Art's Critical Value: thoughts
Adesola's blog post "John Green - The Test - capacity to make connections." asked us to consider the role of arts or creative thinking in education. As I embark on module two I am looking carefully, not only at the course content that lies ahead, but also the qualities I possess (often without knowing) that can be of most use to me on the MAPP programme and that I can incorporate into further learning. The TED talk Adesola introduces to us in her blog shows Cindy Foley discussing the importance of creativity in education. In it Foley says that more increasingly creativity is being touted as the key to student success, economic growth and general happiness and she further advocates that the key to this creativity are three key traits that often come naturally to artists:
On reflection and comparison to my own practice, I came to the realization that these are qualities that as I dancer I have been exposed to for the majority of my dance education and subsequent career.
Comfort with ambiguity can be applied to numerous aspects of Dance creation and performance, whether it is the workshopping of a new work, learning of a new piece, or even the performance of a familiar dance piece to live music where the phrasing or tempi may be ever so slightly different causing ambiguity to even the most rehearsed and disciplined dancers.
Idea generation as a dancer is a daily occurence from the application of corrections or technique in a dancer's daily class or the constantly changing interpretation of a role.
Finally, Transdisciplinary Research is something that I feel is most unique to Dance Artists. Almost every dancer regardless of their training or ecomplishments has been exposed to an alternative form of dance whether that be through training in different disciplines or simply appreciating a different form of dance. This transdisciplinary awareness is exactly what Foley advoates as a key quality in creative thinkers.
This short talk has enabled me to reflect not only on the role creativity and the arts has in education but also key qualities I hold that I am becoming aware of on my learning journey and embodiment of the MAPP course.
Comfort with Ambiguity.
Idea Generation.
Transdisciplinary Research.
On reflection and comparison to my own practice, I came to the realization that these are qualities that as I dancer I have been exposed to for the majority of my dance education and subsequent career.
Comfort with ambiguity can be applied to numerous aspects of Dance creation and performance, whether it is the workshopping of a new work, learning of a new piece, or even the performance of a familiar dance piece to live music where the phrasing or tempi may be ever so slightly different causing ambiguity to even the most rehearsed and disciplined dancers.
Idea generation as a dancer is a daily occurence from the application of corrections or technique in a dancer's daily class or the constantly changing interpretation of a role.
Finally, Transdisciplinary Research is something that I feel is most unique to Dance Artists. Almost every dancer regardless of their training or ecomplishments has been exposed to an alternative form of dance whether that be through training in different disciplines or simply appreciating a different form of dance. This transdisciplinary awareness is exactly what Foley advoates as a key quality in creative thinkers.
This short talk has enabled me to reflect not only on the role creativity and the arts has in education but also key qualities I hold that I am becoming aware of on my learning journey and embodiment of the MAPP course.
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