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Democratizing Research Literature

Research can help push our field forward, with data to help advocate for dance, and inquiry and findings that keep us curious and keep us discovering and getting better at what we do. So often the research that’s been done is only available via university databases and costly subscriptions. With accessibility in mind, Luna is offering a new seminar, Democratizing Research Literature, as part of our Teacher as Creative Practitioner Scholar series. Taught by Luna's founder Dr. Patricia Reedy, this course will support you in accessing, critically examining and building upon current dance research, and developing your own research project. Tune into research and help change our field!

September 9-November 18

alternating Saturdays

9:30am-12:30pm Pacific

via Zoom

$360

Details & Registration

Early Childhood Dance

& Social-Emotional Learning

How does dance intersect with children’s sense of self, and their connection with others? Discover dance activities that support young children’s exploration of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, interactions and relationships. Taught through a culturally responsive lens, this interactive workshop centers around cultivating belonging, inclusion and community through creative dance play. For all who work with young children.

Saturday, September 16

1-4pm Pacific

via Zoom

$190

Register here

OUSD, BUSD and MCOE ECE teachers can participate tuition-free, RSVP to jperena@lunadanceinstitute.org

Coming up: Early Childhood Dance & Math October 14

Practitioner Exchange:

Restarting & Reimagining

As you get back into teaching, how are you restarting, and reimagining your curriculum, your classroom, your practice? How are you holding space for yourself and your students as artists, as co-learners, as community members? What new goals do you have for yourself for this new year? Connect and reflect with fellow dance educators in this casual conversation hosted by teaching artists Genoa Sperske and Alisa Clayton. 

Thursday, September 28

4:30-6pm Pacific via Zoom

$15-40, or $28 for unlimited Exchanges for 12 months

free for PL Users - RSVP to jperena@lunadanceinstitute.org

Details here

Dance educators, Practitioner Exchanges are a place for you! We hold these collaborative community roundtables each month around different inquiry topics. Bring your questions, your reflections, your experience to these conversations. All welcome.

Read about the impact of Practitioner Exchanges in Director of Programs Jochelle Pereña's research article, Through the Lens of Improvisation: Dance Educators Find Voice and Agency through Transformative Conversations.

Radical Research panel recording

Did you miss our June panel, Radical Research: deepening + disrupting dance practices with Crystal U. Davis, John-Mario Arcilla Sevilla, Pei-Ling Kao, and Rosy Simas? Check out our recording here to discover how these four BIPOC dance artist scholars are actively shaping the field of research.

California advocacy resources:

dance teachers in schools & network communities

California's Prop 28 ensures more public school access to the arts, and 80% of Prop 28 funds will go towards hiring arts teachers. But because the dance credential is still new, there are not enough credentialed teachers to fill the positions that will open. How can we bridge the gap? What are the pathways to being credentialed in dance?

Check out these two new resources to understand your options, and share with your administrators:

Prop 28: What We Know (So Far) from Create CA

School Districts Need Arts Teachers from California County Superintendents Arts Initiative

TCAP’s (The California Arts Project) statewide and regional arts education network communities support TK–12 through post-secondary dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts educators. Their every-other-month, free virtual network sessions provide opportunities for teachers and administrators to stay informed of statewide and regional arts education news, issues, and to engage in dialogue with others on critical arts education topics. Join to expand your advocacy network! First session is September 28, more details here.

More on Prop 28:

New Opportunities webinars and article

As California school districts await the disbursement of Prop 28 funds, and guidelines for how these funds can be spent, we can prepare ourselves for getting involved. Administrators, classroom teachers, teaching artists, students, and families - we all can advocate for the kinds of arts programming we'd like to see. As dance educators, we need to show up in advocacy so dance can be included! Our friends at Create CA, CA PTA, Arts for LA, Friends of Sacramento Arts, and Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area offer guidance on calls to action for Prop 28. Sign up for one of their New Opportunities for Arts Education webinars on September 19, 10am or on September 21, 6pm. Details here.

For more about Prop 28, check out CA's Department of Ed official website, and Karen D'Souza's article, "Behind the scenes: California's new arts education plans".

Resource from the community: understanding the CA Dance Standards

Are you new to California's Dance Standards & Framework, or need a little refresher? Check out California Arts Education Framework's resource pages, that help you think about topics addressed in the standards, like enduring understandings and Universal Design for Learning, and walk you through how to use the framework.

National advocacy resource:

Arts in Education Week webinar

Did you know National Arts in Education Week is September 10-16? Americans for the Arts will be recognizing the value of the arts in education through a free webinar on Thursday, September 14 from 3-4pm ET. Featuring national leaders in the arts. Details here.

See you at NDEO in Denver!

Luna regularly presents our inquiry and research at arts education conferences as a way to spark further inquiry and advocacy in our field. This fall you'll find us at the National Dance Education Organization conference September 28-October 1 in Denver. Luna's Director of Creativity & Policy, Nancy Ng, will be leading the Early Childhood Special Interest Group, and speaking on a panel, Practice-to-policy: Equity in urban schools, with teaching artists and Luna alumni Carol Kueffer-Moore and Emily Ban, and Oakland arts leader Phil Rydeen.

A shout out to Luna alumni presenting - check out their sessions! (apologies for any inadvertent omissions):

Amanda Whitehead - Labor in Pedagogy: Who has the Right to Refuse?

Elisa Foshay & M.K. Victorson - Build Your Community in the Classroom and Beyond

Erin Lally & Daria Fitzgerald - DEL Jewish Holidays in Early Childhood Dance

Peggy Hongduc Nguyen - A Fan Dance Ignited by Creative & Cultural Wealth; Leading Through the Language of Dance®

Tamara Irving - Fall in Love with Your Dance Program

In the community: World Arts West Dance Festival

A Bay Area tradition, World Arts West presents its annual FREE day of dancing in the park to celebrate diverse communities through the art of dance. Featuring local dance companies and dance culture bearers. September 10, 1-4pm at Presidio Tunnel Tops. Details here.

What's moving us:

"7 dances to try down a 'Soul Train' line"

"A dance move is not just a dance move."

Dance writer Rachel Howard's recent San Francisco Chronicle article "7 dances to try down a 'Soul Train' line" honors the Soul Train legacy, and some of the social dances seen down the line - complete with video tutorials and historical context! Try some of them out with us. What are your favorite moves to groove down the Soul Train? Do you know where they came from, what their history is? What new things can you discover from your fave moves?