Dance Educator’s Network - Critical Dance Pedagogy Network through Discourse and Practice

Project team

Dr Kathryn Stamp (Coventry University)

Professor Angela Pickard (Canterbury Christ Church University)

Funder

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

Collaborators

Canterbury Christ Church University (Lead)

Value of project

£75,651.18

Duration of project

16/10/23 -14/03/25

Project overview

The AHRC-funded Dance Educator’s Critical Dance Pedagogy Network challenges biases in dance education. Led by Professor Angela Pickard with co-investigator Dr. Kathryn Stamp, it brings together academics, educators, researchers, and industry stakeholders to examine social assumptions and power imbalances. Partnering with Universities across the UK and industry partners, it catalyses real action and change. Events include an Artist Lab in January 2024 and symposiums across the UK and Northern Ireland through 2024-25. Discussions will range from identity(ies) to pedagogical practices and leadership. Renowned international guest speakers from Scandinavia/Nordic and the US will also participate. The network promotes equity, diversity, inclusion, and student-centered pedagogy.

The steering group of industry partners for the network are: People Dancing, Dance HE, South East Dance, Parable Dance, Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA), Advancing Women's Aspirations in Dance (AWA), and Dance Mama. New Adventures are also supporting the planning of this network.

Project objectives

Project Aims:

1. Connect academics, dance educators, researchers, artists, industry stakeholders in the UK with international peers to support collaboration, and maximise opportunities for new thinking on the topic of Critical Dance Pedagogy
2. Foster interdisciplinary discussion amongst researchers whose fields of enquiry intersect with the topic of Critical Dance Pedagogy
3. Apply theory-practice connections through examination of issues through pedagogical and artistic studio practice

Project Objectives:

1. Deliver a series of four hybrid, interdisciplinary seminar-workshops to build capacity,support collaboration and knowledge exchange, and promote UK/Nordic/US connections (Intertextualities, identities and inequalities (Canterbury Christ Church University); Equity, diversity and inclusion (Coventry University); Pedagogy(ies) and practices (University of Edinburgh); Leadership and futures (Queen’s University Belfast)
2. Establish a steering group to ensure the benefits of the network and research are beyondacademia, and dance sector voices are fully integrated
3. Facilitate an Artist-Lab for dance artists to explore movement/practice-based researchareas/questions, pedagogies and practices related to investigating Critical Dance Pedagogy
4. Create a public engagement film of learnings/practices
5. Produce a dedicated Critical Dance Pedagogy network webpage that will disseminate activities and research outputs of the network
6. Generate publication outputs that will support future scholarly research, professional dance education/training, artistic/performance practices, and policy development

Outputs

Project website: https://www.criticaldancepedagogy.org/