Teachers’ communication style
In a study that examined how dance teachers expressed themselves verbally in teaching situations, the findings demonstrated that insights regarding the expressive values of movement were communicated verbally to a certain extent, but in a very vague manner and in a way that was difficult for outsiders to interpret (Englund & Sandstrom, 2015). Nonetheless the teachers assumed that the students understood.
Feedback
In another study, exploring instructor feedback, it was found that students were treated differentiable based on which dance genre they participated in, linked to the teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards the genres. Students in the jazz class received less instructive feedback than students in the modern dance class (Bibik, 1996).
Finally, in a systematic review of the literature from the embodied cognition theory, focusing on the dancers’ perspectives (Ribeiro & Fonseca, 2011), communication styles during dance improvisation were investigated.
Findings indicated that when dancing, dancers share subjective experiences that are filled by their senses, memories, expectations, states, body condition, personal history, space, and time. It was suggested that dance improvisation is characterized by the interaction and communication between bodies and the environment, as well as supported by affective and cognitive systems (Ribeiro & Fonseca, 2011).
Bibik, J. M. (1996). Differential treatment of whole classes by a university dance teacher. Sport, Education and Society, 1(2), 215-225.
Englund, B., & Sandstrom, B. (2015). ‘Expression’and verbal expression: on communication in an upper secondary dance class. Research in Dance Education, 16(3), 213-229.
Ribeiro, M. M., & Fonseca, A. (2011). The empathy and the structuring sharing modes of movement sequences in the improvisation of contemporary dance. Research in Dance Education, 12(2), 71-85.
