In Memphis, Tennessee many students within the public school systems come from lower income communities causing a large number of the students to be at risk of dropping out before graduating high school. Offering dance education to students will lower the curve and allow those students a way to express themselves and create a positive experience within the classroom. Through effective artistic practices students will be able to connect to all academia.
Dance Education develops the knowledge and skills required to create, perform, and understand movement as a means of artistic communication. A comprehensive education includes improvisation, technique, choreography, performance, observation, and analysis. Exposure to dance history and cultures, kinesiology and anatomy, and movement theories further enrich the dance educational experience. Education in the art of dance engages the artistic processes of creating, performing, and critical analysis. Through dance, education students become self-motivated, disciplined, and focused in their everyday lives. They become expressive in their communication of emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Their creativity skills and imagination thrive and allow them to create new innovative ideas to advance their communities and find new ways of approaching situations.
In the community I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee the majority of students attended public schools within the Shelby County Public School System. Many of us came from extremely different living conditions and homes. A large number of students lived in communities known to be at-risk meaning most of the students would not end up graduating from high school for many reasons varying from household income causing students to drop out to support their families or gang affiliation. Some lost overall motivation and drive to finish school. They do not feel like they are capable of excelling so they lash out and disobey rules ultimately causing them to be kicked out or sent to schools for juvenile delinquents where they are unable to reach their full potential.
This treatment within the educational system causes a never-ending cycle never allowing at-risk students to change their path and break free from the standard placed on them. Society has placed so many barriers on these students' lives and there is not enough being done to help them see that they are important and worth more.
So how do we create a positive experience between education and at-risk students?
Many educators, artists, and scientists within the community have begun to answer the call of these students who are asking for help or help by acting out and decided to find ways to help them release and express their feelings. They provided them with outlets. Dance programs are thriving the most due to the culture of Memphis and what most Memphians share in common. Rhythm, the blues hits a certain part of our soul that only we all can understand together.
Though we have made progress, there are many inconsistencies still within the public school system, discipline, and the dropout rates. Instead of having students whom teachers know are lashing out because they are not in the best environment to be sent to in-school suspension to be confined or sent home to the place that is causing their struggle they should be given a safe space to be free but learn discipline. Somewhere to take a breath and collect themselves. A dance classroom. In dance class, they are able to create and associate their feelings with movement. Communication is key in this art form. It may not always be verbal but taking a moment to breathe and move around as a class has shown growth in students' ability to bond with one another and their teachers.
For example Collage Dance Collective, a nonprofit dance conservatory that caters to lower-income students. Located in the Midtown community in Memphis, Collage Dance Collective is one of the most effective dance institutions that has made much progress with students. They are “committed to advancing the reach of classical ballet training to underserved communities.” Classes encourage students to express their emotions through movement. Their program “Turning Pointe” is “ a dance training program that focuses on ballet technique, exposure to the arts, and leadership development.” Collage created the Turning Pointe program to” provide students in under-resourced communities with access to classical ballet training and arts enrichment activities.” This program is one of the largest arts education programs in Memphis, TN with over 600 students annually. Students at local schools take two to four ballet classes a week during the school term. The majority receive this instruction as part of their school day. The students are able to learn about performance and go on trips to see local arts companies perform works around the city. Turning Pointe also incorporates a healthy lifestyle. They have nutritionists and company members teach students nutrition, cultural exposure, and social etiquette.
A large part of the therapeutic aspects of the Collage Youth programs revolves around somatic practices. Somatic practices help students bring more internal attention to their dancing and academic work so that they can be more authentic, work efficiently, and express their feelings. They are methods of sensing and self-evaluating. These practices aim to strengthen the connection between mind and body while the body is under stress. Often students become overwhelmed and don’t know how to reach for help or express how they feel. These practices allow students and instructors to connect through breath and meditation and help the student find release and diffuse their struggles and tensions into their movement. Teaching dancers to listen to internal sensations while moving is how somatic practices help dancers own their life and learning experience. Examples of somatic practices are Alexander technique, Authentic Movement, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and Ideokinesis.
Dance education specialists and scientists in Memphis are teaching educators within the Shelby county schools system movement practices to elevate students' motivation and support them in all disciplines of study. Having teachers be knowledgeable in movement practices has caused an increase in awareness and teachers have begun to have more empathy towards students facing struggles of their circumstances. Dance educators are on staff as mentors and are available for any student who needs time to recenter themself. Movement practices are taught by dance educators and used by teachers in the school system to allow outlets for emotions these students would otherwise express with defiant behavior. Examples of schools beginning to use these practices are Colonial Middle School, White Station High school, and Overton High School.
STEM programs have recently started to incorporate dance in their initiative to get underrepresented communities more involved in science and mathematics. In Memphis, the Memphis STEM Academy has become a part of this movement. Dance has been able to bring out the creativity in students . Dance educators in STEM programs use dance as a way for students to create within the realm of science and math as they are all intertwined through space. The students in these programs have learned the discipline of dance and are given a safe space to also reinforce the knowledge that will help them in a STEM career path. The principles this organization uphold are what dance education programs in Memphis arts centers and Shelby County Public School teachers have begun to implement in their classrooms.
Phylicia Rashad renowned American actress and singer in an interview at the Women’s Forum of New York said, “Before a child talks they sing. Before they write they draw. As soon as they stand they dance. Art is fundamental to human expression.” The dance education programs in my community helped to make me the person I am today. Incorporating the arts within the curriculum is how we will mend the gap between students and education engagement.
Bibliography
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https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2013/05/poverty-dropouts