Teaching PE teachers the value of creative dance

Torun Mattsson
Dept. of Sport Sciences, Malmö University

There are several complexities in teaching creative dance in a specific teaching context such as in physical education teacher education (PETE). Students usually have sports experiences, particularly in various ball sports. However, they rarely have any experience of dance and no experiences at all in creative dance. The problem that Christopher Engdahl addresses in his compilation thesis is that dance is a part of PE, but there are uncertainties about how dance should be taught and assessed. If dance is included in the subject, it is often pre-choreographed steps that should be performed in a specific way. Students can both be nervous and experience joy when participating in teaching that includes creative dance in PE or PETE.

The overall aim of this thesis is to explore how creative dance in Swedish PETE can be taught and experienced. Four research questions are posed, each dealt with in the four articles:

1. 1. 1. How are theoretical approaches used in studies of creative dance teaching in PE and PETE? (unpublished manuscript/article 1)
      2. How do Swedish teacher educators describe their teaching of creative aspects of dance in PETE? (article 2)
      3. What do PETE students express and experience when participating in mirror assignments during Swedish creative dance lessons and what insights can be made regarding creative dance teaching? (article 3)
      4. How do human and non-human materialities co-act in movement exploration in creative dance in Swedish PETE and what are the pedagogical implications in creative dance teaching? (article 4)

In the background chapter, a historical outline of creative dance in PE and PETE since the 1800s, is presented. Engdahl highlights the relationship between aesthetic elements in dance and gymnastics and how sports came to challenge the Ling gymnastics. But parallel to the rise of sports, modern dance was developed. Rudolf Laban’s framework, as a protest against classical ballet, had a significant influence on creative dance in sports contexts. At the same time, female free-standing gymnastics was developed. Engdahl sets the historical framework for the dissertation work and summarizes that creative dance within PE and PETE is about the expressive aspects of dance and focuses on the subjective way of dancing. Engdahl shows commendably that it is not an isolated event but that creative dance is part of a societal development during the 20th century.

A first insight that Engdahl highlights from the intervention study is that inspiration from Deleuze’s philosophy can support and extend ideas about teaching movement imitation by means of mirror assignments in PETE.

The literature review in article 1 shows that PE teachers may feel insecure about teaching dance in PE because they have weak competencies and little experience in dance teaching. There is also a need for more time for dance teaching within PETE. Furthermore, it appears that Laban’s movement framework, music, and materials influence dance teaching in PETE.

The theoretical framework utilized in the dissertation is based on the work of Gilles Deleuze, to explore process-oriented aspects of creative dance in PETE. The philosophy entails that humans and non-humans are always intertwined. A central concept is “immanence,” which is used to “explore what exists in the material world reciprocally depends on each other, and how human and non-human materialities are always connected…” (p. 35). Important concepts in the dissertation further include striated space and smooth space, experimentation, sense, materiality, and assemblage to understand teaching and experiences in creative dance in PETE. Engdahl has used several methods in the dissertation. Initially, a literature review is conducted, and a qualitative interview study and a pedagogical intervention are used in the research design.

Articles in the dissertation

Article I (unpublished manuscript): “Creative dance teaching in physical education and physical education teacher education – a narrative review.” The literature review includes 33 articles that show the ongoing discussion about creative dance in PE and PETE. Several different theoretical perspectives are used in the articles, but there is a dominance of phenomenological perspectives.

Article II: “‘Free but not free-free’: teaching creative aspects of dance in physical education teacher education.” The purpose of this article is to create insights into how PETE teacher educators understand creative aspects of dance in their educational practice. The results show that teaching in creative dance can constitute an alternative to teaching in different sports and physical training. The teaching in creative dance is exploratory and is not about learning specific movements.

Article III: “Dancing as searching with Deleuze – a study of what students in physical education teacher education express and experience in creative dance lessons.” The purpose of this paper is to create insights into what PETE students express and experience when participating in mirror assignments during creative dance lessons in Swedish PETE. Three different ways that students use space in creative dance emerge: 1) moving in spaces of unpredictability, 2) almost dancing, and 3) serving as a vehicle of the dance. The study shows that students are given opportunities to experiment with movements when they have teaching in creative dance in PETE.

Article IV: “Exploring movement in creative dance: Introducing ‘dancemblage’ in physical education teacher education.” The purpose is to explore how human and non-human materialities constitute part of the exploration of movement in creative dance lessons in Swedish PETE. It also explores the pedagogical implications when materialities constitute a significant part of movement exploration in creative dance. Two ‘dancemblages’ are presented: Dancemblage no 1: muscles-gravity-floor-plastic and Dancemblage no 2: textiles-friction-forehead-wood. The results show how materiality can be analyzed when creative dance is used in teaching in PETE.

Engdahl discusses experimentation in creative dance teaching based on the interview study and how creative dance is new for students in PETE. It is important that students get to explore new movement possibilities while teachers at the same time want to create safe environments for the students. It can be challenging for students to express themselves and create in movements. Four factors in teaching are identified: providing guidance and safety, articulating frames clearly, the relevance of letting students depart from known and familiar movement experiences, and playfulness. Laban’s movement framework is an important part of teaching and how music is used in teaching creative dance.

Engdahl also discusses experimentation, experiences, and dancemblages based on the pedagogical intervention and the literature review. A first insight that Engdahl highlights from the intervention study is that inspiration from Deleuze’s philosophy can support and extend ideas about teaching movement imitation by means of mirror assignments in PETE. A second insight from the pedagogical intervention study, according to Engdahl, is that teaching mirror assignments in creative dance lessons in Swedish PETE inspired by Deleuze’s philosophy can result in students’ expressions and experiences involving indetermination. Finally, a third insight from the pedagogical intervention study, according to Engdahl, is that a post-anthropocentric and Deleuzian approach can be seen to expand previous studies of materiality in creative dance teaching in PE and PETE.

The conclusion states that creative dance in PETE can contribute to pedagogical insights into how creative dance can be taught in PETE. The study contributes to an increased understanding of how students experience teaching in creative dance, and the theoretical framework approaching a Deleuzian scholarship provides new insights into the understanding of creative dance in PETE.

I have read Christopher Engdahl’s dissertation with great interest. Creative dance is still a marginalized area in PETE and even more unusual in PE. Therefore, more research is needed in creative dance within a sport context as in PETE and PE. The dissertation is well-written and cohesive despite using various methods in different articles. More research is needed on aesthetic experiences in PETE and PE. Creative dance is an excellent content to focus on when it comes to exploratory teaching and not just the reproduction of predetermined movements. Christopher Engdahl’s dissertation is an important piece of the puzzle in the field of sports pedagogy research, and it provides valuable insights into the need to change teaching content and teaching methods in PETE.

Copyright © Torun Mattsson 2024