Experiencing Dance

Helene Scheff has been a dance educator and administrator for 45 years in both the public and private sectors. A graduate of the famed NYC High School of Performing Arts, Scheff has trained in New York, Chicago and California. She is a former Joffrey Ballet dancer and has taught and choreographed for the University of Kansas, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Rhode Island College. She has served as vice president of dance and conference coordinator for RIAHPERD, vice president of dance for EDA and treasurer for the Rhode Island Alliance for Arts in Education. Marty Sprague is a professional choreographer and performer with 29 years of experience in public dance education. She is also a dance educator at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence and is a trainer for the National Centre for Education and the Economy Course I, Standard Based Curriculum, a professional development course for standards-based teaching and learning. Susan McGreevy-Nichols has been teaching at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, USA since 1974. She is the founder and director of the inner-city school's dance programme in which more than 300 of the school's 900 students elect to participate. She also lectures across the USA on setting up dance programmes in public schools, assessing dance and writing grants for dance programmes.

Part I What is Your Movement Potential? Chapter 1. Surveying Your Instrument: Body at Work; Chapter 2. Rituals: Warming-up/ Cooling down; Chapter 3. Choose a Dance Form That Suites You: Identity Search; Chapter 4. Learning More Than Steps: "No such thing as a dumb dancer." Part II When Does Movement Become Dance? Chapter 5. One Movement is Worth a 1000 Words: Expressing Ideas and Emotions; Chapter 6 When Does Movement Become Dance: Dance as an Art Form; Chapter 7 Connecting to Community and Tradition: Dance as a Cultural/Historical/Social Form; Part III How To Become a choreographer; Chapter 8. Assembling the Tools: Create Dances; Chapter 9. Crafting your Dance: Choreography; Chapter 10. Showcasing Your Work: Curtain Up - Light the Lights; Part IV How To Become a Performer; Chapter 11. Learning to Dance in Different Ways: Your Training; Chapter 12. Dealing with Realities: Locating and Identifying Situations That Suit Your Dance Needs; Part V How To Refine Yourself as a Dance Artist; Chapter 13. Expanding Your Horizons: Learning From the Works of Others; Chapter 14. Strut You Stuff: Sharing Your Art Form; Chapter 15. Developing your Portfolio as a Marketing Tool: Next Steps