Creating the Dance and Dancing Creatively: Exploring the Liminal Space of Choreography for Emergence

Abstract

In this paper, three dance scholars explore the tensions and bliss inherent in curriculum delivery through dance integration. It meets the call for a curriculum attuned to provoking encounters (Pinar & Grumet, 2015) through philosophical narration that interweaves experiences as dancers, dance educators, dance scholars and dance integrators. Personal vignettes unveil the sense-making of creative artists tasked with the duty to “deliver” curriculum, and as arts integration specialists tasked with the duty to share knowledge, with teachers, for designing learning through dance. The authors liken the inherent tensions to those of a tight rope walker balancing between forces pulled in opposite directions. They share their own encounters of pedagogical balance and counterbalance, of choreography and emergence, and of leading and following, as each relates to learning design. They also explore the duality of meeting curricular ends and unfolding endless possibilities (Aoki, 2005; Roth, 2014). Together, the authors find that their collective experience leads to three charges for curricular reform: 1) embed dance integration in teacher preparation; 2) infuse dance integration in K-12 curriculum; and 3) provide time for pedagogical experimentation through dance-based inquiry.