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AFRICAN DANCE IN DIVERSE HIGHER EDUCATION SETTINGS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PRACTICES OF FIVE EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DANCE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY MELANIE L. DALTON B.S., M.A. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2016 DEDICATION For my awesomely supportive parents, Clarence and Alice Dalton; my dear sister, Natalya; and the sweetest dog ever, Lindy. Thank you for your unconditional love and patience. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe an enormous debt to many who have taken this journey along with me. I would first like to acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Linda Caldwell, for guiding me through this demanding process with enthusiasm and graciousness. I am grateful for her constructive criticism and unshakeable confidence in me. Thanks also to my committee members, Professor Mary Williford-Shade and Dr. Rosemary Candelario, for helping me design the dissertation study that was perfect for me. Many thanks to the five brilliant instructors whose invaluable contributions made this research possible: Beatrice Ayi, Stafford Berry, Jr., Robin Gee, Sherone Price, and Ava Vinesett. I must thank my cohort, an amazing group of intelligent, inspiring, and powerful women with whom I have made this journey. Their kind words and wacky humor were always just what I needed. I would like to acknowledge my N.C. A&T family: Dr. Eleanor Gwynn, for being such an inspirational mentor and supportive administrator; my colleague Dr. Cheryl Stevens, for encouraging me from start to finish; and my students, for reminding me why this work is so important. My deepest gratitude goes to my family for supporting me in every way imaginable. Thank you for endless love and support. iv ABSTRACT MELANIE L. DALTON AFRICAN DANCE IN DIVERSE HIGHER EDUCATION SETTINGS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PRACTICES OF FIVE EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS AUGUST 2016 This dissertation research explored issues concerning the integration of African dance techniques in higher education. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of and intended objectives for teaching African dance forms to a diverse population of American college students through the insights of five individuals who teach African dance techniques courses in five different American universities. The participants selected were currently teaching within dance programs offering African dance study in differing curricular formats at universities in southern and midwestern states. Each participant was an experienced dancer, performer, and teacher of traditional African dance forms. Working within a qualitative research methodology, themes and conclusions emerged directly from data collected from in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Each participant was treated as a case study. Within these case studies, the lived experiences of the participants were investigated through their descriptions of teaching African dance forms, thus creating a portrait of the complexities of each separate case. The study concluded with a statement of objectives emphasized by the participants as important for v enabling students to learn more about themselves in order to then sense how they might navigate and adapt to communities in which they are both familiar and unfamiliar. Internet research into curricular offerings of several American colleges and universities with dance programs having courses in African dance forms broadened this study by offering an overview of how African dance study is currently being implemented in dance programs across the nation. The Internet research examined who was teaching African dance forms in selected American universities, where the courses were placed within the curriculum, and the levels of African dance techniques courses offered. Since the research participants in this dissertation offered possible ways for American dance curricula in higher education to be reshaped, redefined, and reimagined, this research is particularly important to the future field of dance education as the backgrounds and needs of students entering higher education become more diverse. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Researcher’s Path ............................................................................................. 1 Narrowing the Inquiry ...................................................................................... 3 Purpose of Study .............................................................................................. 7 II. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 10 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 10 Researcher’s Assumptions Exposed .............................................................. 11 Qualitative Research Data Collection Methods ............................................. 13 Participant Selection .......................................................................... 15 Interview Procedures and Practices ................................................... 20 Internet Research Data Collection Methods ...................................... 24 Qualitative Data Analysis Methods ............................................................... 26 Generating Theory ............................................................................. 27 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 30 III. DISCUSSIONS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR IMPLEMENTING WORLD DANCE STUDY IN AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION .............. 32 Embodied Knowledge .................................................................................... 32 Why Integrate World Dance Study into Higher Education Curricula? .......... 36 On Integrating World Dance Study into Higher Education ........................... 41 Teaching World Dance Forms: Pedagogical Issues and Practices ................ 45 vii Higher Education and African Dance Forms Discussed through Practices of African and African American Dance Artists ........................................... 53 World Dance Pedagogy as Discussed by Diverse Voices in Academia: Present and Future Policy for Dance Programs and Curricula ...................... 59 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 65 IV. WEB-BASED CONTEXTS: THE ONLINE PRESENTATION OF DANCE PROGRAMS OFFERING AFRICAN TECHNIQUES COURSES ................... 67 Summary of a Sampling of Programs at American Colleges and Universities ............................................................................................. 67 Which Courses Are Taught? .......................................................................... 72 Course Variety and Nomenclature ..................................................... 72 Curricular Offerings ........................................................................... 75 African Tracks/Concentrations .......................................................... 77 Courses in African Dance Forms as Electives ................................... 79 Who is Teaching? .......................................................................................... 80 Faculty for African Techniques Courses ........................................... 80 Conclusion and Questions .............................................................................. 82 The Participants ............................................................................................. 84 Sherone Price ..................................................................................... 85 Ava Vinesett ....................................................................................... 87 Stafford Berry, Jr. .............................................................................. 89 Robin Gee .......................................................................................... 91 Beatrice Ayi ....................................................................................... 93 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 95 V. SHARED INSIGHTS INTO PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS AND TEACHING PRACTICES .................................................................................... 97 Personal Philosophical Approaches to Teaching African Dance Forms ....... 97 A Participant’s Discourse on Personal Voice and Technique ......... 100 Integrating Personal Teaching Practice with Borrowed Concepts .. 102 The Content: What is Taught in African Dance Techniques Courses? ....... 105 Insights into Warming Up in African Dance Techniques Classes ... 105 Insights into the Participants’

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