CDEA NEWS
It’s amazing how time flies once the school year begins! I hope this E-Blast finds everyone happy, healthy and busily engaged in the good work of keeping the joy of dance alive. In last October’s E-Blast, we announced the upcoming February 2009 CDEA conferences. The two state conferences were successful events, but we’ve decided to take a different approach to building both community and professional capacity for the 2010 year – and take advantage of the fact that NDEO will be here in the West in 2010. The 12th Annual NDEO conference, “FOCUS ON DANCE EDUCATION: CREATIVITY, INNOVATION and 21ST CENTURY SKILLS,” will be held in Tempe, Arizona on October 20 – 24, 2010 – a year from now. We want to encourage as many of you as possible to submit proposals to present at this conference. Without a doubt, there is a veritable wealth of dance experience and expertise, history and innovation in California. Our Golden State is a gold mine with much to offer to the national dance education community. Therefore, it is our plan to present a series of proposal writing workshops in lieu of conferences in the upcoming year. The goal of these workshops will be to provide support, guidance and feedback to our members in preparing proposals for submission. The workshops will be held at the beginning of February 2010. Details and locations will follow in upcoming E-Blasts. The NDEO deadline for proposal submissions is April 1, 2010. The Call for Proposals and the format for submission can be found on the NDEO webpage under “Conference Overview.”
We need to honor and nurture ourselves as professionals in the field of dance education, and work to build professional capacity as both individuals and as a community. As the California community of dance education professionals, let’s come together and take advantage of the opportunity to rally around the 2010 NDEO conference as conference attendees and presenters. I can already imagine a caravan of Californians heading to Arizona!
As you read through the E-Blast, please take note, in particular, of the article from the California Alliance for Arts Education on the state of the Dance/Theatre credential. As we continue to move this issue forward, we need your feedback. As indicated at the end of the article, please join this week's discussion on their blog. PLEASE take a moment to go to http://artsed411.wordpress.com to see posted comments and leave your own. Your voices need to be heard!! Your input and feedback is vital to the effort.
Thank you for for all the good work you do. Stay healthy and happy, and keep the joy alive!
Shana Habel
Co-President, CDEA
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CDEA members are cordially invited to attend our November Board Meeting.
DATE: Sunday, November 8, 2009
TIME: 12 pm – 2pm
PLACE: Downtown LA (Details to follow as soon as the location is confirmed).
Please feel free to email Shana Habel if you have any questions regarding the meeting at shana.habel@lausd.net.
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CREDENTIALING FOR DANCE AND THEATER
The Alliance has long been pursuing separate credentialing for dance and theatre instructors in California as an important step toward quality, equity and access to arts education for every student in California. Nearly two thirds of states offer single-subject credentialing in these two disciplines. However, in California, theatre and dance teachers must be credentialed in other subject areas - most commonly they choose English, in the case of would-be theatre instructors, and Physical Education, in the case of would-be dance instructors.
The consequence of the lack of single subject credentialing in dance and theatre is that fewer teachers become highly trained instructors in these two arts disciplines, and in turn, California students are restricted in their ability to learn from highly trained dance and theatre teachers.
Recently, the Alliance met with key stakeholders to begin building consensus through collaboration to move this issue forward. Along with representatives from the California Dance Education Association and the California Educational Theatre Association, we presented the case for credentialing to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
An interesting dilemma emerged; the commission perceives a lack of demand for dance and theatre instruction in our schools, and a lack of demand in higher education for dance and theatre teacher training. The Alliance made the case that without highly trained teachers and full support for the arts in our public schools, it is impossible to properly ascertain such demand. Only when we treat all four disciplines - theatre, dance, music and visual art - as distinctive disciplines with professionally trained teachers can we properly ascertain the full demand for and benefits of learning through the arts.
The meeting with the credentialing commission was a friendly one that opened the door to future discussion and got the issue of dance and theatre credentialing back on the agenda for public education policymakers. We look forward to moving this issue forward in the coming months, and we will alert all of our statewide advocates when we feel it's time to raise our voices in public support of dance and theatre credentialing. Meanwhile, please join this week's discussion on our blog and tell us what you think about credentialing for theatre and dance. We're eager to hear your input as we shape the future of arts education policy in California.
Again, PLEASE take a moment to go to http://artsed411.wordpress.com to see posted comments and leave your own. Your voices need to be heard!!
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CDEA is one of the partners of the California Dance Network, an online resource for dancers, companies and teacher. The purpose of the CADN website is to strengthen, connect, unify and promote our state’s thriving dance field.
Over 2,010 resources listed in the state. Create your own free profile and add to the growing network.
If you are a dance artist, company, venue or fan, the California Dance Network is your free connection to the dance community in California. This growing website provides dance-related contacts throughout the state through an interactive map featuring dancers, teachers, performance spaces, dance suppliers, administration resources and more. You can also read news and reviews from around the country as well as post your own shows, workshops and events on a state-wide calendar.
More about the California Dance Network...
Along with creating a profile and connecting to the statewide network, we encourage you to plug into your local community by joining the partner organization in your vicinity. Regional membership gives you access to more resources and detailed information about dance in your area, including events, funding, and advocacy. Check out the organization nearest you:
To learn more about California's culturally-specific dance community: Alliance for California Traditional Arts (actaonline.org) and World Arts West (worldartswest.org)
Los Angeles and Vicinity: Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles (drc-la.org)
Central Coast/Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Dance Alliance (sbdancealliance.org)
San Francisco Bay Area: Dancers' Group (dancersgroup.org)
To connect with dance educators statewide, visit: California Dance Education Association (cdeadance.org)
The website empowers the California dance community by gathering census data about the dance field (which is vital toward our efforts for a dance teaching credential), compiling state-wide and national news about dance, and providing online tools to promote dance events and activities.
It is vital that you your dance voice be counted and heard. You can easily create a dance profile. Just click on the link below.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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ELIZABETH KAYE BALLET LECTURE SERIES
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The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute at the Colburn School presents the second in a series of lectures by noted ballet historian, Elizabeth Kaye on December 6, 2009 from 2:30 to 4:00 in Mayman Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, 90012. Admission is FREE.
The first lecture, “Ballet is a Family,” was held on September 27, and provided a history of ballet detailing the fascinating figures who comprise ballet’s “family tree.” The series will continue in the new year with lectures on February 14 and April 11, 2010.
(Shana’s Note: Elizabeth is a mesmerizing speaker/performer with a wealth of knowledge. These lectures are events in and of themselves not to be missed!)
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"ARTS FOR ALL" CASE STUDIES
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The Los Angeles County Arts Commission has just released a case studies report that fills a knowledge gap about arts education efforts: Arts for All: The Vanguard Districts – Case Studies from the First Five Years.
The case studies and cross-case analyses offer new insights about the differences between planning to restore arts education and making that plan a reality. While there is much research on the impact of arts education on learners, there is little on effective strategies for translating blueprints into action in the classroom. There is much to learn from the experiences of the first 11 school districts to join L.A. County’s initiative: Beverly Hills, Burbank, Castaic, Compton, Culver City, Hacienda La Puente, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Norwalk-La Mirada, Pasadena, Rosemead and Santa Monica-Malibu. They have made admirable progress toward implementing their plans although challenges and needs remain.
The report is available online at http://lacountyarts.org/artsed/casestudies.html, and there’s an executive summary if you want to see the highlights. The case studies for each of the eleven school districts also can be accessed separately. I hope you will pass on this message to colleagues whom you think it would interest.
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TANDY BEAL'S "MIXED NUTZ!" FOR THE HOLIDAYS
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The Nutcracker REMixed
. . . with circus, dance and song, returns to Santa Cruz this fall! Directed by Tandy Beal, this treasured holiday favorite has an exuberant and elegant twist with its multi-arts, multi-cultural cast. The production is co-presented with UCSC Theater Arts.
UCSC's Mainstage Theater
Nov 20th - Dec 6th
For tickets call: UCSC Ticket Office: (831) 459-2159
Santa Cruz Civic: (831) 420-5260
www.santacruztickets.com
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