Preparing a dance class is a complex exercise that lies at the intersection of artistic creation and pedagogy. Johanna Bienaise, a researcher in the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal, explored this preparation as part of a research project that led to the publication of a book to help guide practising and aspiring dance teaching artists.
The researcher held role-playing exercises, individual interviews and group discussions with teaching artists to understand how they approach the planning of a dance class. She also conducted explicitation interviews, a technique developed by psychologist Pierre Vermersch that aims to provide a detailed description of a past activity carried out by a person in a professional practice situation or engaged in a task.
By analyzing the data from these exchanges, Johanna Bienaise and her colleague Manon Levac identified nine actions that contribute to the preparation of a dance class: Begin, Listen, Analyze the Musicality, Explore, Question/Examine the Movement, Repeat, Structure, Challenge, Name. Far from being strictly linear, these actions can occur at various points in the creative process, and some of them can overlap, repeat or follow each other freely.
This observation enabled the researcher and her team to write a book presenting activities that encourage dance teachers to explore different parameters involved in preparing a dance class. Published by Presses de l’Université Laval, Partager la danse is not intended to be a strict guide, but rather a tool to support this type of approach while preserving the freedom of artistic creation. The team also produced a collection of 14 folders entitled Territoires partagés, 25 articles and interviews from which can be found on the Espace Perreault website.
References
Bienaise, J., Levac, M. (sous la dir. de). Partager la danse. Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2024, 240 p.