This article aims to reveal the challenges of working mothers in dance academia in respect to balancing of teaching, service, administration, and research demands and parenting of young teens. Through a conversation, the authors aim to find solidarity in our similar situations in different geographic locations by exchanging ideas regrading…

This article examines assessment of "intangible" concepts in dance education such as creativity, risk, originality, or artistic thinking. Through the development of assessment workshops for arts educators, conducted from 2009 through 2011 across the state of Illinois and supported by the Illinois Arts Council, the authors developed a…

Drawing on more than two decades of experience refining this teaching process, as well as insights from two consecutive research studies of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's education work, this article presents best practice strategies for teaching choreography to elementary students in schools. The article outlines the rationale behind the Prepare,…

Research on the improvement of learning shifted from a focus on the learner as individual to the concept of sociocultural learning in communities of learning, communities of practice or learning cultures during the 1990s. A similar shift in the focus of the development of a single construct of individual musical creativity to socially situated…

This ethnodrama communicates the lived experience of an outstanding teacher of English who worked in the Chicago Public Schools for more than 20 years. Excerpts from three semi-structured interviews have been constructed into a one-woman show that uses music, dance, and the art of theater to convey the spiritual beauty of ambitious, urban teaching…

While resources for the gifted are not abundant, many schools do offer classes, programs, services, and/or clubs that broaden student learning beyond the curriculum. What can educators do to expand the horizons of gifted children--to open their minds to new worlds of knowledge and understanding? Programs for gifted students, particularly those…

In this article, the author suggests a cross-curricular idea that can link with PE, dance, music and history. Teacher David Schmitz, a maths teacher in Illinois who was also a square dance caller, had developed a maths course that used the standard square dance syllabus to teach mathematical principles. He presents an intensive, two-week course…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Cheering in the Classroom, a four day program designed purposefully to increase female awareness and perceptions of technology fields. The camp included discipline-based activities from the 13 different programs of study based in technology. The camp targeted high school cheerleaders and…

Describes dancer Katherine Dunham's philosophical system and her application of the "Dunham technique" in the Children's Workshop of the Katherine Dunham Museum in East St. Louis (Illinois). Contends that Dunham incorporates rites of passage to transform the lives of participants through intense involvement in art as a way of life. (AF)

A study of the general working conditions, financial status, performance opportunities, funding, and work practices of choreographers in New York City, Chicago (Illinois), San Francisco (California), and Washington, D.C. was conducted in order to develop benchmark statistics. These statistics focus on the national choreographer population and…

Intended for professionals interested in incorporating arts activities into the educational programs for disabled students, Part One of the document contains arts activities contributed by clinician-presenters in the 1978 Illinois series of Very Special Arts Festivals; while Part Two contains activities contributed by clinician-presenters and…

The impact on the economy of 10 cultural institutions in Springfield, Illinois, was determined by measuring their 1978 direct and indirect financial effects. The institutions are the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Theatre Guild, Springfield Art Association, Springfield Ballet, Art Collection in Illinois State Museum, Old State…

This report examines arts participation in the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States using data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. These data indicate that, in general, these metropolitan regions tend to be more alike than different with respect to arts participation patterns. Analysis reveals that while…

This report examines arts engagement in ten key states in the U.S. by analyzing data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). It is organized into ten state profiles that summarize key demographic characteristics, the arts landscape, and public participation in the arts. Because the regions profiled here are not a random…

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of 10 fine arts institutions on the Springfield, Illinois, economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the 10 institutions as well as local,…