Dancing Together...Apart.

As we look toward the Fall of 2020, NDEO has been facilitating online discussions about teaching dance online during the Covid-19 pandemic and possible implications for returning to the school/studio in the Fall. These discussions were held via a series of ongoing Virtual Special Interest Group (SIG) Meetings and 16 Webinars featuring NDEO members and invited guests that began in late March and continue today.

ADN can facilitate virtual meetings to help educators in the private sector, K-12 setting, individual artists, and dance organizations prepare for teaching dance through these unknown times. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in meeting with other dance educators. 

TEACHING DANCE IN FALL 2020 

NDEO has created a guide of questions and considerations to be considered while planning for the Fall of 2020 in the midst of a pandemic. The following are excerpts of information from this NDEO publication. The full publication can be found at www.ndeo.org

How will programs present performances or otherwise share student work?

  • Consider a range of performance alternatives, including outdoor venues, site-specific work, drive-in concerts, dance on camera, and live digital performances.
  • Consider programming only solo work and very small group pieces to create safer in-person rehearsals.
  • Perform for small, socially-distant audiences in unconventional spaces or theatres at very limited capacity.
  • Find new ways to engage production staff in the process of creating alternative performance opportunities.

MENTAL SHIFTS: ATTITUDES, HABITS, PERCEPTIONS

Develop and maintain a culture of enthusiasm, in spite of our present challenges.​
Bring into focus the aspects of dance education are often overlooked in the “typical” learning environments, which often prioritize standardized group technique classes and uniform performance of choreography created by the instructor. 
  • Music and rhythmic training
  • Dance history Dance medicine and science
  • Improvisation
  • Choreography and creative practice Observing, analyzing, and responding to dance
  • Dance writing and criticism
  • Dance and arts advocacy
  • Somatic practices
  • Dance on camera

How will the pandemic affect the sustainability of dance programs in all environments? ​

  • Are alternative schedules, including hybrid online and in-person classes, really a desirable alternative for students, families, teachers, and administrators?
  • How will enrollment be impacted by alternative scheduling options? If class sizes must be reduced to allow for social distancing, will programs be able to meet their budgets?  
  • Will higher education programs be able to supplement their budgets with large general education or introductory movement classes for non-majors?
  • How will this affect graduate students who often teach these courses?
  • As the arts are often first to be impacted by budget cuts in K-12 education, will programs be at risk even if the programs themselves find ways to become financially sustainable? 
  • How will community programs that rely on grants be affected? Will grant-makers support smaller classes, new equipment, and alternate teaching strategies?

Take advantage of new opportunities for local, statewide, national, and international connections within the dance education:

  • Share resources with other teachers, programs, or institutions.
  • Create new opportunities for networking and engagement, both for ourselves and our students.
  • Collaborate digitally with other schools or studios, including joint choreography projects, shared concerts, teacher exchanges, and other opportunities to connect online. 
  • Explore new ways to share our students’ work with the field and the community through outdoor, site-specific, and drive-in performances, virtual concerts and dance on film.
  • Encourage students to take advantage of opportunities to take online classes with other instructors in a range of dance genres and across cultural practices.
  • Encourage students to explore the wealth of digital dance content now available online.
  • Invite guest instructors and lecturers from various backgrounds and genres, perhaps connecting with dancers, choreographers, and educators who are unemployed due to the pandemic.