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Show , Spring/Summer 2003 page 17 participated in projects that have led to original dramatic work (e.g., a sixth grade fantasy in the genre of The Lord of the Rings). At the center of each of these projects is writing. It may be a different sort of writing than is typical of a university assignment. But it is powerful stuff. Currently, theatre education majors are completing a one-hour process drama on Macbeth. This piece will be taken to some 30 area elementary and secondary schools that will be coming to matinee performances of Pioneer Theatre Company's February/March production. The "script" has been through numerous drafts to make it evocative and comprehensive. During the process drama, K-12 students will take on the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, MacDuff, and the witches. They will move through exposition, to the rising action of the murders and madness, to the climax-from inside the work. From past experience, this sort of pre-show preparation pays large dividends for young audiences. And for our university students. Translating Words Into Movements BARBARA HAMBLIN, PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF BALLET I believe writing is of basic import to all of the arts. Writing about a work, keeping a notebook, or doing a critique can help the artist/writer to more fully understand the artistic process and outcome. In my courses, students are asked to answer essay questions on tests; write out technique classes using the French vocabulary; write research papers; keep personal journals of observations, self-assessments, and critiques; and write short observation papers after they see someone teach a dance class (ballet, jazz, folk, tap, etc.). In addition to the research paper, my ballet history students do a paper on a noted dancer, choreographer, or artistic director from a specific time period so they can better understand the social, political, and cultural atmosphere of the time and how that shaped the artist and his creations. In addition, students in the department of ballet do senior performance and teaching capstones for which writing is a substantial part of the credit. They also learn how to write a resume for job search purposes. Improving writing is one of our department goals. I spend the early part of the semester talking about common writing errors and how to avoid them. I encourage students to use simile and metaphor in their writing for interest and for the development of their own use of imagery as young dancers and future teachers. Students are encouraged to increase their vocabularies through using proper anatomical and musical terminology in their writing. Knowing how to spell and pronounce the French terms we use in ballet helps students to be more accurate, precise and clear in their thinking. As they are able to translate the meaning of the words into qualities in their movements and poses, their dancing improves. I feel that all of this writing helps students connect on a deeper level to what they are learning due to increased awareness of their preferences, weaknesses, strengths and focus. Also, writing benefits the students by providing exposure to the valuable resources and staff at the Marriott Library. My teaching essentials class meets with one of the librarians in the beautiful, new fine arts area of the library before they begin work on their research papers. They become more familiar with what art and dance holdings exist, where they are located, and how to better search for information. Student writing also helps me understand my students better. What they see or don't see and what they think about what they observe are often disclosed better through their writing than through asking questions in the classroom. Many dancers are shy and it takes a lot of nudging to get them to open up verbally. Many express themselves better through written communication than spoken word. With observation papers, it is interesting for me to see how students respond to my assigned questions and how they explain beliefs about a certain topic. Some focus only on what I ask them to write about, but others are more perceptive and have pertinent observations of their own to include. Students share their ideas and observations with each other after their papers have been graded and returned, and because each paper is unique, they get a lot of insights from listening to each other. I use these papers as a base for beginning a discussion, and I find that more students are willing to share ideas this way. When assigning research papers, I encourage students to enrich their knowledge and writing by searching for a broad, interdisciplinary topic rather than a narrow one, such as the biography of a dancer. As long as it has a connection to dance, it's fine. One engineering major I had in my history class a few years ago chose to combine his interest in architecture with dance and wrote a paper on the construction and development of the old 16th and 17th century theatres built in Denmark, France and Russia where ballets were performed and are still performed to this day. It is fascinating to see when students combine what they are learning in one class with studies in another class. |