This pivot offers an innovative approach to dance education, bringing a creative and inclusive dance education pedagogy into Chinese dance classrooms. Associate Professor Ralph Buck's experiences of teaching dance at the Beijing Dance Academy and the possible implications for dance education in China lie at the heart of this text. Through a critical examination of personal teaching practice, pedagogical issues, trends and rationales for dance education in the curriculum are highlighted. Informed by constructivist ideals that recognise dialogue and interaction, this pivot suggests that dance can be re-positioned and valued within educational contexts when pedagogical strategies and objectives are framed in terms of teaching and learning in, about and through dance education. Ralph Buck (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor and Head of Dance Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an award-winning Teacher and Academic Leader. His research and teaching focuses on dance education curriculum, dance pedagogy and community dance. Ralph is the UNESCO Chair on Dance and Social Inclusion and is currently working within several international dance research and service organisations such as the World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE). Ralph's teaching and leadership has been recognised by The University of Auckland Distinguished Teaching Award, 2008; Award for Leadership, 2010; Excellence Award for Equal Opportunities 2006; and Creative Arts and Industries Research Excellence Award, 2016. Ralph has several international academic appointments including Visiting Professorships at Northwest Normal University, China, and Beijing Dance Academy, China. His research in dance education is published in international journals, and he has delivered invited key notes and master classes in China, Australia, Columbia, Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Denmark, New Zealand and Fiji. .

This pivot offers an innovative approach to dance education, bringing a creative and inclusive dance education pedagogy into Chinese dance classrooms. Associate Professor Ralph Buck’s experiences of teaching dance at the Beijing Dance Academy and the possible implications for dance education in China lie at the heart of this text. Through a critical examination of personal teaching practice, pedagogical issues, trends and rationales for dance education in the curriculum are highlighted. Informed by constructivist ideals that recognise dialogue and interaction, this pivot suggests that dance can be re-positioned and valued within educational contexts when pedagogical strategies and objectives are framed in terms of teaching and learning in, about and through dance education.

This study critically explores dance teacher education in China, particularly concentrating on the construction of Chinese trainee dance teachers' abilities to teach. The main research question is: How do students construct their understandings of pedagogical knowledge within tertiary dance teacher education in China? Through qualitative and narrative inquiry, this research question focuses on investigating learning and teaching experiences of six dance teachers in China, who have been given the pseudonyms of Di, Hui, Lu, Min, Wen, and Yang, to explore how they constructed their knowledge of teaching dance as students of dance pedagogy at university. This leads into further questions, such as how else did they construct their pedagogical knowledge, what does pedagogical knowledge mean to them, and what do they consider to be gaps within their own pedagogic knowledge? Previous research focusing on dance teacher education in China has generally contrasted current teacher education against particular models of teacher education, from within China and abroad. By contrast, this master's thesis explores teaching and learning in dance teacher education at tertiary level from graduates' perspectives, to allow new knowledge to emerge from their reflections and insights. One way to discover and understand these students' voices is through understanding how they construct meanings from their learning at university. From a constructivist perspective, through analysing six dance graduates' personal narratives, this research explores various learning experiences in dance teacher education in China and reflects on pedagogical issues. These discussions provide an insight into pedagogical knowledge in dance, and how such knowledge is taught at a tertiary level in China. This may prompt tertiary dance educators to consider how to design programmes for future dance teachers, and how to help trainee teachers construct their understandings of pedagogical knowledge.

This book presents an analysis of how the grassroots movement of Guangchang Wu or ‘square dance’ in China has become a national phenomenon. Through oral narratives offering rich descriptions of lived encounters, the experiences of those involved in leading, organizing, teaching and learning Guangchang Wu are revealed. Through these narratives, this book serves to understand the leadership practices occurring and how this dance practice is deeply rooted in the complexities of China’s rapid economic development, acceleration of urbanisation, and the desire for a healthier and more communal lifestyle.

This research critically reflects on dance education in China. Focusing upon teachers’ dance learning and teaching experiences, the key question motivating this research is: What are six teachers’ meanings of teaching dance in schools in China? Within a qualitative paradigm, phenomenological, constructivist, and critical frameworks are used as the theoretical bases for examining the six school dance teachers’ meanings of teaching dance. Through in-depth personal narratives and observations, key issues around dance teachers’ previous learning experience and current teaching encounters have been explored and analysed. The six dance teachers’ experiences highlight the following salient themes: inadequate teacher preparation within tertiary education, dominant factors motiving career choices, and crucial elements that influence their current teaching situations in schools. This research provides comprehensive understandings of Chinese dance education and also uncovers reasons that inform dance teachers’ meanings of teaching dance in schools in China. The hope is that through this research, dance education can be reexamined and re-valued in China, especially within the Chinese general education context. Hearing the voices of Chinese teachers of dance provides a unique perspective, providing the international dance community with an opportunity to know more about Chinese dance education.

Arts-Based Education: China and Its Intersection with the World investigates the field of arts-based educational practices and research.