Research Proposal

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

Education

(Curriculum and Instruction)

Jolie M. Roberts

FALL 2017

Jolie M. Roberts

USING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE JAZZ DANCE

CURRICULUM FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS IN LIBERAL ARTS

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

A Project

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

Abstract

USING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE JAZZ DANCE

CURRICULUM FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS IN LIBERAL ARTS

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

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

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

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.

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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

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 & Chandler-Vaccaro, 1994). “By taking dance technique classes, the dancer becomes aware of the biomechanics and kinesiology associated with being dance fit, which prevents injuries” (Kriegel & Chandler-Vaccaro, 1994, p. 12). For example, in technique class, the dancer learns how to control the body alignment by familiarizing themselves with anatomical terms associated with dance movement (Rogers as cited in

Skoning & Wegner, 2016). When a dancer does a plié, they become aware of flexion in

the knee joints, the elongation of the spine, and alignment over the feet and ankles all

while displaying grace as if there is no strain.

It has long been understood and accepted in the dance world that a dancer must

study ballet technique in order to improve on areas of dance such as jazz, tap, contemporary, or hip-hop, and musical theatre because they are rooted in ballet technique

(Kriegel & Chandler-Vaccaro, 1994). More specifically, jazz technique classes further a

dancer’s training by infusing ballet movements with modern variations. In Lindsay

Guarino and Wendy Oliver’s book, Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches the

authors state that, “Jazz dance is centered on four principles derived from African

aesthetic: rhythmicity, a formidable relationship with the music improvisation, and

dynamic play” (Guarino & Oliver, 2014, p. 12). Jazz dance and jazz technique have

characteristics that make it uniquely American in much the same way that jazz music is

considered a uniquely American art form. Jazz dance can be heard and felt and can be

defined only with great difficulty (Stearns & Stearns, 1968). This means that the

technical training, the personal, mental, and emotional investment it takes to learn jazz,

causes the individual to truly hear and feel dance through the senses.

One can say jazz is truly the American dance style (Stearns & Stearns, 1968).

Because of this, it is essential that university theatre and dance programs offer jazz dance

technique, which furthers the dancer’s maturity and allows the student to be versatile in

other styles of dance, and, therefore, more marketable in dance and theatre professions.

But what about theatre majors seeking a profession in musical theatre? Author Corrine

Naden (2011) mentioned that Musical Theatre is a unique contribution to American

Theatre by incorporating acting, singing, and dancing (Naden, 2011). The style of dance

that is required for musical theatre is sometimes referred to as Theatre Jazz Dance and is

centered around the fusion of ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance techniques, making it

truly a versatile style of performance art (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

Since dancing is an integral part of the musical theatre experience, students must

be familiar with basic dance terminology, steps, and choreography associated with this

genre. University theatre and dance programs that have musical theatre performances

would then benefit from having a specific dance class such as a Musical Theatre Jazz

Dance class as part of their curriculum.

Background of the Problem

It has been an arduous climb for arts education to gain the respect it deserves

(Hagood, 2000). Initially, dance was not considered to be an academic discipline that had merit in the college setting; however, throughout the decades, arts advocates have stressed the importance of arts education as a way to enhance, maintain, or change culture

(Hagood, 2000). Pioneers such as Isadora Duncan and Margaret H’Doubler were on the

forefront of dance education, championing for its right to be considered not only as an art

form but as an academic discipline (Hagood, 2000).

In the early 2000s, education reforms were sweeping through the United States.

Previously, the Educate America Act in 1994 set the stage for the arts curriculum,

acquiring the support it would need to be a core subject in the future. This was

accomplished by the acceptance of dance as being academic as well as artistic by meeting

the criteria of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory (as cited in Hanna, 1999).

Gardner’s (2006) basis for his theory on multiple intelligences is having the capacity to process a certain kind of information originated in human psychology or in human biology such as dance. With the establishment of the Core Standards and the birth of the

National Dance Education Organization in 1998, dance curriculum was finally recognized as a legitimate core subject to be included in mainstream education (Hanna,

1999).

In Sacramento, California, the reduction of dance classes, or the eradication of dance programing in higher education, is concerning. In 2014-15, due largely to budgetary restrictions, Sacramento City College in the Los Rios Community College

District drastically cut their dance program that offered jazz ballet, ballroom, and dance composition courses (S. Stassi, personal communication, September 15, 2015). As a result, American River College became the primary location for dance classes, leaving few choices for students at other colleges in the Los Rios Community College District.

The decision to eliminate so many dance classes locally can bring unprepared and ill- equipped aspiring thespians to local colleges and universities, including Sacramento

State. The author realized a need for a jazz dance curriculum to be offered for musical theatre majors after she witnessed several auditions during which student actors lacked the dance skills necessary to perform in a musical with accuracy and confidence.

Statement of the Problem

Not all liberal arts college and university theatre arts departments offer dance classes specific to musical theatre concentrations. The void becomes problematic when a student auditions for a musical theatre production on or off campus that requires acting and singing as well as dancing. Theatre majors at a Northern California university are required to take two theatre voice and movement classes, yet there is not a dance class designed specifically for those students who want to pursue a career in musical theater.

Full-time faculty professor at Sacramento State Ed Brazo sees this as a concern.

During his fall 2015 sabbatical, Brazo attended several East Coast university and college theatre programs, researching their musical theatre departments in the attempt to bring back valuable information on how to create a musical theatre concentration at

Sacramento State. What he discovered was that most, if not all, of the school’s theatre or musical theatre majors, were required to take some sort of dance class (E. Brazo, personal communication, September 7, 2016). When student actors and dancers are not trained with the technical elements needed and expected to successfully audition for and obtain a part in a musical, there are social and emotional ramifications. Dance education can promote positive social and emotional learning by providing a setting for caring relationships to form among fellow student dancers as well as between the student dancer and the instructor. Research has shown that social and emotional learning in dance has positive effects on academic performance and therefore should be considered by dance

educators when mapping out curriculum (Zins & Elias, 1997), discussed further in the

theoretical framework section of the project.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project was to design a Theatre Jazz Dance curriculum to be implemented in liberal arts university theatre and dance departments that currently do not have a set curriculum, with the hopes of bettering student outcomes in musical theater auditions, coursework, teaching, and professional careers in theatre arts. Theoretical frameworks draw upon Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as well as Howard

Gardner’s (2006) Multiple Intelligence Theory and include practical study in musical theatre style jazz choreography, primarily focusing on the development of jazz technique.

Choreographic works by jazz dance and musical theatre pioneers are analyzed to enhance the curriculum depth and encourage students to comprehend the history of the American

Musical. Basic anatomy, group work, and creative problem solving are emphasized in the curriculum development.

Limitations

Just as Howard Gardner (2006) outlined the foundation for several different modalities of intelligence, dance educators need to be aware of students’ individual learning capabilities and be ready to adjust their curriculum accordingly. This might mean the restructuring of curriculum and daily lesson plans to include modifications for lesser or more intensive movement. Fiscal concerns are also a real and prevalent obstacle that can prevent higher education departments, especially those in liberal arts colleges,

8 from adopting new curriculum. In addition, the researcher chose to develop a five-week unit on jazz dance for musical theatre majors, affording little time to cover all the elements of jazz.

Delimitations

There were delimitations to consider for this project. A five-week unit concentrating on musical theatre jazz dance was the focus of the project, meaning that other dance genres may be excluded. The curriculum was designed for theatre and dance majors in liberal arts colleges and universities and not for K-12 schools. Thus, to use it for other dance programs such as private dance studios or community outreach programs, certain material may need to be excluded to be age appropriate.

Theoretical Framework

Social and Emotional Theory along with the Multiple Intelligence Theory were used in this project. Different feelings and emotions can arise when a student auditions for a musical theatre production that requires dancing, especially when they themselves have a limited knowledge of basic jazz dance technique or terminology to support their efforts (E. Brazo, personal communication, September 7, 2016). Hence, a student may dismiss further attempts to audition, which could affect their self-esteem and judgment of themselves (Taylor & Taylor, 1995). Dance students need to trust their ability, and having a strong technical background is one way to build their confidence (Taylor &

Taylor, 1995). Providing a place where dancers can develop strong technique and performance skills rests in the hands of the instructor, teacher, and professor. Promoting

an environment that fosters social and emotional learning within the dance classroom can

strengthen learning modalities (McCutchen, 2006).

Social and Emotional Learning Theory

SEL states that people are reflective and thinking beings, and their behavior is a

result of how they interact with their environment and how they pursue certain desires

within that environment (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Social intelligence is measured by

investigating how people develop behaviors in order to make sense of their world in

terms of functionality and adaptability (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Goals and plans are

some of the ways people go about “trying to do” as they navigate through life (Bar-On &

Parker, 2000). The transformative power of dance can be a social landscape for students

to creatively express themselves through emotions and creativity. In the college and

university setting, not only is there special attention paid to the theory of dance but also

to its emotional aesthetic. For example, dance requires the use of interpersonal skills via

verbal and non-verbal communication. In the dance classroom, students often participate

in group work, which relies upon individual and communal communication and decision making (Hanna, 1999).

Concepts of emotional awareness can be defined as the ability to perceive emotions, access and generate emotion to assist thought, and to understand and reason with emotion to promote intellectual growth (Salovey & Sluyter, 1997). In the education system, social competence is very much an important fact in the day-to-day routine of a student. For example, students interact with fellow students and the professors by

10 participating in classroom discussions, and it is important they feel secure and validated not only by their peers, but also by their instructors (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Social competency is not a single homogeneous entity, but rather a complex system of variables that vary from person to person making it challenging to create a balanced ethos for educational institutions (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). One student may be an introvert, preferring to listen quietly as they absorb information, while their fellow classmate learns better by engaging in verbal discussion. The job of the instructor is to provoke critical thinking in both types of students. The dance space in a classroom can provide a cathartic release of emotions through movement. For those students who experience difficulties in expressing themselves verbally, whether due to shyness or a language barrier, dance encourages nonverbal communication, emotional support, and an enhanced ability of collaboration (Giguere, 2017).

College students face countless situations that could impact their social and emotional well-being. Studies have shown that for college students to do well in their coursework, having SEL components such as responsible decision making, good relational skills, and self-awareness allows the student to deal with the hardships of college (i.e., failing a test and doing poorly on a presentation) (Felton, 2016). Having social and emotional competency can also help students be successful in the dance classroom. For example, dance students are taught to be self-expressive and creative in individual choreography, group choreography, and in solo interpretation of movement.

This success can improve one’s overall physical health, academic performance, and can

reduce the risk of maladjustment in relationships; therefore, key components of SEL

should be found in theatre and dance curriculum (Zins & Elias, 1997). Self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, self-management, and relationship skills are necessary for students to be successful in their field of study. In many higher education dance courses, group participation is often encouraged with the intent of maturing a student’s social and emotional skills.

Typically, a student auditioning for a role in a musical is demonstrating social and emotional skills. First impressions are very important when auditioning for a musical or dance production. The casting director and judges study the way a student looks and handles themselves from the moment they enter the room; therefore, it is imperative students be confident and professional throughout the entire audition process (Nielson,

1984). A dance curriculum utilizing SEL components prepares a student to handle success and failure in a realistic manner. Being ill-prepared for a dance audition could lead to low self-esteem. Poor confidence can also encourage negative self-talk and anxiety (Taylor & Taylor, 1995). Reframing the mind with positive social and emotional activities through dance curriculum could lend itself to better student outcomes, outcomes which include being prepared upon graduation to professionally work in the arts.

To reframe the mind, a safe and caring environment must be established for

theatre and dance students so they can develop autonomy and self-discipline that will afford them better preparation for their auditions (Zins & Elias, 1997). In his paper,

“Who Cares? Teaching and Learning Care in Dance,” author Edward C. Warburton

(2004) stated, “A caring orientation in teaching is ultimately defined by a willingness to

let others learn in an environment of mutual effort and responsibility” (p. 94). This effort

is at the heart of social and emotional theory.

Multiple Intelligence Theory

Dance is aesthetic, emotive, and intelligent. Howard Gardner’s (2006) Multiple

Intelligences Theory recognizes that there are many different facets of cognition that

manifest in human beings, including Musical and Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence.

Gardner’s theory helps explain why keeping as much of the art-based curriculum in

education, particularly within the performing arts departments in universities, will help

strengthen higher education and pedagogy. Gardner refers to dance as being a bodily-

kinesthetic intelligence (Hanna, 1990). Controlled bodily movement and the ability to

perform certain movements when directed to suggests that the mortar cortex in the brain is responsible for controlling this behavior, arguing for intelligence (Gardner, 2006).

Gardner (2006) argued that “specialized” movement such in dance can be seen as an advantage to human beings because of the computations required in the brain.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory or MI works alongside the theory of understanding. In education, there has been much debate over what true understanding looks like. Being intelligent does not just fit one mold. It is not necessarily about determining if someone is smart according to who learns the fastest, who can memorize more information, or who has more brainpower (Wartburton, 2003). As dance educators argue for cognitive justifications as to why this art form should be supported as such,

Gardner’s (2006) theory assists by determining what it means to express intelligence or to be “smart” (Wartburton, 2003).

MI favors multi entry points into the spectrum of learning, which enables educators the freedom to explore ways they can reach all their students, especially true in

the dance classroom. For example, in dance there is the need for memorization of basic

dance terminology because it assists the dancer in making connections between the words

and the physical movement, and yet it is so much more than that. Dance pioneer Isadora

Duncan put it this way, “The true dance must be the transmission of the earth’s energy

through the body, teachers must provide students with a variety of learning activities” (as cited in Wartburton, 2003, p. 11). Dance validates MI theory in that it integrates the mind and body together while working through space, time, and movement (Wartburton,

2003).

Educators long ago realized that each student’s learning capability may differ from that of a fellow student. Students exhibit many different skillsets that serve them in their efforts to grasp and understand knowledge given them (Gardner, 2006). Gardner suggests that to help students, educators must acknowledge and realize the different methods by which their students learn.

There are common links with intelligences, and being aware of those links can help educators determine how to meet the needs of their students. Gardner discovered seven different entry points of learning. These aptitudes include visual-spatial, musical-

rhythmic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal-intrapersonal, naturalistic, verbal- linguistic, and bodily-kinesthetic (Ross, 2015).

Dance is not only musical-rhythmic and bodily-kinesthetic, it is also experiential.

The “experiential or collaborative” approach may be the entry point for understanding dance. For example, a dancer may learn better while understanding choreography, performance practicum, or theory in a group setting. By working with other dancers, the individual may feel more comfortable in a group setting where an array of different ideas is collaboratively being exchanged.

In the same way, a dancer may also learn through an experiential approach. Here, the student learns best with a “hands-on” approach in which they can manipulate given material. Connecting the movement and music can assist the student in analyzing and conceptualizing information (Gardner, 2006). For the dancer, this cognition is part of the knowing and the understanding (Hanna, 1999); therefore, it is part of the intelligence.

Dance involves the senses and emotions and relies heavily upon the human need for expression through communication. All these elements are woven into the dancer’s DNA and aid understanding and educational development (Hanna, 1999). Furthermore, the theories of Social and Emotional Learning and the Multiple Intelligence Theory can work together to promote strong dance curriculum in the colleges and universities where each student is encouraged to find their unique and expressive voice through movement.

Definition of Terms

Ballet

Theatrical work or entertainment in which a choreographer has expressed his

ideas in group and solo dancing to a musical accompaniment with appropriate

costumes, scenery, and lighting (American Ballet Theatre, n.d.).

Choreographer

The term applied to one who composes or invents ballets or dances (American

Ballet Theatre, n.d.).

Choreography

A term used to describe the actual steps, groupings, and patterns of a ballet or

dance (American Ballet Theatre, n.d.).

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to use emotional information in a constructive and adaptive manner

(Salovey & Sluyter, 1997).

Jazz Dance

A non-verbal art form traditionally passed from teacher to student in a physical

way. It is a freedom-loving, movement-loving tradition (Kriegel & Chandler-

Vaccaro, 1994).

Musical Theatre

A genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential role (Musical

theatre, n.d.).

Social Intelligence

A model in which it is presumed that researchers can best understand people if

investigations focus on the adaptive and purposive aspects of behavior, and it is

assumed the individuals are actively trying to make sense of the world they live in

and are directing their behavior accordingly (Cantor & Zirkel, 1990).

Theatre

“A play or other activity or presentation considered in terms of its dramatic

quality” (Theatre, n.d., para. 3).

Technique

The method one uses to accomplish the moves of dance (Kriegel & Chandler-

Vaccaro, 1994).

Organization of the Chapters

The following chapters are organized as such: Chapter 2 provides a relevant review of literature. Chapter 3 discusses the methodology used in the project while

Chapter 4 presents the curriculum.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE

This literature review discusses topics relevant to dance curriculum in higher education and the history of jazz dance and musical theatre. The literature review is organized into three sections. The first section discusses the history of dance in higher education. The second section includes a brief historical overview of jazz and musical

Theatre Jazz Dance and technique while the third section demonstrates the difference between training in a private dance studio versus dance education in the college or university setting.

The value of performing arts in education has long been proven to be worthwhile

(Hanna, 1999). A study conducted in 1992 concluded that arts integration and inclusion in curriculum offers viable components for a student’s success and motivation (Hess

Wright, 1994). In 1990, the Florida Department of Education shared a research project finding concluding that the arts could be a powerful vehicle for keeping at-risk students in school because of the unique sense of accomplishment and self-esteem they possessed after taking classes in the performing arts (Hess Wright, 1994). The National Center for

Education Statistics (as cited in Hanna, 1999) determined that grade averages for students who completed courses in the arts were generally higher than those of their peers who did not take such coursework. Social and emotional learning also increased in students who took classes in the fine arts. For example, positive self-esteem, confidence, and academic

achievement in other subjects were reported, indicating knowledge obtained through the

arts can transfer to other areas of learning (Hanna, 1999).

Dance is now being seen as being academic (Davenport, 2017). Currently, most

dance programing in education is seen as being both comprehensive and substantive

(McCutchen, 2006). Integrating both the technical content knowledge and the conceptual content knowledge into pedagogical practice in dance furthers students’ understanding of

movement (Sims, 2010). The verbal language associated with certain movement makes

the learning palpable and defined (Davenport, 2017). When the verbal task of a skill is

mastered, the experience is captured through feeling and movement. Solving a problem

in a dance class challenges the intellect and promotes cognitive skills (Davenport, 2017).

In addition, “dance education is also sequential, aesthetically driven, contextually coherent, and inquiry based, furthering the academia associated with dance” (McCutchen,

2006, p. 8).

History of Dance in Higher Education

To understand how musical theatre and musical Theatre Jazz Dance have garnered a place in higher education, an examination of the history of dance in the

American university should be explored. Is dance an art form or an academic discipline?

Can it be both? The American Heritage Dictionary defines dance as a verb meaning “to move rhythmically to music, using prescribed or improvised steps and gestures” (as cited in Hagood, 2000, p. 2). A second definition found in the same context refers to dance as

“to leap or skip about excitedly; caper, to bob up and down” (Hagood, 2000, p. 2). The

second definition makes it difficult to pin down a specific dance style or genre and almost

sounds ridiculous. It does not give the implication that dance can be seen as an art form,

let alone something that can be taught in higher education.

Perhaps a better description would be to say that dance is a vehicle of human

expression, drawing on social, cultural, and emotional conversations. Dance is multisensory; dancers use sight to move through time and space while utilizing their hearing to create movement from rhythm and tempo found in music (Hanna, 1999).

Dancers develop maturity through concepts in imagery, communication, and abstraction, indicating that dance is academic in addition to being art (Hanna, 1999). The wheel of dance contains many spokes; hence, it is worthwhile to understand the academic history of dance in higher education and how it is woven into musical theatre dance as well as examine its cultural existence (Hagood, 2000). Because dance is aesthetic and carries with it a strong attachment to social and emotional nature, it has been a challenge for some academic institutions to take it seriously (Hagood, 2000).

Out of most art forms, dance was one of the last forms to be included in education. Oddly enough, since it takes a limited amount of physical space, most dance classrooms only require four walls, flooring, a mirror and something to generate music.

Starting in higher education, dance gradually moved down the ladder, eventually integrating into K-12 school systems (Hagood, 2000), but it took many years of research and determination on the behalf dance educators to see this to fruition. During the colonial period (1620-1776), higher education was modeled from an English-Scottish

standpoint where liberal arts was taught from a Protestant theological framework

(Hagood, 2000). American founding father Benjamin Franklin helped established the

College of Philadelphia with the Reverend William Smith and brought politics, trade, economics, and history into the curriculum. In addition, Franklin encouraged universities to offer physical education as part of university programming, which would eventually include dance (Hagood, 2000).

For many years, dance was shoved into physical education curriculum and suffered from little exposure (Doubler, 1925). It was the immigration movement and a steady German influence that changed the internal dynamics of the university and, therefore, physical education. A major contributing factor of the German immigration reflected within the university system was the importance of the physical culture and the need for physical education and movement. The influence was brought forth by the gymnastics movement (Hagood, 2000). By the 1820s, physical education and the culture of movement was being taught in America’s schools, which would eventually lead to the birth of dance curriculum in higher education (Hagood, 2000).

By the 20th century, philosophers like John Dewey were introducing progressive ideas in education that would eventually influence early physical education proponents.

John Dewey’s ideology of educating the whole student by experiences that would help

prepare them for life helped shape future dance curriculum in higher education. Drawing

upon the ideas of John Dewey, the facilitation of dance allows the student to recognize a

moral and civic responsibility to the community-at-large, both collectively and

individually (Davenport, 2017). The combination of free activity balanced with thought

provoking analysis and structured curriculum was just the scaffold needed for physical

educators to justify that physical activity could meet the demands of academic rigor

(Hagood, 2000). Physical activity, which would later morph into dance education, needed to be thought of as physical education and not just physical culture. It meant that educators needed to include in their curriculum not just physical movements, but education on neuromuscular skills, healthy living, basic anatomical knowledge, and even sportsmanship standards.

Dewey’s beliefs are centered around the idea that education serves to foster and give shape to individual human abilities (Hagood, 2000). A student’s experience should

be one that is thought provoking, analytical, and relatable to their worldview. Dewey’s

vision for a progressive education was what the physical education movement needed to

be recognized as a legitimate educational format (Hagood, 2000). It also encouraged

dance educators to continue lobbying for an established curriculum. In 1913, sweeping

innovations within dance education came particularly when Speyer School of Teachers

College at Columbia University adopted the first formalized dance curriculum under the

direction of Gertrude Colby (Hagood, 2000).

Colby’s innovative practice of marrying “national dances,” which reinforced a

student’s concept of race and culture, furthered the need for artistic expression. This

cohabitation between natural and national was an important bridge between physical

education movement and dance being seen also as an artistic form of education (Hagood,

2000). By the early 19th century, dance pioneers such as Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shaw started shaping the landscape for dance artists and performance practicum within the university setting. Duncan’s lectures discussed not only the physical demands of dance, but also its artistic and emotional demands arguing that it is “high” art.

Because St. Denis traveled the world and studied dance in India, her dances incorporated spiritual elements as well as theatrical elements, allowing her to describe her work as being true art since it had the characteristics of art, religion, and philosophy (Hagood,

2000).

Ted Shaw and Ruth St. Denis were successful at drawing connections from popular culture and invoking the spiritual and religious undercurrents of society, which was attractive to dance educators at the university level. As discussed previously,

Gertrude Colby was the first educator that created a curriculum for higher education. In addition to her, Margaret H’Doubler is the person most recognized as being a champion in dance education for colleges and universities. H’Doubler enjoyed success in women’s sports at the University of Wisconsin from 1910 to 1916, and this led her to develop dance curriculum that would be rooted in science (Hagood, 2000). Although her background in science grounded her in kinesiology, she also recognized that dance both embodied kinesthetic and emotive elements and that it could benefit students.

H’Doubler believed it was important for dance students to understand body awareness in a scientific manner in order to be successful at the artistic expression.

Today, this idea is still used (Hagood, 2000). In 1921, H’Doubler’s first text, A Manual

23 for Dancing, was published, giving dance educators a scripted work for their classes.

Grounded in science but also in the need for individual expression, H’Doubler stated,

“The student should be so taught that she may give expression to her own reactions, and not those of another. Here it seems, is where much of the dancing taught, fails almost entirely as an educational activity” (Hagood, 2000, p. 97). Due largely to H’Doubler’s progressive and dedicated work, the year 1926 brought the development of the first dance major, revolutionizing of dance education (Hagood, 2000). The first dance major was recognized under the Physical Education Department at the University of Wisconsin.

This promotion grabbed the attention of educators and demanded that dance be recognized as an academic discipline. In addition, H’Doubler argued that dance was liberal in nature since in embodied kinesthetic awareness, intellectual understanding, and mental and physical creativity (Hagood, 2000).

Cognitive aspects of dance and knowledge gained through dance reflect Gardner’s

Multiple Intelligence Theory and seem to compliment H’Doubler’s argument. Not only is dance considered a bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, but it also uses musical and spatial intelligence categorized by Gardner (2006) as another form of intelligence (Hanna,

1999). No longer would dance be an obscurity in education but something offered as a credited college course. As we will see, this proclamation would eventually land dance education in liberal arts college and university programs and out of the realm of physical education departments.

It’s a Modern World

Over the next several decades, dance itself started to see new forms such as the

birth of the modern dance. Modern dance was born out of private dance studios in New

York by a group of concert dancers (Hagood, 2000). Dance technique and conceptual

ideas along with rich cultural and historical context formulate the modern dance.

Because modern dance technique involved a formulaic method, it was very

different from existing methods and did not easily fall into place in the traditional

physical education arena, leading dance educators and dance artists to insist that it should

be considered a fine art (Hagood, 2000). Furthermore, modern dance, as well as other dance forms, draws upon context, history, and ecology; it can easily fit into the liberal arts category as part of a humanistic approach of learning (Hanna, 1999). In 1922,

Bennington College in Vermont was considered to be a leader in “progressive” education, which would influence educator Martha Hill and colleague Mary Josephine

Shelly along with dance artists Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Hanya Holm, and

Louis Horst to advocate for the modern dance in higher education (Hagood, 2000).

In 1934 and 1942, Bennington College hosted a modern dance symposium, which attracted many of the modern dance pioneers, including Martha Graham. What came from those meetings was a better understanding of how modern dance paved the way for other colleges to adopt its specific and unique style into its dance curriculum. At the symposium, dance technique was emphasized along with creative expression, offering up a specific model for higher education curriculum. Conceptually infused modern dance

25 sessions at Bennington allowed for each dance educator and student to create their own style (Hagood, 2000).

Television in the 1950s was instrumental at catapulting the arts, including dance, into the homes of mainstream Americans. This regional activity of viewing artistic expression from home increased he need and desire for stronger pedagogical practices in the universities (Hagood, 2000). The Artists in School project in 1950 cultivated dance in the arts in the public schools and kept the fine arts initiative alive (Hanna, 1999). But it was the 1960s and 1970s that became the era of expansive growth for the arts in colleges across the United States. Dance educators were holding conferences on a regular basis to discuss performance practicum and curriculum, which led to furthering the development of dance and theatre departments. By that time, dance was distancing itself from physical education departments in colleges. There were only 13 dance major programs in the universities in 1950, but by the time 1963 arrived, there were 65 viable dance programs in colleges (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

The Dance as a Discipline Conference in 1965 broke new ground when the academic world of dance was finally independent and garnered significance recognition in the American university. Nice, clearly laid out recommendations for the “further development of dance” were carefully planned by the conference chair Alma Hawkins and are listed below.

• Dance should be recognized as a distinct discipline

• The body of knowledge related to the discipline of dance should be used as the

basis for determining areas of study and the curriculum plan

• The curricular offerings in dance should be broad enough in scope so that they

will meet the interests and needs of the students in various fields of study

• Administrative procedures should be established in such a way that they allow

and encourage dance to flourish as an art

• A dance faculty, adequate in number and in competence, should be provided to

teach the body of knowledge

• The institution should provide adequate support in the way of budget and facilities

needed for the development of dance

• Faculty who assume responsibility for the dance discipline should seek to

establish appropriate working relationships with other disciplines, especially in

the field of the arts and behavioral sciences

• Fragmentation of the discipline should be avoided

• Constant reexamination and reevaluation of the dance program should be

accepted in practice, in order that continued growth may be assured (Hagood,

2000, p. 196)

The American College Dance Festival, still existent today, was crucial for recruiting dance and theatre students to college dance programs. The first festival, held in 1973 at the University of Pittsburgh, responded to the need for student and faculty development and for further discussion on dance accreditation (Hagood, 2000).

The 1980s brought significant change for college dance programs. Finally splintering off from physical education departments, dance was being housed in its own newly developed departments in higher education’s liberal arts. However, just as university dance programs were gaining recognition in the 1970s, external political factors of the 1980s brought staff downsizing and budgetary cutbacks, leaving some of the college theatre and dance departments emaciated. Overworked faculty, lack of resources, and insufficient dance space began to cripple dance departments at large.

By 1985, undergraduate and graduate degrees offered in dance were in decline, with no sign of recovery. Even the University of Wisconsin was not immune to budget cutbacks and no longer accepted dance majors. The technological advancements of the

1980s, however, proved to be a lifeline for the arts community in colleges nationwide

(Hagood, 2000). The age of the computer brought with it revolutionary ideas on how to present curriculum in the classroom setting, which included models of the human body and anatomical structure to be presented in a more accessible and strategic way.

Computer imaging of joint action, muscle and tendon capabilities, as well as movement perspective all aided in the renewal of dance programs in the university setting. For example, by the year 1989, computers could generate human body images demonstrating joint action and full range of motion of ligaments and joints. “Bubble

Man” was a computer-generated model that “was able to cast shadows and provide more realistic joint movements and elevation of limbs” (Hagood, 2000, p. 302).

In addition to technological innovations, multiculturalism also aided in the efforts of dance educators to redefine and restructure dance programs. During this time, dance educators sought to recognize marginalized groups by offering discourse in newly designed classes that rejected colonial and oppressive pedagogy (Guarino & Oliver,

2014). Due mostly to the increase in African American, Asian, and Latin American enrollment in the liberal arts, colleges began to understand the importance of diversifying dance curriculum so more populations were represented (Hagood, 2000). The University of Oklahoma in 1981 began offering dance classes not only in ballet and modern dance, which was normal for the time, but created classes in jazz, tap, and theatre dance, thereby adding a cross-cultural dimension. Multicultural dance curriculum was further advanced by Howard Gardner’s (2006) Multiple Intelligence Theory by demonstrating that the bodily intelligence required of dancers is similar to what Martha Graham related to that of skilled surgeon (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

By the 21st century, the discipline of dance in colleges was reshaped and restructured to fit the multicultural landscape of campuses. African Caribbean as well as

Mexican Folkloric dance classes started sprouting up in course curriculum, adding more depth to the programs. Of course, implementing diversity into dance curriculum can come with challenges. Some dance educators feel uncomfortable teaching and deconstructing non-Western dance forms (Hagood, 2000). In addition, questions from educators such as, “Is diversity being promoted to further educational growth or is it due to corporate university ideas of being good business?” are being explored. Educators

29 continue to hold discourse on these issues. Diversity being framed properly in curriculum will continue to draw questions. And what about musical theatre dance and its role in curriculum?

The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) founded in 1998 continues to be a leading force in the dance world today and holds discourse on these topics. The

NDEO strives to educate worldwide the importance of dance education by hosting several conferences per year as well as publishing research in the field of dance in its monthly magazine. From its inception, the NDEO invites educators into the conversation of dance and its place in academia. Some of the NDEO’s goals are to strengthen dance education in arts and strengthen the national voice and vision for dance while assisting states in program funding and development (McGreevy-Nichols & Gingrasso, 2017).

Popular television shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Glee have created more of an interest in musical theatre and jazz dance, leading more colleges and universities to offer classes in those genres. Some of the well-known universities whose dance departments have gained national attention for having a diverse and strong dance curriculum include University of Arizona, Oklahoma University, and Sam Houston

University (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). The University of Arizona’s course catalog hosts a number of dance classes that include not only many different levels of jazz dance, but also a theatre dance class. Post-secondary education in dance continues to explore new visions and goals for the future, while honoring the time-proven fact that dance is an academic discipline and an intelligence.

Jazz Dance and Musical Theatre History

This section serves as a brief synopsis of jazz dance and musical theatre history.

It is important to examine jazz dance’s historical roots, as they are deeply connected to musical theatre dance, yet trying to pin down one definition of jazz dance is a difficult task because there are multiple meanings associated with it. One might think of jazz dance as an umbrella and the spokes as various styles of jazz. Some of these styles include, but are not limited to, Afro Caribbean Jazz Dance, Broadway Jazz

Dance/Musical Theatre Jazz Dance, Classical Jazz, Commercial Jazz Dance, Pop Jazz

Dance, West Coast Jazz Dance, Latin Jazz Dance, and Contemporary Jazz Dance

(Guarino & Oliver, 2014)

However, over time, researchers, authors, and dance educators have come to agree on the basic idea that jazz dance’s roots are centered in African, specifically West

African, culture (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). The African diaspora brought hundreds of enslaved peoples to the newly established “New World” and with it brought a unique and diverse culture that eventually coalesced into the existing one. A multicultural exchange occurred primarily on plantations where slaves would often observe their European owners’ manners and movements. Marrying the European style with that of the African aesthetic eventually led to the generation of the “jazz age,” and jazz dance was born

(Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

Although slave owners discouraged and prohibited the cultural uniqueness of the

African people to be embodied on the plantations, the slaves would still gather together

regularly to dance, sing, and communicate through movement. Movement was derived

from personal experiences, narratives, and observations endured on the plantations.

Thankfully, this storytelling was translated through body language and has transcended

through time, giving us a well-preserved art form now considered part of our American

heritage (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). From the plantation to the stage, new forms of artistic

expression through dance emerged in the 1800s. Minstrel shows sprang up throughout the country as white entertainers dressed in blackface to mimic the sociocultural dances being displayed in local communities. Vaudeville entered the scene in 1870, showcasing both black and white blackfaced entertainers as they performed not only dances but juggling acts and acrobatics (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Dances like the “Black Bottom,

Boogie, Buck and Wing, and the Cakewalk” were distinctive dances known to this era.

It is important to know that jazz dance is intrinsically linked to jazz music. By the early 1900s, polyrhythms were being used in music, which eventually led to the emergence of jazz music. Speculated to have started in New Orleans around 1902, jazz music offered a “swinging” musical component furthering experimental dance moves.

The Charleston dance became both a social and theatrical stage dance and was seen in nightclubs throughout the 1920s. Big bands orchestrated by composers such as Duke

Ellington began writing jazz music that allowed for dance improvisation and original movement. What followed next was a plethora of new dance moves such as the “Shim

Sham, Snake Hips, and Strut” obtaining popularity not only by the dancers performing them but with the audiences viewing them (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

Just as jazz dance is uniquely American, musical theatre’s history is woven into the tapestry of America’s cultural and social fabric. From its inception, musical theatre has had an intimate and personal conversation with its audience on social, political, and economical commentary. In Philadelphia 1767, David Douglass attempted to present the first known musical called The Disappointment; however, because the show contained elements of a personal nature, the city’s leaders determined it was unfit for the stage

(Jones, 2003). It was not until George M. Cohan’s arrival in theatre did the musical embark on a new and exciting journey. Born in 1878, Cohan was said to do it all: sing, act, dance, and direct (Jones, 2003). Cohan desired to bring something vigorous and fresh, steeped in American patriotism to his audience. In his first Broadway show, the

1901 Governor’s Son featured Cohan singing “Yankee Doodle Doings” and drew much on American pride and nationalism (Jones, 2003). Cohan is best remembered for his upbeat and lively musicals reflecting patriotism, but there was also an underlying element to his work that was less desirable. The imperialistic ideology of President Teddy

Roosevelt encouraged opposition to anything seen as “foreign.” Xenophobic qualities already sewn into American society were emphasized on stage, charting the course for the future social and political dialogue between art and audience (Jones, 2003).

As discussed in the jazz dance history of this project, minstrel performances were hugely popular and a form of the early musical. Exploitation of the 19th-century African

American community was common during these shows. Perhaps the only positive effect was that minstrels employed a large number of black performers and became a vehicle

for showcasing their talent of singing, acting, and dancing (Jones, 2003). Either way, the

price would be high, as mainstream audiences expected and widely accepted the

stereotypes portrayed in early musical adventures. As the musical evolved, so did the

dancing. Dance director, Ned Wayburn created the Ned Wayburn Institute of Dancing in

1905, training chorus dancers for what would become a distinctive style of theatre dance

(Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

His training credits include working with Fred Astaire, Al Jolson, and Will

Rodgers. Wayburn’s stylized “jazz walk” that accentuates the hips and shoulders in

unison was his signature move and is still used today (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). The fan

kick and hitch kick were also created by Wayburn and are still utilized by dancers all

over the world. Pioneers such as Seymour Feliz and Alberta Rasch promoted the idea

that the dancer on stage in musicals and in theatre must support the plot and character,

making the playwright’s development richer. Rasch’s choreography was displayed in

The Black Crook (1886), which became the model for the American Musical. What is important to note is that Rasch was responsible for marrying ballet technique with the structured elements of jazz, forever changing the landscape of the musical. Furthermore,

Rasch’s creative work in The Band Wagon was considered ingenious, intuitive, and imitative and changed the American Musical for the better (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

Financial and lucrative efforts of the 1920s and tax alleviation from the Calvin

Coolidge administration brought with it more time for leisure activities. The season of

1919-20 to 1929-30 was one of the most productive times in history for the Broadway

musical, bringing in an enormous amount of revenue (Jones, 2003). More hit shows were

produced during this time than in any other time in history.

Topics explored in the 1920s musicals addressed local and socially charged topics

such as prohibition, gambling, and racism. But it was the musical Show Boat (1927) that

officially launched the Broadway musical as we know it today. Different than the “happy

go lucky” formulaic works of Cohan, Show Boat dealt with darker realities such as

marital problems and social injustice (Mitchell, 2011). Oscar Hammerstein, II and

Jerome Kern “broke all the rules” when they cast Show Boat with both white and black

performers; it was truly revolutionary.

While economic woes plagued American communities due to the stock market

crash of 1929, Broadway musicals sought to distract audiences with positive and “feel

good” shows (Mitchell, 2011). The birth of “Hoovervilles” in American cities caused not

only financial distress but also psychological concerns, as people struggled to stay alive.

During that time, Broadway continued to function by the fortunate who were employed

and able to buy tickets (Jones, 2003). Although the shows went on, the productions were

less lavish as budgets were cut to save expenses. Two thirds of New York’s stage houses

were shut down in the Depression, which had rippling effects for the future.

Collaborating with Cole Porter, musical director Robert Alton became one of the

most recognized choreographers of the post-depression era for blending ballet, jazz, and tap aesthetics in shows like Anything Goes (1934) and Ziegfeld Follies (1936), which

featured work form George Balanchine. Even though financial challenges still loomed

over theatre shows, Broadway continued to produce legendary shows such as Porgy and

Bess (1935), which set precedent by having an all African American cast (Jones, 2003).

Controversial and raw, Porgy and Bess dealt with drugs, domestic violence, and racism.

French philosopher, playwright critic, and novelist Emile Zola argued that playwrights and show performances must be willing to examine the human condition, which Porgy and Bess accomplished. Although not well received in its day, Porgy and Bess is considered one of the Broadway classics (Jones, 2003).

Pal Joey successfully launched the musical into the 1940s with Robert Alton at the helm. Alton’s aesthetic preference of blending jazz, tap, and ballet into choreography summoned such dance greats as Gene Kelly to perform Alton’s dance moves with grace and strength (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Musical theatre in the 1940s began to soar and became a popular art form among the American public. Agnes de Mille set new standards with her work on Oklahoma! De Mille encouraged her dancers to find depth in the characters through dance movement. The term “triple threat” (someone who can act, sing, and dance) was coined as a result of her work. Jazz dancers flocked to train with

Agnes de Mille because she demanded strong jazz dance technique rooted in ballet

(Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

Ballet dancer and choreographer George Balanchine desired to bring the complexity of ballet to the musical theatre stage. Prior to Balanchine, the elements of ballet were simply an underlying foundation of jazz and tap technique, but his insistence of bringing ballet into the spotlight in the American musical plotted a new course for the

36 future. Whereas tricks like cartwheels and handstands were considered a high-level movement, Balanchine’s choreography insisted upon a ballet foundation and, thus, raised the expectation for the dancer (Guarino & Oliver, 2014).

The next several decades ushered in the authentic age of jazz dance and, with it, the need for dance codification of steps and established pedagogy. Jack Cole, considered to be the father of theatrical jazz dance, catapulted jazz dance into the 1940s by taking dance out of the nightclubs and vaudeville circuit and adapting it to the Broadway stage.

By definition, theatrical jazz “represents a fusion of styles,” including ballet moves, ethnic styles, modern dance, tap dance, and a variety of jazz styles (Guarino & Oliver,

2014, p. 26). Some of Cole’s more notable work includes, “Sing, Sing, Sing” and

“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” which helped launch Marilyn Monroe’s career

(Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Like most dance instructors and choreographers, Cole displayed his own unique style in his dance movement, which included “complicated rhythmic patterns set to jazz music, detailed isolations, intensity in the eyes, dynamic range, erect torso and spine, and supple arm movements initiating from the back to shoulder” (Guarino & Oliver, 2014, p. 87). All these qualities are still seen in modern jazz and musical theatre dances.

The 1950s and 1960s Broadway musical explosion brought to the stage classics such as West Side Story, Gypsy, and Guys and Dolls, which increased the popularity of a streamlined curriculum that dance educators could use both in the dance studio and in the university. By then, dance researchers such as Kathrine Dunham and Gus Giordano were

37 blending dance codification within the structure of dance technique and pedagogy.

Dunham’s work is especially noteworthy in that she diversified her movement technique from her ethnographic research in the Caribbean (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Dunham and

Giordano’s style is seen today in private dance studios and companies, while universities have adopted a pedagogy to enhance the department’s curriculum and the student’s experience.

One of the most notable and highly reconcilable chorographers to emerge from the 1960s was Bob Fosse. With hit Broadway productions such as Sweet Charity,

Chicago, and Cabaret, Fosse’s innovative and unique style helped shape theater jazz dance for generations to come (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Fosse’s influence in theatrical or Broadway jazz dance was derived from his early experience in burlesque. Author Sam

Wasson, in his book Fosse, stated, “the bumps and grinds would be the prepositions of

Fosse’s dance vocabulary” (Wasson, 2013, p. 25). Fosse’s distinct splayed fingers, inverted bent knees, and percussive isolations, contributed to sealing his fate in dance history as one of the most innovative and talented dancers in the dance world (Guarino &

Oliver, 2014). Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins were well known in the dance and theatre community during this time. Robbins’s sophisticated and powerful choreography in West

Side Story (1957) proved to be a masterpiece in terms of dance technique, aesthetics, and character development.

Michael Bennett and Tommy Tune’s choreography in A Chorus Line (1975) continued to give “triple threat” performers an avenue to display their passion and talent

on stage (Guarino & Oliver, 2014). Although Twyla Tharp is most known for being a modern dancer and choreographer, it should be noted that her work consisted of all genres including jazz and tap as seen in the musical Movin Out (2002). From the 1980s to the present, the American musical has no longer been constrained to a certain style, topic, or formulaic structure, allowing it to venture in new directions. Today, artists like

Mia Michaels, often seen as the creative and innovative contemporary choreographer on shows like So You Think You Can Dance, are breaking new ground by working in traditional venues and with companies such as The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.

As a result, dance education has spilled out from the Broadway stage and poured

into colleges, universities, and into private dance studios. From the 1970s to the present, dance studios have served as a place where dancers train in all aspects of technique and performance practicum, while colleges and universities offer not only the technical aspects of dance but also the cognitive, objective, historical, social, cultural, and economic aspects of dance. Dance theories and methodology continue to push modern- day dance curriculum in higher education and provoke new thought and ideas of where dance and the musical will venture in the future.

Dance Studio Training Versus Dance Education in College

It is important to understand the difference between dance training received in a dance studio versus that at the university level. There are more than 32,000 private dance studios in schools in the United States (Gingrasso, 2016). Many dancers throughout the country are trained at one of these private studios, which place an emphasis on skill

39 mastery, competition, and performance skills. In the dance studio, technique classes are often a requirement for maintaining a position on a studio’s dance company. Although technique is used in college and university programs, dance history, theory, self- assessment and maturing as an artist are equally important to dance educators (Yetzke,

2016). This is the main difference between these two institutions.

Most dance studio teachers learned as their teachers passed down the information.

Replicated movement and teacher style is often imitated, which has the potential of leaving out other pedagogical practices. As a result, some dance teachers may be disinterested in learning a variety of teaching methods, leaving them one-dimensional, stagnate, and ultimately ineffective teachers (Sims, 2010). Being a professional dancer does not necessarily make a good teacher. In the same way, an instructor who holds a master’s degree in dance may not be an effective teacher.

What post-secondary dance educators strive to do is bridge the gap between the studio and the college by developing a well-rounded dancer that encompasses strong technical skills with theory and various methodologies and pedagogical approaches.

NDEO provides goals and tips on how to do this. For example, in 2016, the NDEO posed two questions used to challenge current dance educators. Priority 1: Connect the

Field; here the big idea is to develop a community of individuals who share the passion of dance and its cultural background. Since dance offers a wide variety of styles and genres,

NDEO’s desires to partner with dance educators in promoting cultural artistry and research through the individual voice is encouraged as a collaborative effort (McGreevy-

Nichols & Gingrasso, 2017). Priority 2: Build Knowledge; current, relevant, and

informative knowledge of industry standards through easy access whether it derives from

books, magazines, or through social media. Priority 3: Cultivate Leadership in Dance; the objective in this priority is that all dance educators are leaders in some capacity; therefore, resources to dance education must be positioned collaboratively within the field (McGreevy-Nichols & Gingrasso, 2017). These pedagogical approaches should be both conceptual and step-oriented (Gilbert, 2005). This effort continues today as dance educators pursue disseminating current curriculum and practices with the intent of bettering the dance community for the future.

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

Overview

This chapter discusses the methods used in the project development.

Methodology such as informal discussions with dance and theatre professionals, along with audition and classroom observations were used for the project design. The author’s protocols for observation involved sitting in on several musical theatre dance auditions and taking notes on technical ability, performance quality, and cognitive capacity. In addition, the author also observed the students’ social and emotional behavior when learning different types of choreography and the speed at which it was taught. Verbal feedback was exchanged between the author and the musical theatre director on the students who auditioned. The author also spent time researching colleges and universities that offer a musical theatre major or minor and what dance classes are required and deemed necessary to take. Data were gathered primarily by searching online for university programs and courses at the suggestion of dance and musical theatre educators and from the author’s personal experience as a dance teacher, performer, and choreographer. College and university programs such as those at Ball State University,

Florida State University, Tisch School of the Arts, and The University of Oklahoma were assessed and helped the researcher determine what dance classes are imperative for theatre and dance departments to offer for better student outcomes. These universities

were chosen because they offer undergraduate degrees in musical theatre that are

accompanied with a strong dance curriculum.

Curriculum mapping was the primary design for the project. Using the

Understanding by Design model, the researcher created a five-week jazz dance unit for

musical theatre students. Essential questions, content, skills, activities, and assessment

were the framework for the curriculum. In the book Understanding by Design, authors

Wiggins and McTighe (2005) noted that to promote understanding, curriculum design

must be organized to engage students’ interest and to ultimately facilitate learning. This project is structured from that design. Effective learning is the outcome of true understanding; therefore, by asking the following questions when designing curriculum, teachers can appropriately assess if their students are developing the necessary skills they need in order to move from one step to the next.

The questions include three stages. Stage 1 – Identify desired results. In this stage, asking what content is worthy of understanding is crucial. For example, at the end

of a five-week unit on basic jazz dance, what is our desired goal? Is it that the students

are proficient in a variety of jazz dance steps? Are they able to determine which jazz

dance style fits with a certain musical? Or is it both? Stage 2 – Determine acceptable

evidence. Stage 2 requires the curriculum designer to ask what evidence given will be

considered proficient for understanding. It encourages the professor or instructor to

“think like the assessor” before creating the material. Finally, in Stage 3, Planning of

Learned Experiences and Instruction focuses on what components are necessary to

43 include in the curriculum to further understanding. For example, what musical would be useful when discussing Jerome Robbins and his style? Or, how did Bob Fosse’s past experiences shape his approach to choreography (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)?

One of the many goals of understanding is that the learner will take the information gathered from the curriculum and transfer it to other areas of life. The

Understanding by Design (UBD) concept emphasizes six facets (listed below) of understanding that support learning efforts (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

• Facet 1 – Explanation – understanding that is revealed through sound theory,

performance, and products (i.e., Jazz dance is rooted in the African Aesthetic)

• Facet 2 – Interpretation – narratives and translations that provide meaning (i.e.,

Slaves on plantations using body language to convey a message about personal

experiences while also shaping jazz dance movements)

• Facet 3 – Application – acquiring knowledge effectively in new situations and

different contexts (i.e., A student in a basic jazz dance class uses space

dimensions and formations to understand mathematical equations). Howard

Gardner stated, “The test of understanding involves neither repetition of

information learned nor performance of practices mastered. Rather it involves the

appropriate application of concepts newly posed” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p.

94)

• Facet 4 – Perspective – critical analysis of material learned (i.e., analyzing the

work of a choreographer or fellow student)

• Facet 5 – Empathy – the ability to feel another’s emotions or personal feelings

(i.e., after viewing a dance, a student may feel empathy towards the

choreographer or towards the message given through the dance and therefore,

become more compassionate and emotionally aware)

• Facet 6 – Self-Knowledge – to know one’s ignorance and to understand how one

arrives at certain decisions (i.e., a dancer may discover their own prejudice while

watching a musical dealing with racism)

In addition to the learning facets, certain characteristics should be present in curriculum.

According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the best design includes clear performance goals that include hands-on experiences; clear instructor modeling; a safe environment to learn and demonstrate skills taught; appropriate time for self-reflection; real-world application; powerful feedback that encourages learning through trial and error; and, finally, a clear and concise picture of the desired outcome (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

Discussions with current musical theatre professor Ed Brazo in the Theatre and Dance

Department at Sacramento State and local dance instructors assisted the researcher in forming the following guiding questions for the project (personal communication,

September 7, 2016).

Three essential questions are addressed in the project: (a) What do we want our students interested in musical theatre leaving the department knowing? (b) What jazz dance skills are necessary for them to know in order to feel confident and prepared upon

45 graduation? (c) What social and emotional components can we implement into the curriculum that will have positive student outcomes?

Understanding By Design Unit Template

Table 1

Lesson Template

Title of Unit Jazz Dance Basics for College/ Musical Theatre Dance University Curriculum Area Dance Time 5 weeks Frame Developed By Jolie Roberts Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Objectives: To identity basic jazz dance skills and how they relate to Musical Theatre. Using Bloom’s

Taxonomy, students will recall, comprehend, apply, analyze, create, and judge. Students will be able to

identify historical, artistic, creative, aesthetic components in dance and musical theatre while making

connections that are applicable to real-world experiences.

Social and Emotional Objectives – Self-reflection and awareness will be emphasized with social and

emotional check-in sessions before and after class, peer observations, and instructional feedback.

Intelligence Awareness – Students will discover and recognize Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence

Theory and discover which intelligence category they fall into.

1. Recall – memorize basic jazz dance steps, understand context and information relating to jazz dance and musical theatre, observe details, and know dance elements. 2. Comprehend – students will summarize what they know and demonstrate dance skills and elements through activities such as across the floor phrases, center floor work, and combinations. 3. Apply – explore movement patterns and phrases, solve dance phrase problems, apply skills with performance. 4. Analyze – deconstruct dance movement and identify anatomical and kinesiology elements, identify correct body alignment and form, unpack a dance piece. 5. Create – group choreography exploration, design movement patterns and identify their historical background, solve creative problems through group communication and participation. 6. Judge – dancers will critique 2 Musical Theatre dances and give qualitative feedback on historical content, social and cultural relevance, and evaluate aesthetics.

Table 1 (continued)

Understandings Essential Questions

Overarching Understanding Overarching Topical

What do musical theatre and How do jazz jazz dance have in common? dance and Students will understand the What are some of the social, musical historical, social, and cultural cultural, and emotional theatre work relevance of jazz dance and how it themes presented in musical together to correlates with Musical Theater. theater? How can jazz dance solve current

and musical theatre increase social and

awareness in physical cultural movement? issues? (a) What do we want our

students interested in musical

theatre leaving the Related Misconceptions department knowing? (b) What jazz dance skills are Dancers with limited dance necessary for them to know background are not expected to have in order to feel confident and mastered all the jazz dance skills with prepared upon graduation? perfect form and alignment within a (c) What social and 5-week period. Emphasis is placed emotional components can on seeing general improvements on we implement into the skill, performance, and social curriculum that will have interaction between peers and positive student outcomes? instructor from week 1 to 5.

Table 1 (continued)

Knowledge Skills

Students will know… Students will be able to…

Students will understand the historical roots of jazz dance and musical theatre. Students will know • The difference between jazz and ballet the pioneer dancers, choreographers positioning (i.e., turned in versus turned out) in jazz dance, and musical theatre and • Understanding how to count in dance be able to identify their style in • Jazz Walks/Runs performance. Students will be • Basic Feet positions (jazz) knowledgeable in the 6 levels of • Basic arm positions (jazz) Bloom’s Taxonomy and how it • Jazz Squares relates to the 5-week unit. Students • Pivot Turns will be able to recall basic jazz dance • Kick-ball-change vocabulary and terminology. • Isolations Students will understand social and • Chasse emotional elements and how they fit • Pas De Bourree (with and without turn) into the dance classroom. Dancers • Jazz Pirouettes • Chaine Turns will be able to demonstrate different • Battements styles of jazz dance in relation to • Contractions musical theatre, increase performance • Drap turns skills as well as be prepared for • Leaps future auditions. Students will be able • Jazz Slide to critique peer performances (skill, • Passe style, musicality, and body • Plies alignment). Students will understand • Arabesque/ Attitude basic anatomical and kinesiology • Torso and spine placement elements in relation to dance • Jazz adage movement and steps. Students will • Combinations of skills participate in a mock musical theatre audition in the fifth week based off of material and knowledge gained over the 5-week period.

Table 1 (continued)

Knowledge Skills

Students will know… Students will be able to…

Students will understand the importance of jazz dance structure (i.e., warm-up, center floor work, across the floor, and combinations).

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description

Goal To be prepared for a musical theatre audition in jazz dance

Role Students will be auditioning for a role in a musical

Audience Instructor and selected staff

Situation Mock audition

Product/Performance Performing a dance phrase in musical theatre jazz dance

Table 1 (continued)

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Where are your students headed? Students will vary in dance training. Where have they been? How will Collectively, students will progress towards you make sure the students know acquiring basic jazz dance skills that are where they are going? demonstrating in musical theatre. Self- confidence, self-reflection and self-assessment will be emphasized through group discussions after each class. Students will be presented with clear instructions for each class through the agenda. How will you hook students at the Informing the students that they will be beginning of the unit? working towards a mock musical theatre jazz dance audition. What events will help students Students will learn basic jazz dance skills experience and explore the big idea and learn to construct dance sequences that will and questions in the unit? How will be used in a mock audition at the end of the 5- you equip them with needed skills week unit. The instructor will assign selected and knowledge? readings from the book Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches, by Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver to help students identify key concepts in jazz dance. Students will also be required to watch two musicals, either a life performance or from a video, and submit a reflection paper describing key components discussed in class (i.e., jazz dance style and choreographer choreographic principles, social and emotional themes).

Table 1 (continued)

How will you cause students to Students will keep a journal for 5 weeks. reflect and rethink? How will you Daily reflection logs are required starting on day guide them in rehearsing, revising, one. Students are encouraged to write down their and refining their work? thoughts as they learn and explore jazz dance skills and context. Students will share their thoughts with each other at the end of the unit. How will you help students to Students will be required to keep a journal exhibit and self-evaluate their and have peer evaluations through group growing skills, knowledge, and participation work. understanding throughout the unit? How will you tailor and otherwise Once a week check-ins will take place personalize the learning plan to between instructor and student at the end of the optimize the engagement and class to make sure students are on track and effectiveness of ALL students, have the necessary tools needed to ensure without compromising the goals of progress. The instructor will be able to have the unit? modifications available for different student levels. How will you organize and sequence Each class will have an agenda focusing the learning activities to optimize on certain skills and goals. Small groups will be the engagement and achievement of assigned where students will participate in ALL students? constructing six “8” counts of choreography to perform for the class. Basic jazz skills learned in class are to be used in student choreography along with performance elements (learned in class). Source: Wiggins & McTighe (1998).

Target Population

The project curriculum is targeted primarily for theatre majors in liberal arts colleges and universities that offer a major in theatre and have a musical theatre minor concentration but lack Theatre Jazz Dance classes that would help their students obtain roles in musicals.

Chapter 4

THE CURRICULUM

This project serves as a resource for theatre and dance educators at liberal arts

colleges and universities that desire to add Theatre Jazz Dance curriculum to their

Theatre and Dance Department for students seeking a profession in the performing arts.

Additionally, the project has the potential to aid private and non-profit organizations,

such as community theatre companies and dance studios that want to offer an intensive

program geared toward musical theatre and jazz dance curriculum. This project will

demonstrate that dance is a bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, as discovered by Howard

Gardner (2006), and that its social and emotional benefits can be applied in a

comprehensive curriculum that can be transferred to other modes of learning (Hanna,

1999).

In addition, the author has spent more than 30 years dancing and teaching in the

private sector, which aided in the curriculum design. The author is trained in the areas of

jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, and theatre arts including musical theater. The author has been the director and coach of the Sacramento State Dance Team since 2003,

housed in the Athletic Department where she trains dancers in fitness and dance

technique along with choreographing routines. Administrative and business duties are

included in the researcher’s seasonal commitment. The author also travels to public high

schools, private dance studios, and local colleges giving workshops, dance clinics, and

master classes.

The researcher spent the past previous years as a freelance choreographer assisting the musical theatre professor at Sacramento State and observed several auditions. The researcher choreographed several musical theatre numbers for

Sacramento State’s Theatre and Dance Department and worked with many different student technical abilities. It was observed that those students who took dance classes either at the university or in the private sector tended to obtain roles in musicals that were offered in the department. Those who had a limited amount of dance training struggled to learn and retain choreography. Collaboration with individuals in the field of performing arts, particularly within the realm of jazz dance and musical theatre, was gathered through informal discussions, which helped contribute to the curriculum design.

APPENDIX A

Written Lesson Plans

JAZZ DANCE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJORS – LESSON ONE: THE BASICS OVERVIEW OF 5-WEEK UNIT WEEK 1

Subject Music selection for warm-up, across the floor, and combinations are varied and at the instructor’s discretion. It is recommended that music range from jazz, pop, and Broadway genres. Dance

Prepared By Jolie Roberts

Grade Level College

Teacher Guide Student Guide Objectives: Brief unit introduction, What do you know To identify jazz dance from including social and emotional about jazz dance? other dance forms and its components. What to you hope to connection to musical theatre Discuss Multiple Intelligence learn by the end of Theory and how it relates to the 5-week unit? dance and theatre Skills: Emphasis on style and musical Rhythm topic. Introduce feet accents and arm positions Demonstrate performance and (demonstrate the difference choreographic qualities (i.e., between ballet versus jazz). dynamics, confidence, and Introduce jazz walks and runs, purposeful intention with four jazz walks with pivot turn movement). (use in center floor work and Warm-up, center floor, across or across the floor- Pedestrian the floor, combo at end walking in musical theatre). Add arm variations to any of the Kick-ball changes, chasses, basic steps and use in center and jazz squares introduction. floor and across the floor combo

Teacher Guide Student Guide Content: Read Introduction What is jazz dance (group and Part I and thoughts and perceptions)? Chapter 21 (Guarino and Oliver). Watch Show Boat – write a 2-page reflection paper discussing social, cultural, and political themes and dance style used (discussed in week 2)

Activity and Reflection Pre-activity (demonstrate Instructor will start Part 1 – Pre-class check-in counting in the eight-count each of the group’s (student and professor phrase used in dance). clapping rhythm at introductions). Rhythm Demonstrate straight time, push, different times. activity – assign small groups time, and syncopation Students will identify and give each group a different accents with clapping rhythm counts Part 2 – Social and Emotional Video Tutorial: Learning-get with a partner Song suggestion: “Bushel and a and discuss feelings and Peck” from Guys and Dolls emotions from what was used Intelligence being demonstrated in class (i.e., how did you feel – Bodily-Kinetic and Musical doing jazz walks, etc.)? Set a (paying attention to counts and goal for next class. musical accents) Social and emotional benefit – self-confidence, self-awareness, decision making

Materials Required

Book: Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Guarino and Oliver

Additional Resources

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yGGtVKrD8 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U4ww-MmAY4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAJ4F01kHSE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sgItjh2afk - Additional Notes

Students will keep a reflection journal for 5 weeks. Journal expectations:

• Something new you learned (dance related, emotional, social, cultural) • Describe your expectations prior to class starting and how you felt at the end • Describe any fears, frustrations, or concerns • What is a goal you will set for yourself for next class? • How does dance make you feel and why? • Discuss physical, emotional, and psychological benefits of dance as well as

JAZZ DANCE FOR

MUSICAL THEATRE LESSON TWO: INTELLIGENCE AND MAJORS – MOVEMENTS OVERVIEW OF 5-WEEK UNIT WEEK 2

Subject Music selection for warm-up, across the floor, and combinations are varied and at the instructor’s discretion. It is recommended that music range from jazz, pop, and Broadway genres. Dance

Prepared By Jolie Roberts

Grade Level College

Teacher Guide Student Guide Objectives: Review and discuss last week’s What is something To identify jazz dance readings and video material. about jazz dance that style in class participation Review Multiple Intelligence you didn’t know or and in video assignments. Theory and how it relates to were surprised to dance. Describe how the discover? Logical-Mathematical What intelligence form Intelligence mitigates the do you most identity construction of dance phrasing with? and formatting.

Teacher Guide Student Guide Skills: Review basic steps from What steps were Introduce Pas de Bourree previous class uncomfortable for you (also with turn), Drag turn, Give students a pre-class check- to learn and why? jazz slide, hitch and switch in on feelings/emotions, goals, What steps did you kicks, triplet steps and additional thoughts. enjoy doing?

Work on performance etiquette, Recall steps learned stage directions (stage left, right, from last class and center, etc.). Personality, apply corrections showmanship, and energy. given to today’s class.

Comprehend and Introduce principles of summarize book choreography (swinging, readings and video sustained, vibratory, suspended, clips from week 1 etc.). Spatial awareness and through discussion and space dimensions journal writing.

Teacher Guide Student Guide Content: African and European Aesthetic, Read Part II, and Jazz dance history as from the plantation to minstrels Chapter 13 (Guarino discussed in the chapter and Vaudeville and Oliver). Watch readings. YouTube clip of West Side Story and write a 2-page reflection sheet commenting on the style, social theme, and cultural connections demonstrated in the choreography. Draw connections from the movement and make a modern-day correlation. Activity and Reflection: Video Tutorial: Perform class Music suggestion –“Cool” from combination in groups. West Side Story Students will give Intelligence Identification- feedback to performers Musical, Spatial, and Bodily- by offering two Kinesthetic. positive comments and one comment on an area of improvement needed.

Teacher Guide Student Guide Discussion – certain parts of the Discuss in journal and brain are unitized when with each other how perceiving the production of you felt when you music (Gardner, 2006). danced in front of a peer audience. Set and establish a goal for next class and discuss it with your group.

Materials Required

Book: Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Guarino and Oliver

Additional Resources

Students will keep a reflection journal for 5 weeks. Journal expectations:

LESSON THREE: FOSSE JAZZ DANCE FOR MUSICAL AND HISTORICAL AND THEATRE MAJORS – CULTURAL RELEVANCE OVERVIEW OF 5-WEEK UNIT WEEK 3

Subject Music selection for warm-up, across the floor, and combinations are varied and at the instructor’s discretion. It is recommended that music range from jazz, pop, and Broadway genres. Dance

Prepared By Jolie Roberts

Grade Level College

Teacher Guide Student Guide Objectives: Discuss Bob Fosse’s impact on What steps are still a To expand upon the skills the jazz world and why his challenge and what learned the previous week work is still relevant today. steps do you finding to and identify certain jazz Intention is to focus on the be more natural? style and choreographers. Fosse aesthetic. How is Fosse’s work different than Jerome Robbins’s? Name a 20th or 21st century entertainer who embodies Fosse’s style?

Teacher Guide Student Guide Skills: Teach them a six 8-count Analyze- look for style Contractions (pelvis and combination on Fosse style content that is used in ribcage.) Create (use across the floor patterns today’s choreography combinations for across the with jazz walks, hip and pelvic (in videos, reality TV, floor and center floor using isolations, and big or commercials, etc.). all skills learned thus far. contractions). Apply basic jazz dance Introduce jumps and leaps skills learned thus far with layouts. Work on performance etiquette, and apply them in stage directions (stage left, group choreography. right, center, etc.). Personality, showmanship, and energy. Practice performance skills outside of class. Content: Read Part III (pages Brief history on Bob Fosse 73-95) and Chapters and his legacy 15 & 16 Write a 2-page refection paper on the style, the social and cultural themes presented in the dances. Make one modern-day connection between the readings/videos.

Teacher Guide Student Guide Activity and Reflection Video Tutorial: Group combination performance with peer Fosse-inspired combination and instructor from two different song feedback. Include two selections: 1. “All that Jazz” positive comments and from All that Jazz. 2. Into You one area of focus. The by Ariana Grande area of focus should be addressed with Video Tutorial: diligence by the Another Fosse example: performer and the “I Gotcha” from Liza with a Z instructor should see progress in the next Draw upon social and class. emotional theory by demonstrating self-confidence, creative expression, and movement freedom

Materials Required

Book: Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Guarino and Oliver

Additional Resources

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcrZIK3gqbU - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2e9acreKmQ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_W1tapG_g4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrrz54UtkCc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chdpiSX2ino - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKYcNS64OrU - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnGF9ONR04 - Additional Notes

Students will keep a reflection journal for 5 weeks. Journal expectations:

JAZZ DANCE FOR MUSICAL LESSONS 4 AND 5: MOCK THEATRE MAJORS – AUDITION OVERVIEW OF 5-WEEK UNIT WEEKS 4 & 5

Subject Music selection for warm-up, across the floor, and combinations are varied and at the instructor’s discretion. It is recommended that music range from jazz, pop, and Broadway genres. Dance

Prepared By Jolie Roberts

Grade Level College

Teacher Guide Student Guide Objectives: To apply all that has To practice performance been taught thus far skills in group and apply it in every choreography aspect of class. Skills: Adding onto existing Create- group All jazz dance steps learned combinations and creating new choreography (six “8” thus far ones. Review counting, counts). Should be principles of choreography fluid, logical, with (swinging, sustained, vibratory, directional changes. suspended, etc.). Show at least 2 different principles of choreography in work. Content: Class discussion -10-15 min Read Chapters 23-27 Where jazz is headed for max Optional readings Part the future. A 21st-century Analyze assignment reading VI perspective and videos. Discuss previous readings and videos

Teacher Guide Student Guide Activity and Reflection Video Tutorial: Perform group Audition Tips- what to do and choreography. what not to do Judge- critique Attire and make-up tips. qualitative feedback to peer performances

Be prepared for mock audition next class. How can jazz dance and musical theatre solve global problems (social, economic, political)? What does dancing offer the dancer, the audience, the teacher?

Materials Required

Book: Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Guarino and Oliver

- Additional Resources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHPdVnUour4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_D3VFfhvs4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KveBnc0fkIw

- Additional Notes

Keep working on your journal with after class entries.

Students will keep a reflection journal for 5 weeks. Journal expectations:

• Something new you learned (dance related, emotional, social, cultural) • Describe your expectations prior to class starting and how you felt at the end • Describe and fears, frustrations, or concerns • What is a goal you will set for yourself for next class? • How does dance make you feel and why? • Discuss physical, emotional, and psychological benefits of dance as well as academic

APPENDIX B

Theatre Jazz Dance Lesson Videos [DVD]

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