Expanding Arts Education For Our Young Performers ● What models exist for providing online performing and athletic arts courses and credits? ● What skills, knowledge, and attitudes do performing and athletic arts students need to develop for success? ● What makes the Coilean Arts courses more effective than other models? ● What is the potential for students if they take Coilean Arts courses...why should studios recommend them? External Credits Program in BC - Requirements for Students to Receive Credits (this program is currently under review by the Ministry) Students who participate in performance training in the community can take exams or provide evidence of their participation at specific levels to receive high school credit. This exists for dance, drama, figure skating and gymnastics. The standards for receiving credit are very high, much higher than what would be required to receive credit for similar courses taken in high school. External Credits Program in BC - Requirements for Students to Receive Credits (this program is currently under review by the Ministry) In the dance world, for example, dance exams are divided into 3 categories: class, vocational, and professional. To receive grade 10, 11, or 12 credit, students usually have to complete the vocational exams. These are exams for people wanting to dance for a living. They are just below the exams required to teach dance professionally. For figure skating and gymnastics, students must generally compete at the regionals, provincial and national levels, and they must place very well. See this chart for a list of what is required in the different art forms. A Critical Look at the External Credit System for Performing Arts in BC PROS CONS Graduation credit for training without taking Number of courses (and therefore credits) limited by the organization’s up a course during the timetable. agreement with the Ministry and the student’s connection to a particular organization. Recognizes time spent training outside of the Recognition is unequal. The examination student is performing, technically, timetable as having educational value. far beyond a grade 10 student in a brick and mortar school, but both are earning the same credit. In a school with a dance program, the novice student could actually earn more credits, with higher grades than the studio student. Most exam students receive a TS, rather than a percentage. Training provided only meets a technical standard, not an academic one. Testing must be paid for by the student; it can cause stress and anxiety to the student as examiners are international examiners and standards are high. No opportunity for choreography classes or conditioning classes for credit. Models of Dance Courses and Credits Bricks and Mortar: Studio Training and International Exams: ● open to all students ● students divided by age and ability ● class size of 25-30 is typical ● class size of 3 - 20 ● no cost for lessons ● parents pay for lessons, exam fees, competition fees, costume fees, solo fees, etc. ● focus is on learning ● focus is on learning technique according to choreography for a showcase the syllabus ● earn technique needed for the ● choreography developed around the skills choreography as set out in the syllabus ● may have a project where ● no tasks outside of training and learning students create choreography in choreography for performances small groups What is “Performing” (with regards to dance)? ● Technical Mastery ○ Ability to perform specific movements ○ Ability to perform higher level movements and learn choreography ● Performance Ability ○ Character, ○ Relationship, ○ Emotion, ○ Stage Presence, ○ Understanding of Context of your Movements ○ Understanding of Lyrics, WITH all the previous ingredients What would we want for our future performers? ● Technical Mastery ○ Ability to learn choreography ○ Ability to perform movements at a high level 1. What do Dance Studios provide? ● Performance Ability ○ Character, 2. What do in-school Dance 10-12 ○ Relationship, programs provide? ○ Emotion, 3. What is often considered the ○ Stage Presence, ‘parent’s responsibility’? ○ Understanding of Lyrics 4. What is often considered the ● Understanding of Context of their Art ‘student’s responsibility’? ○ Emerging and historical techniques and styles ○ History/Knowledge of significant figures ● Understanding of How to Watch/Discuss Art ● Artistry -- Bridging the Gap, being an Artist ● Ability to Rehearse/Collaborate with Others ● For them to be safe physically & emotionally Is this ‘fair’? Nobody is ‘at fault’ here. ● Technical Mastery -- Dance Studio Teachers ○ Ability to learn choreography are getting paid, primarily, to ○ Ability to perform movements at a high level teach technique. That is ● Performance Ability what the parents want. ○ Character, ○ Relationship, -- Bricks and Mortar ○ Emotion, teachers have students with ○ Stage Presence, ○ Understanding of Lyrics disparate experience levels, forcing them to teach for a ● Understanding of Context of their Art choreographed show. ○ Emerging and historical techniques and styles ○ History/Knowledge of significant figures -- “Emotional and Physical ● Understanding of How to Watch/Discuss Art Well Being” has long been ● Artistry -- Bridging the Gap, being an Artist seen as the parent’s role. ● Ability to Rehearse/Collaborate with Others ● For them to be safe physically & emotionally Let’s look at how we might provide more comprehensive curriculum to support students for more effective learning . . . In fully comprehensive courses, In courses supported by a community such as our Drama 10 - 12: organization, such as our Dance 10 - 12: ● Focus on a specific technique, training or ● Exposure to various techniques and exercises, philosophy at each grade level. curated from professional communities. ● Exercises to highlight that training, with ● High-quality passion projects, designed to examples. deepen a student’s learning, with feedback on ● High-quality, regular assignments, with submissions from a professional performer. feedback on submissions from a professional ● Curriculum dealing with History, Emotional performer. Self-Care, Injury Prevention, Strengthening, ● Focus on preparing a performance piece Goal Setting, and much, much more. through skills learned in the course. Let’s look at some sample learning activities from the Coilean Arts courses . . . Drama 10 On Dramatic Memorization & Attending to Grammar -- With Exemplar and Example Videos Dance S.M.A.R.T. -- The process introduced for Dance Foundations Students, to help work on their process Gymnastics On Recovery from an Injury -- Instant reactions, long-term processes, videos of research and experiences What does the Dance Studio, Skating Club or Gymnastics Club have to do? Sign the bottom of student-completed forms to ● Confirm the student’s training schedule ● Confirm attendance of the first month of training A short assessment of the student’s progress, using a checklist provided by the school. The assessment is used to inform the teacher’s assessment of the student’s growth. What does it cost and who can enrol? There is no cost to the students or the studio/club, beyond the training costs they already pay. Some districts may provide program support funds to offset a portion of the training fees. These funds would be paid to the studio/club on behalf of the student. This service is available to all students in grades 10-12. Some schools will admit students as early as grade 8 to start working on a grade 10 course. Why do we feel it is appropriate to Credit Gymnasts and Figure Skaters with Dance Credit? ● They have their own history as art forms. ● They require technical mastery in the same way as dance does, both require exceptional control over the body. ● They have distinct “styles” or “events” that can be specialized in. ● They have expectations on them to perform as characters and storytellers in the same way as dancers. ● They face similar physical and emotional stresses and strains, so they need similar tools. Why do we feel it is appropriate to Credit Gymnasts and Figure Skaters with Dance Credit? Gymnasts, Figure Skaters and Dancers have similar needs, are engaging in a similar athletic, performative art, and have similar learning outcomes to those outlined by the ministry for Dance courses. Dance is performing on a stage, figure skating is performing on ice, and gymnastics is performing on a mat or in an auditorium. The environment of the art, should not preclude a student from receiving credit for their training, commitment and development. ● We know that our students are not consistently receiving all of the tools that they need to be successful performers. This includes: ○ Acting and Performance ○ Dance History ○ Choreographic Process and Notation ○ Study of Anatomy and Muscle Structure (From an Injury Prevention Standpoint) ○ Study of Nutrition and Hydration ○ Study of Mental, Emotional and Physical Self-Care, including Stress Management ● We know that a set of resources, in the form of courses offered by Coilean Arts Inc., can give these students access to these tools. ● We know that there is no cost to the student, to the family, or to the studio. Why wouldn’t we want our young performers to have access to these courses? To find out how you can become involved, email Heather at info@coileanarts.com or explore our website at http://coileanarts.com .
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