Dance Education Matters: Rebuilding Postsecondary Dance Education for Twenty-First Century Relevance and Resonance

TLDR

Postsecondary dance education, evolving from 1930s women’s physical education programs and expanding through the 1990s, now faces a critical juncture as recent developments threaten its stability and integrity. The article investigates four challenges—curricular equity, expansive dance programs, graduate study opportunities, and national leadership—and urges educators to re‑envision and broaden P‑12 dance education within the liberal arts to incorporate private studios, commercial dance, and community teaching. It offers recommendations and strategies for creating twenty‑first‑century dance education programs that are relevant and resonant beyond current confines.

Abstract

Postsecondary dance education is at a crucial juncture in its history in academe. Emerging from women's physical education programs in the 1930s, the profession's realignment with the arts broadly and arts-based education specifically has been characterized by ambitious goals and steady growth through the 1990s. However, a number of critical developments over the past decade have displaced many previous gains and undermined the overall stability and integrity of the field. Four primary challenges are investigated in this article: curricular equity, expansive dance education programs, graduate study opportunities, and national leadership. I urge dance educators and administrators to re-envision and expand P–12 dance education in the liberal arts tradition to include private studio, commercial-sector dance in community and related teaching professions. This article provides recommendations and strategies for developing relevant and resonant twenty-first-century dance education programs beyond current confines.