USING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE JAZZ DANCE CURRICULUM FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS IN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES A Project Presented to the faculty of Graduate and Professional Studies in Education California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) by Jolie M. Roberts FALL 2017 © 2017 Jolie M. Roberts ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii USING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE JAZZ DANCE CURRICULUM FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS IN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES A Project by Jolie M. Roberts Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Lisa William-White, Ph.D. Date iii Student: Jolie M. Roberts I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. , Department Chair Elisabeth Liles, Ph.D. Date Graduate and Professional Studies in Education iv Abstract of USING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE JAZZ DANCE CURRICULUM FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS IN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES by Jolie M. Roberts Some liberal arts colleges and universities have a limited amount of jazz dance preparation classes for musical theatre majors. Theatre and Dance Departments face financial and political challenges when striving to offer enough dance classes to adequately prepare students to enter the professional dance and theater world. This project was created with those students in mind. Embedded within the project curriculum are social and emotional components which enhance the educator’s and student’s perspective on dance technique, history, and its cultural relevance. The author’s 30 plus years of experience as a dancer, dance educator, dance team director/coach, and group fitness professional has assisted in shaping the project’s design. , Committee Chair Lisa William-White, Ph.D. Date v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS God, this would not be possible without your grace and mercy. To my wonderful and most patient husband of 20 years who has always encouraged the pursuit of education and who has always been my biggest fan. Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor. To my red-headed daughter Grace: thank you for editing videos and giving up your time to help me complete this project. Watching you dance gives me joy. Thank you to my dance instructors and colleagues who have given me all the tools necessary to be a good dancer and dance teacher. I’m forever grateful to Darcy, Jean, Shelley, Pepper, Faith, Jeannie, Dale, Linda G, Nolan, Lisa, Lorelei, Summer, Kelli, and Carrie. Brian Friedman, you are a true inspiration! Ed Brazo, thank you for allowing me to be a choreographer for musical theatre productions and Sacramento State and for your many hours of mentoring and advice, along with inspiring me to go to NYC. I’m honored to call you my friend. To the Sacramento State Athletic Department’s former athletic directors Terry and Joanne Wanless and marketing director Adam Primas for believing in me and allowing me creative ownership of the dance team. To the Sacramento State Dance Team, past and present, I have learned much from each and every one of you. Thank you for making me a better dancer and human being. Thank you, Dr. Lozano for being an incredible professor and taking ownership of the Pathways Group. Barb, Meghan, Jen, Boon, Bernard, Trang, Areles, Anahi, Trong, Juan, Laureen, and Janae, I seriously could not have done it without you guys. I learned much from you and I’m blessed to know you. Thank you to my editor Meredith for the many miracles you vi performed. Dr. Lisa William, you taught my first graduate class and it changed my life. You are a beautiful and strong woman who daily reflects the image of God. Mom and Paul, and the rest of my beloved family, I love you more than you will ever know. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments....................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem ................................................................................. 4 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................... 6 Purpose of the Project .......................................................................................... 7 Limitations ........................................................................................................... 7 Delimitations ........................................................................................................ 8 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................ 8 Definition of Terms............................................................................................ 15 Organization of the Chapters ............................................................................. 16 2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE .............................................................. 17 History of Dance in Higher Education ............................................................... 18 Jazz Dance and Musical Theatre History ........................................................... 30 Dance Studio Training Versus Dance Education in College ............................. 38 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 41 Overview ............................................................................................................ 41 Understanding By Design Unit Template .......................................................... 45 viii Target Population ............................................................................................... 51 4. THE CURRICULUM ................................................................................................ 52 Appendix A. Written Lesson Plans ............................................................................. 54 Appendix B. Theatre Jazz Dance Lesson Videos [DVD] ........................................... 69 References ................................................................................................................... 70 ix LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Lesson Template ................................................................................................... 45 x 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities offering a Bachelor’s of Arts in theatre and dance face challenges when seeking to offer enough dance technique classes to effectively prepare students to become working professionals in the theatre and dance world after graduation (E. Brazo, personal communication, September 7, 2016). Federal funding and administrative politics, coupled together with intra-departmental disagreements on curriculum can play a part in these challenges. For example, from 1995 to 1996, federal funding for arts education saw a dramatic decline (Hanna, 1999). Responding to pressure from conservative groups who wanted to limit funding to individual or group artists that denigrate religion, or is overtly sexual in nature, the Republican majority in Congress voted to cut funding for the arts in 1995, jeopardizing the arts as a whole (Haithman, 1995). In 1995, the federally funded allotment for the arts was $162,311,000, but by 1996, it had dropped to $99,494,000 (National Endowment for the Arts, n.d.). With fewer funds, the National Endowment for the Arts restructured grant policy and accepted fewer applications. The end result was that most individual artists did not receive grants or funding since Congress deemed them as “troublemakers” (Haithman, 1995). Educators have discovered that the arts including dance can prevent at-risk students from dropping out of school or engaging in destructive behavior and can empower the disenfranchised (Hanna, 1999). Dance involves risk taking and problem 2 solving that is transferable to other areas of learning. Authors Stacey N. Skoning and Theresa Wegner (2016) discovered in their movement-based research that when science vocabulary was taught to elementary students by asking them to use physical movement to describe a word, they were more engaged and enthusiastic about the subject and were able to retain the information learned. Non-profit arts organizations can bring in over $1 billion a year, which strengthens community bonds and promotes a creative and expressive lifestyle. Defunding the arts would minimize local exposure to various cultures and ethnicities and limit students’ participation in self-expression as well as their physical health and stress management (Hanna, 1999). Based on these facts, offering technique classes is imperative to a program’s success. Technique is the method one uses to accomplish the moves of dance and is thereby the framework for all styles of dance (Kriegel & Chandler-Vaccaro, 1994). The importance of technique classes within university theatre and dance curricula can never be overemphasized. In technique classes, the dancer is taught body alignment, control, and strength, all of which are essential elements the dancer needs to move on to the next skill level (Kriegel