Ralph Buck

This pivot offers an innovative approach to dance education, bringing a creative and inclusive dance education pedagogy into Chinese dance classrooms. Associate Professor Ralph Buck’s experiences of teaching dance at the Beijing Dance Academy and the possible implications for dance education in China lie at the heart of this text. Through a critical examination of personal teaching practice, pedagogical issues, trends and rationales for dance education in the curriculum are highlighted. Informed by constructivist ideals that recognise dialogue and interaction, this pivot suggests that dance can be re-positioned and valued within educational contexts when pedagogical strategies and objectives are framed in terms of teaching and learning in, about and through dance education.

Dance is intimately woven into the lives of the people of the Southern Mediterranean. It extends beyond studios and reaches into streets, homes, politics and families. It is expressed in a myriad of ways that reflect a cultural reality of hybrid, diverse and dynamic societies. But existing accounts of dance in the region have been subject to misinterpretation, succumbing to distorted, romanticized and exoticized impressions. Talking Dance - the Southern Mediterranean captures the true voices of dancers from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, as well as the other countries of the region. It provides a rich montage of stories that challenge existing representations of dance in the Southern Mediterranean, revealing the diverse cultural and political experience embodied in dance and emphasizing its central role in contemporary Middle East culture.