Abstract

The following article comprises a case study that considers the potential for an Indigenous digital resource to be used within a dance undergraduate context. In this manner, suggestions for dance pedagogy and practice are offered in relation to the Indigenous Education Strategy at Charles Sturt University, together with a university digital learning resource, Cassie’s Story: Dyan Ngal, that seeks to develop cultural competence. Through exploration of one scene from this latter resource, the author expands on the ways in which it could become the stimulus and indeed provide a framework for dance composition teaching and learning at undergraduate level. Dance has long been viewed by dance anthropologists as a cultural manifestation and a vehicle through which culture might be understood (Kaeppler, 1981; Kealiinohomoku, 1983). The author has endeavoured to underpin each element of her dance teaching and learning processes with an awareness of culture, whilst outlining creative, thematic and cross-curricular possibilities with Cassie’s Story.

Keywords: Cultural competence, culture, Indigenous, Laban, cross-curricular, tokenism.

Category: Practitioner's Notes

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