Keep on Dancing!

Our objective was to gain more confidence in teaching an ageing general population by reflecting suitable didactic methods, by clarifying the needs of this target group, and by practicing teachin...

Our objective was to gain more confidence in teaching an ageing general population by reflecting suitable didactic methods, by clarifying the needs of this target group, and by practicing teaching together. The joint theme was 'Embodied Agency'. We wanted to find out how important were cultural differences while teaching dance to the target groups. All our three organizations are striving for inclusion and how to realize inclusion on many different levels: to understand what inclusion means in dance after abandoning existing differentiation of professional dancer or amateur for example. What strategies work, which ones don't. An important point became how to address the target group so people would feel invited to join. This is especially important in dance as many people think they cannot dance or they have a difficult time learning movement. Our goal was to ensure no one felt like they were not good enough to participate. A resource-oriented approach lied at the heart of KODA: To acknowledge the life experience and the skills that each participant brought to the classes, and that the resource orientation founded the didactic methods.

12 zoom meetings initiated the project. Each dance teachers presented a relevant topic, such as questions of embodiment, the historic foundations of art-making, language of inclusions, and many more. In a 9 days teachers exchange meeting qat Artis Umbria, the six dance teachers spent the work day together in the dance studio for practical exchange, discussion and reflection. On five evenings we taught 2 hour dance classes to the local population 50+. Participants were encouraged to come back and build on their knowledge, but drop ins were possible at any class to lower the threshold for participation. 6 weeks later, we met in Vienna to teach a dance workshops at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival - 10 hours total over the course of one weekend with a continuous group of people. A moderated public talk was held after the workshop, open to the interested public. Topics were the learnings od the KODA project, the social and cultural contextualization, needs, wants of the target group and possible future financing of KODA. With all the material at hand, the six dance teachers co-created the handbook for KODA, intending to share the learnings with other dance teachers.

The main concrete output is the handbook published as pdf in the project result platform E+. The goal of the handbook is to give useful information to fellow interested dance teachers; to help catalyse a reflective process for others, and practical tips. The workshops we held in Umbria and in Vienna were central to our output. The six dance teachers involved in KODA have gained considerable expertise and self-confidence. They have become knowledgable about the needs of the 50+ target group and can apply methodologies suitable for teaching 50+. They have been sensitised about vulnerabilities, sensitivities and possible reasons not to participate that may arise for potential participants, and have developed tools to address these. Dance teachers not being part of the KODA team have benefited from the Vienna workshop by experiencing how to teach this target group. Participants 50+ have experienced embodied agency (mobility, mental focus, inclusion, well being) and renewed connections within their community, and appreciated KODA as a beneficial EU initiative. An unforeseen but welcome output was an interview by Ö1 Radiokolleg within their podcast of Dance & Health.