Leaping into Dance Literacy through the Language of Dance®

Leaping into Dance Literacy through the Language of Dance®

An accessible introduction to dance literacy that includes practical examples and sample lesson plans. This book presents the theory and purpose underpinning the approaches to dance literacy as explored by the Language of Dance community in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through their teacher training programs, the community is changing the face of dance-based dance literacy using the practice of motif notation. Arts literacy can deepen dance craft and transfer arts knowledge, capacities, and skills to lifelong learning. Dance-based dance literacy practices using notation enhance learners’ flexibility, adaptability, self-direction, initiative, productivity, responsibility, leadership, and cross-cultural skills. This volume ushers in a new era for educating with dance notation that focuses on learners’ engagement by making connections between the learning domains using constructivist and constructionist learning approaches. Based on work by dance educator Ann Hutchinson Guest and expanded upon by her protégés, this is the first book of its kind to bring together theory, praxis, original research outcomes, taxonomies, model lesson plans, learning domain taxonomies of dance, and voices of dance teachers who have explored using dance notation literacy. Teresa Heiland is a master teacher trainer of language of dance in the United States. She served on the board of the Language of Dance Center USA from 2007 to 2022.