AMERICA BAILA FOLK DANCE COMPANY OF CHICAGO 

Teacher workshops in arts integration projects with ARTCORE and ARTEC teachers.

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Group Project: 20 teachers from various schools in the Waukegan Public School District

Duration: 3 hours per day, once a month, for 4 months. (October 19, November 23, February 8, and March 7)

Location: Waukegan High School, 2325 Brookside Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois 60085

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Project description

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The work with this group of participants was very different from that done with the children, as it involved the instruction of dances to teachers, who would then go on to implement these in artistic integration programs in their own classrooms. It was not only a matter of kindling a spark within the teachers, but also giving them an experience, they could then convey to their students. This objective was sought under the auspices of the educational projects ARTEC and ARTCORE. Our methodology was developed from August to December of 2019, and included examples from motivational classes and Indigenous games as we looked for ways to bring vitality and feeling to the teaching of children. How to instill Indigenous values through the medium and practice of dance was discussed and debated—and we came to consider this aim fundamental to the education of all the non-Indigenous students. The richness and depth of the Indigenous activities displayed during the dances left teachers with a meaningful experience—one they could then take back to their students and employ as an aid to the development of their capacities and a new way of learning the arts. Various motivational methodologies were deployed, with creative approaches tailored to each teacher’s particular interests, and emphasis placed on the lessons necessary for application to the arts. The centrality of the Peruvian Quechuan language to the dances meant the teachers had to learn the correct pronunciation of words in order to teach them to their students; this resulted in a realization of the special forms of communication this language can carry out. The teaching of the steps of the dances was divided up into manageable learning phases which allowed the teachers to move from zero ability all the way to a mastery of the movements; here games, music, and a grasp of indigenous technique, which is basically “follow the leader,” all played key roles. Via these lessons, the teachers learned that they can make excellent use of their students’ everyday movements—walking, running, and jumping, say—to achieve the objectives sought in their classes. They came to realize that Peruvian indigenous dance is not, after all, as difficult as many other dance disciplines—and that it has a great deal to offer in the indigenous knowledge it makes comprehensible. The tools used to carry out the gathering of data and analysis of our investigation were videos, photos, interviews and surveys made during and with reference to the teaching sessions.

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Location and setting

America Baila Folk Dance Company of Chicago

This organization seeks to establish and maintain a folk-dance company of the Americas, with its purpose to promote understanding of folk dance and culture. America Baila searches for opportunities to collaborate with schools and universities to prepare teachers to teach folkloric dance and to develop curricula, and is dedicated to the study and research of folkloric dance in its social context; they strive to preserve the dances’ authenticity and to increase social and cultural understanding between peoples. Their studies and investigations help provide a foundation for classes in folkloric dance, wardrobe, choreography and performance (Fischer, 2017, p.1).

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ARTCORE is a project that seeks to develop, distribute and integrate educational materials based in the arts, and to create programs which will increase access to arts education. They aim to improve the academic capacities of students in their creation and performance of, and response to, the arts. The project creates learning communities in which teachers and artists work side by side to demonstrate effective practices—those which will improve students’ learning. Their core activity is integrating arts education with education overall, helping students improve in both branches via arts creation and digital technology (Fischer, 2017).

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ARTEC is a partnership project between Waukegan Public Schools, National Louis University and America Baila Folkdance Company of Chicago. The project will be implemented in three elementary schools: Carmen-Buckner, Glenwood, and Whittier. A random selection of teachers, in grades 1 to 5, will participate in the project along with the art and music teachers in each school. This project will help students become immersed in artistic endeavors so that the arts become meaningful encounters with their realities, capabilities, and family cultural heritage. Students will discover deeper connections to art and find new excitement and relevance in their learning. Teachers will gain lasting capacity in teaching art and understand how to combine the power of the arts with technologies to engage students in learning (Fischer, 2017).

 

Story

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This workshop began with an outlining of the aspects of the subject we would cover and a discussion of the objectives of the ARTEC and ARTCORE projects. All of the classes went forward under the banners of motivation and Indigenous technique. Physical warming-up, and getting to know one’s body, were the preparations that then led into the creation of movements to represent flora and fauna, with special attention paid to the ways in which this process could instill positive social and cultural values, as well as respect for Nature. The teachers showed great interest in this warming-up technique, which they had not previously practiced, and they realized how it could be used to prevent injuries to their students before they set to dancing. A valuation of Nature in all its aspects, and a comprehension of the dynamics of this methodology, were highlighted throughout.

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A detailed Indigenous technique was used to teach the dance steps: it begins with the soft contact of the feet with the earth, then grows until it is as if we are making strong steps with each foot. Later, with these footsteps worked out within their site, movements directed to each of the four cardinal points are made, with both the body and the hands marking levels of space above, in the middle, and below. Thus, an immediate grounding in Indigenous technique leads to the ability to perform the steps of the dances. The participating teachers recognized the importance of this grounding to the entire process, and began thinking about how to share it with their students in the classroom setting. They also began to comprehend the worth of such a curriculum to non- Indigenous students. We then began to work with the teachers toward the creation of a choreographic sequence, with commentary on its cultural significance. In Indigenous Peruvian culture, to work as a group in a circle is to imitate the figure of the sun or moon; it also models worship of our Mother Earth. Lines enacted were the furrows of farming or the threads of wool which go into the making of a weaving; triangles, meanwhile, represented the mountains of the Andes, with squares evoking the year’s four seasons. Symbols and meanings from other cultures were also brought into the mix by the participating teachers, and related to Peruvian Indigenous understandings. In this way, all acquired greater cultural comprehension.

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The auditory aspect of the workshop focused on motivating the creation of personal sounds as a natural result of movements—movements, for example in imitation of animals, and such sounds from nature as rain, rivers, thunder and more. Soon, melodies were being understood in their entirety, from beginning to end, after a gradual increase in speed from slow, to normal, to sped-up. In this way bodily movement, united with the music in dance, came to be seen as a very powerful and effective educational tool. Whenever difficulties or obstacles arose, we worked together to find a solution, analyzing aspects of our motor or auditory activity in order to arrive at modified, more efficacious techniques.

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The quality of the dances as interpretation was also an abiding concern, with formational activities joining with considerations borne of attention to the art of theater. The character of each particular dance, and of the dancers, was always kept in mind. Each Indigenous dance is tied to or expressive of a ceremony, rite, festival, agricultural task or herding; as these are ancient activities, their representation and that of other key life-passages is of the profoundest importance to the indigenous Peruvian culture. Equally important to our growing understanding of the overall significance was a detailed knowledge of the iconography ruling the colors, designs and materials of the native costumes worn during the dances—especially as these related to the flora and fauna of the Andean region. The teachers made drawings of these, and took notes on their multiple meanings; they then would share this knowledge with their students, who, because of a budget earmarked for it, would eventually be making the appropriate outfits to perform in. The teachers’ knowledge of the wardrobe and immersion in all of the elements contained in the dances continued to grow, combining with their previous methods of teaching to suggest new approaches for the transmission of the educational content to their students. Through the use of native group games they made connections between the music, steps and expressive power of the dances, and became aware of various ways these elements could be coordinated for a use in their classrooms that would maximally validate the richness for education that can be supplied by indigenous art.

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One of the most powerful and gratifying results to emerge from this experience came when one of the teachers approached me in February to tell me that in December his students had performed the dances that he had learned in my workshop. This teacher said that his students had undertaken to realize a successful expression of all that he had learned from me, and that the children were very happy to have learned what they did. This teacher, whose nationality is Spanish, thanked me profusely and told me how much he had come to esteem Peruvian culture; he also added that he would continue to pursue further knowledge of other great world cultures. This was a positive proof of cultural transmission accomplished. (Arregui, 2019)

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Another moving moment for me came when the teachers were learning about Andean cosmology or “cosmo-vision.” In relation to this they made a star with an assortment of colorful pieces of lambs’ wool. They discovered many ways to form a star—and when I taught them how the indigenes did it, they considered it fascinating and relevant, and realized this would be a popular activity for the students. I explained to them that in Andean knowledge and tradition, an eight-point star is used as a symbol of harvest success, with two points on each side representing the agricultural calendar and the four seasons. In connection with this is the belief that a poorly constructed star, one that falls apart, will result in a very poor harvest, while a well-made star will lead to a bountiful harvest. The teachers found this little-known concept of great value and significance—and rightly regarded it as one more example of the productive contribution to arts education that Peruvian indigenous history and cosmogony can make.

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