Academic Centrehttps://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2024.36 | 481-491 | PDF
The Cultural Heritage of Character Dance Genre in the Education of a Choreographer in Latvia
Katrīne Martinsone-Škapare
University of Latvia
Abstract
Research in the fields of culture and arts is an important resource for the development of cultural and creative industries for the creation of new teaching methods, emphasizing the professional aspects of teaching. In professional dance education, teachers’ theoretical and practical skills, alongside their body language, are of utmost importance and are honed to perfection. The study courses are primarily based on the accepted knowledge of history and cultural heritage, preserving these values as a continuation of traditions in the dance industry. The author has chosen the genre of character dance in professional higher education as the basis of this research. The author provides clear definitions and explanations of the character dance genre, non-national stage folk dance, and stage folk dance in the theoretical research. The background of the empirical study is the professional bachelor’s program in Choreography of the Jāzeps Vītola Latvian Academy of Music, graduated by 283 students from 1977 to 2023. The research test sample consists of 9 graduates of the academy. Qualitative methodology was used in the data, – personalized interviews, – with content analysis at the final stage of the research. The main focus of the research is character dance, non-national stage folk dance in the education of choreographers / dance group leaders, the historical experience of the study course, the inheritance of the cultural heritage of dance, and the improvement of acquired skills in creative work. In the interviews dance industry professionals revealed their views on the vision of character dance, and the development of the non-national stage dance course in the study process today, justifying how essential the preservation of cultural heritage is in the Latvian stage folk dance industry in the interviews. The study emphasizes the significance of the historical legacy of the dance study course, pedagogical learning methods, and professional practical skills in the education of the dance industry.
Keywords: character dances, dance teacher, dance team leader, non-national stage dance, professional higher education, physical literacy.
About Author
The author of this passage is Katrīne Martinsone-Škapare. She graduated from Riga Choreography High School and is a professional ballet dancer. She obtained both a professional bachelor’s and master’s degree in Choreography from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA). Her professional experience has allowed her to work at Riga Academy of Pedagogy and Management and JVLMA for many years. Since 2006, she has been teaching classical dance and non-national stage dance at the Latvian Culture College under Latvian Culture Academy.
In: Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2024. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte, 2024. Rakstu krājums. Ed. L. Daniela. Riga: University of Latvia, 2024. 564 p.
ISBN 978-9934-36-301-6
https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2024