Inspired by Harney and Moten's (2013) description of study in the undercommons, I bring the perspective of a dance teacher to a conversation about educational equity. Dance is an important method of study and a form of knowledge. It shows up in the undercommons (Harney & Moten, 2013) and in students' at-home educations (Shujaa, 1993).…

One of my principle aims as a dance educator is to cultivate somatic-based learning environments so that students develop, integrate, and hone a holistic, embodied sense of self. In order to achieve this objective, I strive to help students connect their movement to their ongoing thoughts, sensations, and perceptions. In this article, I describe…

High school dance students are at an age where they can process challenging technical concepts with an anatomical lens. One of these concepts is turnout, an essential joint action used in a variety of dance contexts and disciplines. As this joint action is not always well explained or well understood, many students try it without adequate guidance…

The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to a novel curriculum for teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and share appropriate techniques for use in school-based settings. The traditional BJJ has been modified (e.g., submissions are excluded) to provide a safer version that includes fundamental strategies and content that teachers and…

Ensemble Thinking (ET) is a toolkit of movement scores developed by dance-maker Nina Martin in the 1980s in New York City. The scores of ET arose out of a confluence of Martin's choreographic and improvisational performance practices. The impetus for developing ET was to develop a technical language for creating and discussing improvised dance.…

This work aimed to outline the first stages for the development of a pedagogical model for teaching-learning of expressive content within physical education (creative body movement). Drawing on several suggestions from previous models' conceptualizations, we explore and present the theoretical foundations, practical considerations, and assumptions…

The aim of this paper is to suggest perspectives on movement capability and movement skill learning that take into account the intrinsic, meaningful value of moving in terms of the experience of the mover as a learner and a knower. Two perspectives on movement capability and movement skill learning will be presented and discussed here:…

In this student reading, I use examples from dance technique classes to bring attention to the choices that students make when learning new movement via observation and repetition. Based on these examples, I frame learning in technique class not as a process of imitation but a process of translation. In doing so I hope to advocate for the…

There has been a continuous focus on developing quality physical education (PE) experiences that empower students to understand movement and engage in physical activity. This article describes a pedagogical approach that was developed to assist the PE student in understanding more about their own and others' physical activity capacities. This new…

Teaching Odissi in the university space is not new to me. However, as a dancer-scholar located in India, teaching this dance form in a university in the United States expanded and deepened my understanding of this dance form and the ways it can be taught. This encounter, a collision of cultures, beliefs, and movement practices in the dance studio,…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Second Issue of our Double Special Edition on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Health, Wellbeing and Education. This special issue focuses on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Sport, Human Movement and Education. We introduce the issue by outlining the debate about the 'inclusivity' of queer bodies in sport. We then introduce each…

In this article, I argue for the adoption of enactive cognition (which includes emotional and social components) as a basis for understanding the nature of learning in, through and about movement in physical education. Enactivists argue that the process of learning is not one of developing an internal intellectualist understanding of the world or…

In this article, we explore how inclusion and diversity in mindful dance and movement practices can be supported by a practice of self-reflexivity in regards to our embodied identities as teachers. We understand identities as created through processes of stratification, which tend to assign dualistic, fixed and often mutually excluding categories…

Batting or striking with a long-handled implement is an important fundamental motor skill used in several lifetime activities. This article outlines basic movement concepts that are developed through batting and provides recommendations that can serve as both curricular options for physical education and a potential homework idea for kids to…

The purpose of this article is two fold including how to use functional movement exercises as part of a warm-up routine and how to embed functional fitness movements into youth sport practice sessions.