Dance and the Child International (daCi)
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Dance and the Child International (daCi) is a non-profit making international organization initiated in 1978 for anyone interested or involved in the growth and development of dance for children and young people internationally. Particular attention is given to the ethnic, gender, physical, and cultural identities and all abilities of each young person within a spirit of international understanding.
As an international organisation, daCi is a fully constituted branch of UNESCO’s Conseil International de la Danse in Paris, with its financial base in Canada and archives located at the University of Surrey, England.
DaCi is managed voluntarily by an Executive Committee and Advisory Board made up of National Representatives, currently from 21 countries. Members include: dance teachers, dance groups, dance artists, educators, artistic directors, choreographers, philanthropists, public school teachers, administrators, policy makers, private dance studio personnel, associations, businesses, corporations as well as dance researchers and scholars.
Every three years, daCi organizes an international conference located somewhere in the world. The 15th conference: Dancing into Communities was hosted virtually July 10-15 2022 from Toronto, Canada.
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Item Open Access A dance program for toddlers(2023) Kralj, NevaEven though there has been a growing interest in embodied approaches in education, practical experience has shown that dance and body expression are often neglected in the education system, especially during the toddlers' period, from the first to the third year of life (Geršak, 2015; Kralj & Videmšek, 2019; Zajec, Videmšek, Štihec, Pišot & Šimunič, 2010). The paper focuses on enhancing the toddler's motor, social, and communicative skills with a dance program. The author also addresses why and how we dance with toddlers. In countries, where toddlers attend kindergartens, they are very important environment to promote children’s engaging in movement, learning about themselves, and establishing a relationship with others through movement and creative dance. The author would like to highlight the importance of dance in early childhood and expand on existing approaches to working with young children in kindergarten.Item Open Access Challenging content: making ‘stairways to happiness’ through dance for the child(2023) Sethi, ArshiyaThis paper looks critically at the many ways in which inappropriate content enters the realm of dance for the child in India, ranging from folk, classical and reality show dancing on TV. It attempts of interrogate the deep social historical and religious roots of the problem and the interstices by which such maleficence persists unchallenged, leaving the many possibilities of using dance to kindle the imagination of the child and unlock the bigger potential of childhood. The paper concludes by citing two successful examples of attempts at creating child friendly Indian dance material including one in the diaspora. It also highlights the recent changes in the National Education Policy, that have foregrounded the arts making them at par with other privileged subjects, and seeing in this opportunity a chance to catalyse the creation of an age appropriate and child friendly repertoireItem Open Access Creative Movement Project activities: exploration of play with themed movement approach with indigenous children(2023) Saearani, Muhammad Fazli TaibThe creative movement project I'm working on is a planned exercise that is a component of the Teaching and Creative Movement class I've been teaching to dance majors pursuing their Bachelor of Performing Arts. 30 kids from Kampung Chinngung in Perak, Malaysia are involved in this project, which they voluntarily took up to pass the time. The students and I conducted observations before the project was completed to determine the proper activities that can be carried out based on their physical and emotional capabilities. Based on these insights, a type of structured activity that gives indigenous kids a chance to interact with dance students' creative endeavours was developed. This structured activity uses a thematic approach as a management tool. This study explores how engaging in creative movement activities with indigenous kids affects both their physical and behavioural well-being. Analyzed is the project's exploration of play using theme approaches and play methodologies. This project aims to promote indigenous children's comprehension and awareness of the topics covered by the planned activities. Dance students are given the opportunity to share space, explore ideas, expression, and movement via creative movements, which allows them to learn information that may be passed on to the local indigenous children's community.Item Open Access Item Open Access Item Open Access Dance and Civic & Community Engagement: Service-Learning and Study Abroad as Vehicles to experiential learning, cultural humility, and global citizenship(2023) Guarino, Joy; Jordan, Enya KaliaDance at Buffalo State University delivers a liberal arts education and embraces a civic and community engagement philosophy in all aspects of the program. In addition to rigorous studio training that enhances the physical experience of the art form, the curriculum is designed to deepen students' understanding of the cultural, historical, and social, as well as aesthetic, value of dance to our world. This community and civically engaged program fulfills dance students’ distinct aspirations while addressing local and global societal priorities. These experiences are supported by the Dr. Katherine S. Conway-Turner Office of Civic and Community Engagement (CCE) and the Maurene Callahan Bouras Center for Global Engagement (CGE) on campus, which facilitate a broad array of short-term and virtual community-engaged applied learning programs.Item Open Access Dancing into Communities: Creativity and Collaboration through Dance Using the International Schools Theatre Association Model(2023) O'Brien, JulietteCreative play might be the ultimate community-creator and boundary-breaker, and dance creation is a form of play that can foster both the sense of shared humanity and the celebration of difference. When young people of diverse backgrounds come together to create dance in a way that respects individual ideas and ways of moving, and nurtures openness to those of others, they also co-create community. Through a collaborative process and creative problem solving, they are able to share their voices individually and as one. The International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) runs creative theatre “festivals”, using a model through which young people already move, speak, dance, act, and music themselves into communities. This paper uses a phenomenological approach to show how this model works so effectively, and how it could be replicated for dance.Item Open Access Developing empathy and creativity through the virtual dance community(2023) li, zihaoThe present study explores the paradigm shift experienced by dance teachers, students, and artists in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from face-to-face to virtual environments. Drawing on the experiences and reflections of approximately 120 participants during the pandemic period, this investigation sheds light on the transformative potential of the virtual dance environment to promote empathy and community development by facilitating the communication of thoughts, feelings, and experiences through physical signals and written texts. The study provides an opportunity for dance educators, students, and artists to share problems, exchange ideas, and gain knowledge in response to the pandemic. The research reveals that students are more adaptable to virtual learning environments than teachers. Meanwhile, dance artists continue to evolve and innovate by promoting their works through social media and developing new channels. The study further demonstrates that the pandemicconstraints have fostered a spirit of innovation in teaching, learning, and performance in the dance field. The findings offer valuable insights and recommendations and provide a guide for future dance education and artistic practitioners in an ever-changing world.Item Open Access Five steps to a balanced body: a holistic 10-minute preparation for dance classes and movement activities(2023) Andrewartha, JaneThe focus of this report is in-class preparation for dance training classes in suburban dance studios and recreational settings, including young and adolescent dancers learning any style of dance. A transition from everyday activities to the activities of the dance lesson will be time-effective, engaging for the mind as well as the body, and relevant to the subsequent class work. The five steps is a short sequence that I have found to be an effective preparation for my own young and adolescent students in a suburban dance studio.Item Open Access Healthy or Harmful: National Experts talk about Children’s Dance(2023) Bawden, MaryThere is a dire need to protect children from hypersexualization through the use of evocative adult costumes, choreography and music, and to safeguard the art of children’s dance. Sexualized messages through the media influence children. These messages have become interwoven into children’s dance, which has increasingly led to harmful outcomes. There are many negative impacts related to the sexualization of children. Conversely, healthy dance has many positive outcomes for children. Education is required to shift mindsets, attitudes and cultural norms in the dance industry to prevent the sexualization of girls and boys. This report discusses the above issue.Item Open Access Introduction to proceedings of Dancing into Communities 2022 - The 15th conference of Dance and the Child International(2023) Cheesman, Sue; Fisher-Stitt, Norma Sue; Kipling Brown, AnnItem Open Access Locking in a virtual world(2023) Norman, TurnerIn our digitally interconnected world, the internet plays a pivotal role in daily life, including with a large proportion of education and the arts. This paper delves into street dance education, specifically focusing on the effectiveness of online learning compared to traditional, in-person, one-on-one mentoring. Utilizing a netnographic approach, we investigate the archive of locking tutorials available on YouTube, exploring how these platforms connect a global community of street dance practitioners.Item Open Access Panel Presentation: Dance Education: A Redefinition(2023) Koff, Susan; Kipling Brown, Ann; Sevilla, John-Mario; Mabingo, AlfdanielsDance Education: A Redefinition was published in 2021. Much of the ideas for this book arose when working with different daCi presentations over 25 years of conferences. For daCi 2023, I gathered three of the chapter authors (Ann Kipling Brown, John-Mario Sevilla, and Alfdaniels Mabingo) for a panel to summarize the book and introduce it to daCi audiences.Item Open Access Retrospection and Evolution(2022-07) Kipling Brown, AnnAnn Kipling Brown, made a trip down memory lane with the thoughts and ideas of the participants, using their own words and visual media to underline the journey and significant role of daCi. The keynote panel presentation celebrates and reflects upon Dance and the Child International (daCi), the one organization that focuses on all aspects of dance for young children and youth. It seemed appropriate in the 40th anniversary year of the organization that we consider daCi’s journey from its inception to the present day. To do this I explored the daCi and Boorman archives, talked and interviewed people who have worked so diligently to maintain the goals of daCi, and, of course, considered my own involvement with the organization. My recent conversations with Joyce revealed her continued passion and commitment to dance education through her reflections about her teaching, publications, workshops, connections with public schools and the children’s theatre.Item Open Access Teachers’ voices on Fresh Moves: A New Zealand regional primary school dance festival 21 years old(2023) Cheesman, SueAn independent local regional initiative by the Bay of Plenty Dance organisation, created Fresh Moves Dance Festival that reached a twenty-year milestone in 2021. This research probes how has this festival supported teachers to engage with Dance in the New Zealand curriculum? The article specifically focuses on differing teachers’ voices - delving into the achievements and the struggles from their varying viewpoints to help chronicle their part in the festival’s journey through the years. It asks: The issues, challenges, and successes in participating in this festival over time from specific teachers’ contexts will be unpacked and reflected upon. Findings offer insights into: how the festival plays an important role in supporting dance education within their school communities; and how a local initiative within dance can productively engage a school community in a way, that celebrates the creative spirit and this form of embodied learning.Item Open Access The Cascais Portugal Dance Project associated with a transformative pedagogy(2023) Alegre, LuisaThis project, committed to students from disadvantaged schools “Agrupamento de Escolas de Alcabideche – Cascais” between 2016-2018, aimed to promote the artistic practice of an integrated dance (body, rational and emotional) associated with transformative humanistic pedagogy. The project’s mission was closely linked to building a more present, integrated and participatory citizenship, focusing on the fight against poverty in all its forms, on the construction of peaceful, responsible societies and on the promotion of wellbeing and inclusive education. Project partners included the School Sports Program and the “Confiar Association” whose function is to prevent the risky behaviour of young people in the community. The project applied an integrative methodology involving 120 students between the ages of 9 and 15 years. The results revealed the collective learning capacity and self-improvement of all the agents involved.