This paper traces the history of the dance as a religious expression. Dance rituals identifying with a deity predate written history and have persisted in all cultures up to modern times. Individual and group ecstacy induced by dancing enacted man's relationship to God as well as interpreting God to people of widely different cultural backgrounds.…

The theme of this bicentennial perspective on American dance is "Heritage, Festival, Horizons." The heritage section highlights dance activities of colonial America; the festival section answers the question, "Why do we have cause to celebrate?"; and the horizon section presents some of what is happening now in dance and what…

A discussion of ways an adult can encourage and participate in a child's self-expression through movement and dance. (BD)

The premise that effects of maturational timing are mediated by social context is explored by comparing adolescent girls in dance and nondance schools. The findings are discussed in terms of a goodness of fit between the requirements of a social context and a person's physical and behavioral characteristics. (Author/LMO)

Reviews the problem of defending expressive arts education within a rationalistic, reductionist, outcome-oriented educational milieu. Maintains that until expressive arts are seen as being mainly concerned with the development of mind, in the broad sense, the status of expressive arts in curriculum theory and educational practice will remain…

In the fall of 1996, the State Board of Education adopted Vermont's Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities. Over the years, the aim has been to make the standards more useful as guides to curriculum development. In 2000, the standards were formally revised and again adopted by the State Board. In 2004, another chapter in the standards,…

Few national studies have been conducted on students' receipt of arts instruction, particularly in the early grades. To address this gap in the literature, this Issue Brief provides a descriptive look at the prevalence of arts instruction received by first and third grade public school students in their schools. Using spring 2000 and spring 2002…

The Focus on NAEP series briefly summarizes information about the ongoing development and implementation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each of the five issues in this collection provides an overview of an aspect of NAEP assessment related to the arts. The issues are: (1) "The NAEP 1997 Arts Education Assessment:…

Student assessment is dependent on the educational views of the teacher. Arts pedagogy in comprehensive schools has several approaches, orientations, and even genres, each in turn having hidden practices of student evaluation. These stem on the one hand from the pedagogical tradition of the field (music, visual arts, drama, craft) and on the other…

In this document, standards for knowledge and skill acquisition of Maine students in the visual and performing arts are identified. The document serves as a guideline for teachers regarding what students should know and be able to do at various checkpoints throughout arts education. The arts identified include dance, music, theater, and visual…

Dance instruction is an integral part of the curriculum at Marymount Secondary School, Tarrytown, New York. Photographs by Shirley Zeiberg. (DS)

American music educators are a major part of the continuing change in music curriculum that has been planned for public school music of presentday America. (Author/RK)

Son Jarocho (specifically from Veracruz) is a song-and-dance form originating in Spain and implanted in Mexico during 17th- and 18th-century colonization. The jarocho style of music today is one of Latin America's most unique forms, using one to four instruments and characterized by its distinctive rhythm. (LC)

The physical education experience is designed to develop student interest and motivation through flexibility and variety. An elective program was developed to give the students freedom to choose appropriate activities. Emphasis was placed on physical fitness as a lifetime pursuit. (JN)

A series of articles discusses the development of ballet instruction in secondary and higher education, beginning ballet in high school and in college, teaching techniques, ballet for visually handicapped students, and methods for the prevention of injuries in beginning students. (JN)