Dance assessments .... Whats the value?

Now I'm heading into Module 2 of my MA an area that really interests me is assessments.
Assessing a dance genre can be subjective, as what I enjoy watching you may not. However there still needs to be an appreciation of the technical content as well as the artistic content of what is being performed, whether it be contemporary, classical, hip hop, krump, African etc. the list can go on.
How we assess students, how we feed back this information to them and the time span in which it done is extremely relevant to the young people that we are training.
I hope to examine the effectiveness, currency, relevance and validity of dance assessments within the professional performance training sector of students aged 16 years plus.

Do you think assessments have a place in the current training system?
Are we forced to assess to ensure our awarding bodies are satisfied?
Is too much emphasis placed on assessments? for both staff and students.
Is there unnecessary pressure on young people who are already aiming for perfection?
Are casting agents interested ?
How can we be more current/should we be more current?

I am just creating lots of questions and hope eventually to answer some, although is there an answer? Perhaps this ill raise even more questions.

I'm really interested if anyone has any ideas or views on this subject matter.

Comments

  1. Anthea Garratt13 August 2018 at 10:04

    Hi Julie,
    I've been doing the same by raising questions for my research proposal. I'm nowhere near a place where I have found a particular topic that I want to focus on. However, ideas have manifested through reading and investigation not only about dance, but other art forms that collaborate with it.
    I am interested in your ideas about assessment and I feel as a teacher working within professional vocational schools, formal assessments once per year in core subjects are vital to establish targets and progression. From a teaching perspective, for me, assessment informs planning and each cohort differs in terms of standard and achievement. I feel the formality of an assessment encourages students to focus and work towards achieving their targets. They gain experience in working under pressure, equipping them for auditions.

    I am interested to hear your thoughts about formative assessment within the studio setting and as part of group or individual tutorial. I have found peer assessment, video playback, dialogue, reflection and discussion are also effective methods of evaluation and progression.

    In my past experiences, I have been overloaded with formal assessment report writing particularly when it's twice per year with two to three large cohorts. If our formative assessment methods are effective enough, then I think formal assessments in core disciplines once-per-year is sufficient.

    Personally, I'm not aware of any casting agents who would be interested in assessment grades. However, I don't know of many that would employ a dancer in a professional contract without formal training.

    With regards to your question 'how can we be more current?' Would be a good idea to speak to industry agents, directors, choreographers to ask what they are looking for? Perhaps this could establish stronger links to the industry and generate ideas for new and more current assessment strategies.

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  2. Agata Lawniczak19 August 2018 at 15:34

    Hi Julie,

    Really interesting topic! And the discussions, you can have around that topic are endless. This MAPP journey so far has actually raised many questions for myself as well, regarding a variety of aspects of evaluation and assessment in professional and pre-professional dance training.
    One aspect, that I find really interesting, is the role of the student in the feed back process and how the assessment process can become more of a dialogue? Instead of just "dumping" grades and feed back on them, leaving the students in a passive position, trying to get them more involved, ask them more questions, make sure they actually understand the feed back and where it is coming from, encourage reflection and figure out together on where it makes sense to put the focus next in their learning process. So, that it becomes more about growth, rather than another grade achieved. But this is theory and I am still looking for ways, how to implement them into practice.
    So I am looking forward to reading more of your thoughts, as your research continues.

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