JohnTaylor Dance



Dance in its nature transforms ideas and emotions into movement sequences that are both personally and culturally significant. In light of this, the focus of Jazz Dance will be to delve deeper into dance expression with a focus on both performing and leadership within the classroom and/or the community.

Dance programs within our division are on the rise and to help promote the growth of our students and the development of new dance courses students will be expected to take on a leadership role either in the classroom or in the community.

To achieve this, the students will continue to use intuition and imagination to express emotion and communicate meaning as they participate in class. Improvising and forming movement patterns and compositions lead to the development of choreographic skills to create culturally authentic or personally original works in dance. Individual creativity is encouraged and developed as students explore movement in spontaneous and structured assignments. As they learn to express their feelings and ideas through movement, they grow in the ability to develop choreography. Through shared experiences student develop respect and appreciation for the uniqueness of each individual’s expression. Communicating through physical movement, they learn more about the body as an instrument of artistic expression.

Students will learn about the deep, complex heritage of dance derived from the contributions of all cultural groups, past and present. And understanding of dance history helps students recognize and appreciate the cultural differences and commonalities that make up the human experience. By studying the historical, cultural, social and contemporary expressions of dance, students uncover the influence of one cultural style or another. As they share personal cultural experiences and ideas, they can connect elements of individual traditions with those of shared cultures. Through the study of history of dance, students can examine historical and cultural concepts, events, and themes in diverse contexts.

The students will also continue with aesthetic valuing which will enable the students to make critical judgments about the quality and success of dance compositions and performances based on their own knowledge, experiences and perceptions. Through oral and written analyses, they reveal their opinions, newly acquired knowledge, and criteria for evaluating dance. The criteria for making critical judgments emerging from discussions between students and teachers are often guided by professional examples and expert opinion. When viewing a dance performance in class, or on video, or at a live concert, students critique the performance, using appropriate aesthetic criteria. They might consider, for example, whether the performer exhibits proper posture, balance, and coordination or maintains consistent and appropriate rhythm throughout the performance.

Described as an exciting, vibrant art useful in an educational setting, dance helps students develop by unifying their physical, mental, and emotional lives. Dance education programs include opportunities for the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, cooperation and teamwork, self expression and self awareness, organization and problem solving, cultural literacy, and communication of emotions through movement. These important abilities can be applied to situations occurring in the workplace and throughout life.