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For Immediate Release: October 3, 2003
Contact: Angela Ramacci
(202) 833-1717
danceusa@danceusa.org
Reports Assess Pre-Professional Dance Education
Washington, DC — Dance/USA, the national service organization that advances the art form of dance by addressing the needs, concerns and interests of the professional dance community, has released two special reports that provide a concentrated and serious assessment of pre-professional dance education and its impact on the dance world.
Developing the Whole Dancer: Issues and Challenges for Ballet Training Institutions, by Mindy N. Levine,
explores the changing imperatives for ballet training institutions, including an assessment of
- The curricula currently offered at training conservatories and training institutions in the United States and Canada.
- The kinds of "non-technical/non-artistic" training they currently provide.
- The challenges and issues these institutions face in seeking to develop more holistic training for classical dancers.
Information for this report was gathered through interviews with a national cross-section of dance professionals who were encouraged to speak frankly about their underlying philosophical approaches, practical issues and challenges, and future plans. The study was commissioned by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Kenan Institute for the Arts at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
The NCCI's Artist–College Collaboration: Issues, Trends and Future Vision, by Suzanne Callahan, suggests that the dance field is entering a new era in which colleges once again play an extremely important role. The report addresses
- Developments taking place between choreographers and dance departments, including new and potential points of intersection among the artist, the art and the academy.
- A reassessment of the "dance canon" — what it is, what it might be and whether it is needed at all.
- The desire to honor the past but also to embrace the new.
- The growing expectation for colleges to provide a place for practicing artists.
In a series of Dance/USA forum discussions, choreographers and university/college faculty from around the country shared their experiences and insights and discussed the ways in which being on the cusp of such profound change can affect the future of the field. The study was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Dana Foundation.Both publications are now available from Dance/USA for only the cost of shipping and handling. A set of both reports costs $10 ($5 for Dance/USA members); individual reports are $7.00 each ($3.50 for Dance/USA members.) To order, go to www.danceusa.org and click on "Programs & Publications," then follow the appropriate link to the book order form.
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