Enhancing Dance Education: Top Dance History Videos for Class Use
How can we incorporate dance history into our training?
Colleges/universities require dance history courses for dance majors and minors. Performing arts high schools incorporate dance history into their curricula. Summer intensives offer dance history workshops to round out programming. But, most dance students in the United States do not formally study dance history. Instead, dancers commonly gain a bit of knowledge when stories or information is passed down by their teachers. A select few may even research independently.
I believe we miss an important part of our dance experience if we’re don’t connect where we are with where we were. So, whether teaching K-12 or university students, I enjoy incorporating dance history lessons into my class time.
Here are a few ways to use dance history videos in your dance classes:
Watch at the start of class to give fresh focus to training.
Assign a video as a take home assignment to continue the study of dance beyond the studio.
Share a video before teaching a new technique, variation, or piece of choreography to provide context for the work
Incorporate videos in a full lesson of dance history, in place of technique class around holidays or seasonal transition.
Ballet Evolved is a 15-part lecture demonstration series created by the Royal Ballet. Hosted by former ballet mistress Ursula Hageli, this series covers changes over four centuries of ballet.
Learn about famed dancers and creators— From the court of Louis XIV to Taglioni, Elssler, Bournonville, Cecchetti, and several others. See how ballet class and pointe work has evolved.
Ballet Evolved is a great visual introduction to ballet history. Videos run anywhere from 3-9 minutes long.
Portrait of Ailey is an 8 chapter documentary about the life of choreographer Alvin Ailey. It includes 8 videos, teaching tips, discussion questions, and handouts. For dance teachers in school settings, the videos can be shared directly to Google Classroom. You’ll also find study guides, books, and articles to deepen each learning experience.
Designed for grades 9-12. Streaming Video.
Funded by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, hosted on PBS LearningMedia
Screenshot of Portrait of Ailey on PBS LearningMedia
3. The History of Tap Dance | The Express Way with Dulé Hill
A quick, yet comprehensive overview on the evolution of tap, this video featuring actor/dancer Dulé Hill, provides plenty of ideas for side quests into tap history.
This is geared towards the 9-12 grade level. 7 minutes.
If this article was helpful, be sure to bookmark this page for class use, additions, and updates!
In the comments, let me know…how will you incorporate dance history videos into your classes? Which one is your favorite to share?