Developing the Dance Artist in Technique Class: The Alteration Task

For intermediate and advanced university students, technique class has traditionally been the place to study a particular teacher's style and to hone technical skills. This article suggests a pedagogy that broadens standard practice by focusing additionally on both performance principles and spontaneous problem solving in the technique classroom. Developed as an integral part of her technique pedagogy, the author generates myriad Alteration Tasks that require her students' spontaneous decisions to alter well-learned modern dance phrases as they are dancing them. The benefits of this methodology in technique class include (a) empowering students, (b) incorporating critical thinking in dance technique class, and (c) focusing on specific and varied performance principles. This article outlines the Alteration Tasks, the pedagogical benefits, and practical recommendations for technique teachers.