the other way around. There is a large, untapped world of dance education but we seem to have a glaucoma view,” he says.

One of the proposals at the conference was to establish the National Dance Education Organisation Malaysia, an idea that was mooted by participants familiar with the US-based National Dance Education Organisation.

Prof Mohd Anis adds that it may become the national voice and vision for dance by advocating for dance education. As a dance education membership organisation in this country, NDEOM may want to establish a national perception of dance as a vital and accessible art form, and of dance education as a necessary component of education for all children.