Viktória Varga
1. Report about T.T.T. 2013 Budapest
Viktória Varga & Tamás Bakó
Pedagogical
approaches of Contemporary Dance in Art education. „The role of art in dance
pedagogy”
As a
research topic we were questioning how can we found within our own pedagogical
practice the focus point, the right tool
or method what leads the student to his/her own future art making, to his/her clear
self-image? “The role of art in dance education? How do we teach art while
teaching dance?”
We wanted to
understand our own art education through the following questions:
-From what
kind of creation and performance practice do we connect to the field of
contemporary dance?
-what kind
of transformations do we notice in the methods of our own pedagogical practice?
- How do
this relate to the notion of art?
We wanted
to discuss the listed question trough 3 different methods in practice:
-The verbal
introduction of the research team’s members, presenting their professional
background.
-Transmitting
our approaches to art pedagogy by teaching each other.
-Common
creative work, in which our methods are becoming tools for a real time
creation.
For feather
research and sharing, next to the international group of teachers, we establish
a local group composed from young local dancers.
The
conception and schedule we built was redefined at the beginning of our common work.
While getting to know each other we were looking for a common ground of
motivation and interest around the main topic.
During our
first discussions we soon arrived the following conclusion: we can dive into
the original question by trying to
forget the traditional teacher-student image. We felt that an open laboratory
context fits more to our interest and intention. To create a ground for our
research we chose the Open Learning structure know and used in Contemporary
dance.
The two
groups worked both separately and together in order to analyze our topics and
to be effective. Our discussions led us to 3 basic questions:
-What is
art?
-What is
the mission of art education?
-How to
bring all this theories into practice?
During the
week we found 3 models that can be seen as answers for the 3rd question:
I.
10
minutes classes
We
established a class structure in which each of us had a 10 minute teaching. All
the 10 minutes together became one long co-teaching session. We did not decide ahead
about the order neither about the content of the 10 minutes, this is how this
„flow –teaching” was created.
One of the
most exiting conclusion was, that this accelerated time and density put the
content of the class in foreground and the usually fixed role and habits did not
influence the process of learning. According to the score the roles of teacher
and student rotated in short intervals, in this was the role schemas where dissolve.
II.
Models
for Open Learning Structure
We arrived
to another model trough the method of „Open Space” used in Contemporary Dance
and Improvisation. We believe that this structure includes the free usage and reinterpretation
of both teaching and learning process.
The
process:
The process
starts with common moving, alignment. Then we give half an hour open space were
everyone of us is becoming a student, somehow finding how we can chose our own
teachers, clarifying in ourselves what do we really want to learn. The next
half an hour is the opposite of the first score, where everyone can experience
the role of the teacher. After this process we gave a short reflection time to
ourselves. At the end we all shared our observations. The model opened the
possibility to experience other roles.
We could be present in the space as a witness or as a free mover,
widening the possibilities to connect to what happens in the space.
Where did
we get?
Are we able
to create an environment where -without the pressure of responsibility-, we can
live and experience creativity, attention toward each other, co-operation and
personal time and space within the container of our motivation, interests,
personal attitudes? According to us an Open Learning Structure model con create
such a supporting, inspiring and motivating atmosphere in which the need of
individual learning strategies and the power of personal creativity can appear,
integrating the personal and the environment’s conditions.
III.
Presentation
The
closing event of the week created another open learning format, model. Preparing
the presentation of our conclusions for a wider circle, we were looking for a
format that mirrors in the most faithful
way the experiences of our research.
We
wanted to create such a structure where we let the participants experience the
result of our research and in which everyone -according to his/her own interest-
can freely connect to what happens in the space.
The
space was an installation of sounds, images, books, as well as a performing
space and a playground for open learning structures.
This
experimental way of creating contact let an open space for active
participation, for creative self-expression, for receiving, interaction, and
experiencing several way of learning.
Concerning
our question: how can we transmit art within our teaching practice we
formulated the following thoughts:
Contemporary
dance is a non-defined category as the most of its topics are dealing with the
research of the unknown. As in creation the method is experimentation, the
teaching practice should also stay a constant experiment. As both of its
creative and pedagogical aspects are merging, we found that models like Open
Learning Structure can work well for us. In this kind of learning format
creativity, annalistic ways of thinking, experimentation, non-hierarchical
prospective and a different vision of knowledge itself, becomes part of the
learning process. The process of receiving and a self –reflective attitude are
redefined.
The
exploratory aspect of contemporary dance led us to the well know thought: art
can’t be taught, only the tools of art, it’s technical approach, it’s history
as well as creativity that can be seen as a bridge.
2. Pedagogical statement
I have started to teach dance 15
years ago, for non-professionals at the first time, than I got involved in the
professional field. Currently I am a teacher of the Budapest Contemporary Dance
Academy and the Budapest Comprehensive Dance School.
As I teach in scholar frame
sometimes I feel myself like in a protected zone. I rarely have the possibility
to try myself and my experiences in other circumstances. I often ask myself
whether my knowledge is valid also in another context and if so, to what
extent?
I am interested to see the
improvement of creativity and the shaping personality. These processes do not follow
any predefined patterns just happen without any screenplay. We do not have a
guideline in our hand to achieve our goals. We always have to reinterpret the
aims and also the way we reach them. This is a very exciting task where lot of
spontaneity is needed. It was good to find fix points in this system requiring
permanent movement:
- To
transform the pressure coming from outside into an inside exigency and to
minimize constraints and obligations
- To
accept myself and to live the feeling of self-confidence
- To
accept other people
It is possible to achieve
these only in an atmosphere which is free of judgment, full of confidence but
critic is tolerated at the same time.
I use dance and movement as a
tool and I have the same aims with my practices. I like and do a lot of floor
work, weight transfer, using the whole body, the
dynamic movement of space and keeping energy level high. Instead of copying
forms, I concentrate on the state and quality of movements.
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