Resource Review: PBS Learning Medium - DANCE
Reviewed by Christine Jackson
Resource Review: PBS Learning Medium - DANCE
Reviewed by Christine Jackson
PBS Learning Media hosts an extensive collection of resources to support Dance teachers, K-12. Resources are catalogued under the following headings:
Appreciation and Analysis of Dance Works
Dance Creation, Participation and Performance
Dance Forms
Society and History of Dance
The Dance Profession
Dance and Other Domains
While it is an American site, connections can readily be made to the Ontario curriculum.
photo: Juan Ordonez
photo: Hana Morris
photo: Kunal Parmar
The Appreciation and Analysis of Dance Works section aligns well with the Critical Analysis Process and the Dance Creation section reflects our Creative Process. There are numerous resources that reflect the Cultural Context and Forms section of the curriculum with videos of diverse dance forms - the Git-Hoan Raven Dance, the Cherokee Eagle Dance, Samba, Jamaican Tap, Ballet, Clogging - to name just a few.
The Dance Profession section may be of particular interest to secondary students and teachers as it is well aligned with The Foundations strand of the Grades 9-12 Arts curriculum. Various dance professionals are highlighted and topics such as possible career paths, health in dance, becoming a choreographer, and personal accounts of dancers’ experiences are included.
Dance and Other Domains offers lessons and approaches for curriculum integration. Some examples include lessons based on Dancing the Water Cycle, Dancing Stories, Dance and Geometry, Light and Gravity.
PBS also offers a Dance Arts Toolkit on this site. It is a rich resource for learning about dance, with topics such as the origins of modern dance, mini-lectures by various dance artists, and videos of performances by internationally renowned dance companies. A variety of dance styles, histories and cultural forms are included.
There is something useable or adaptable for every teacher, K-12, specialist or generalist, on this site. Enjoy scrolling!
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/the-arts/dance/?rank_by=recency