Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: Dance
- Creators: Caves, Larry
- Resource Type: Text
Description
The purpose of this case study is to observe how social dance combined with somatic practices can encourage internal, physical perception and experiences of the body perceived from within for an adolescent boy with high functioning autism and dyspraxia; an impairment or immaturity of the organization of movement (Boon 7). More specifically, this research seeks to observe the impact that social dance instruction can have on an individual’s kinesthetic responsiveness, such as efficiency in movement patterning through increased movement awareness and somatic facilitation. In addition, this study seeks to observe the impact that social dance lessons could have on the participant’s communication and listening skills; attentiveness; initiation of movement, such as taking the role of a leader and lead patterns; organization of movements, such as performing movements within a specific order; and performance of movements that might lead to personal and social growth. Finally, this study investigates exercises from Alexander Technique and ways to incorporate them into pedagogical practices for adolescents with psychological limitations.
ContributorsPeltcs, Diona (Author) / Dyer, Rebecca (Thesis advisor) / Kaplan, Robert (Committee member) / Caves, Larry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The goal of this study was to look at touch and dance from different views to gain a better perspective on the benefits of touch, mainly when used in dance and also perhaps in broader contexts. Part of this investigation also looked at the stigmatized view of touch in the American culture and in turn the lack of knowledge about, and comfort with touch in our society. A personal research component involved the creation of a solo reflecting about the question of why I connect with touch so intensely. The bulk of the study involved facilitating touch experiences in two introductory level dance classes for high school students. Daily journal entries were collected from each of the eighty students that focused on their personal experiences with touch in a series of six movement sessions. The study shows that bringing touch to the dance classroom has multiple benefits, including promoting a greater understanding and acceptance of the sense of touch, a positive impact on students' views about dance, and a break down of preconceived notions about the mind and the body.
ContributorsSteinken, Brigitte Rose (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Dance (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The action of running is difficult to measure, but well worth it to receive valuable information about one of our most basic evolutionary functions. In the context of modern day, recreational runners typically listen to music while running, and so the purpose of this experiment is to analyze the influence of music on running from a more dynamical approach. The first experiment was a running task involving running without a metronome and running with one while setting one's own preferred running tempo. The second experiment sought to manipulate the participant's preferred running tempo by having them listen to the metronome set at their preferred tempo, 20% above their preferred tempo, or 20% below. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether or not rhythmic perturbations different to one's preferred running tempo would interfere with one's preferred running tempo and cause a change in the variability of one's running patterns as well as a change in one's running performance along the measures of step rate, stride length, and stride pace. The evidence suggests that participants naturally entrained to the metronome tempo which influenced them to run faster or slower as a function of metronome tempo. However, this change was also accompanied by a shift in the variability of one's step rate and stride length.
ContributorsZavala, Andrew Geovanni (Author) / Amazeen, Eric (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Committee member) / Vedeler, Dankert (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
According to a survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts, 32% of adults in the United States participated in social dancing in 2012, more than any other form of art-making and art-sharing. Partnership dance styles including Ballroom, Latin, and Swing are the most commonly practiced forms of social dancing. T.V. shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" have piqued the interest of local high schools in partnership dance. Arizona State University's (ASU) School of Film, Dance and Theatre (SoFDT) is uniquely positioned to leverage the large partnership dance program and the vibrant Phoenix Metro partnership dance community to address this interest. The School of Film Dance and Theatre should implement a course teaching partnership dance in local high schools. The class will be modeled after existing student teaching programs with changes made to reflect the requirements of teaching partnership dance. Specifically, ASU students will spend one day a week teaching a partnership module in a local high school and one day a week developing pedagogical skills in a lecture and discussion group format. High school students will learn the basic steps of 3 dances and perform a partnership dance showcase. ASU students will get hands-on experience teaching as part of a team in high school settings. This program fulfils ASU and SoFDT goals by making dance accessible to new audiences and engaging students in the local community. This proposed program benefits current undergraduate students by developing a functional understanding of teaching partnership dance in a group setting. Beyond ASU, it stands to give high school students a chance to learn a cost-prohibitive art and teach them a lifelong skill.
ContributorsLangenbach, William Paul (Author) / Caves, Larry (Thesis director) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project concerns justification for why partner dance, particularly ballroom dance, should be a part of the Arizona public-school curriculum. It consists of a review of peer-reviewed scientific research on the subject, as well as interviews conducted with local experts on dance. Moreover, a sample curriculum is supplied that should provide guidance on how to implement a ballroom dance program in the K-12 system. The goal of this paper is to empower educators to create ballroom dance programs in their schools, with the ultimate plan to help develop students into better citizens.
ContributorsAdams, Benjamin J (Author) / Kaplan, Robert (Thesis director) / Tsethlikai, Monica (Committee member) / Caves, Larry (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Impermanence is constant within the world humans live in; the physical environment is ever-changing, parallel with human evolution. Although the moment of a human lifespan is fleeting in comparison to their surrounding landscapes, the evidence of movement that lapses through time and space in relation to body and place reveals a hidden dance that soars across the history of humankind. This document explores the relationship between moving bodies and various environments, specifically how an individual’s perception of place influences the way people dance. Given the author’s background as a choreographer, performer, and filmmaker, the goal and method of this document is to understand the author’s and his ensemble of dancers’ perceived senses within a given geographic environment and to merge personal dialect in an artistic product. Ultimately, what was found was translating into an evening-length, movement-centered presentation.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
ContributorsFung, Lawrence (Author) / White, Marcus (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
While growing up, I was placed into dance classes, dance started out as a hobby, but as I grew up it became a way for me to escape from the struggles life itself brings. While I was taking a dance culture class at Arizona State University, I stumbled across research that revealed that dance does not just help people like myself, but it also has the ability to help those with more difficult life-altering situations like Parkinson’s Disease. With having about 970 million adults aged 65 years old and up (United Nations), around 10-million of these individuals have Parkinson’s Disease (PD) (Parkinson’s New Today). With these large numbers, Parkinson’s is the second leading neurodegenerative disease worldwide (Parkinson’s News Today) behind Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s is a motor system disorder that affects the production of dopamine in one’s brain (Harvard). With the current treatment of PD being medication as well as surgical therapy based on the severity of each patient (Parkinson’s Foundation), there is one form of treatment that has been tested but not certified, partnership dancing. The way that partnership dance benefits those with Parkinson’s Disease is by using many areas of the brain to facilitate dopamine production. The four main areas used are the motor cortex, the somatosensory, the basal ganglia, and lastly the cerebellum (Harvard). With the vast amount of existing research, as well as the information gained through secondary research, I feel as though there needs to be a study to open the development of partnership dance as a therapy modality for those with many of the forms of degenerative mental diseases. Although unable to put on this research, I have outlined what this study could look like to be continued in the hopes of having partnership dance become a certified form of therapy for those with Parkinson’s Disease.
ContributorsMillar, Cayla Briann (Author) / Caves, Larry (Thesis director) / Kaplan, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05