An August 2016 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception suggests sensitivity, i.e., empathy, can be learned through dance. Teaching empathy is one of the lessons found in the new National Core Arts Standards for all of the arts classes in today's schools. I have included those sections in my free Jitterbug! in the Classroom Teacher Manuals/Student Questionnaires for the following subjects: Dance, Theatre, Music (Ensemble & Composition strands), Literature, and History/Social Studies. Creating these educational materials based on the NCAS was a herculean task. There are more pages spread throughout the various disciplines than in the entire play. They can be found on the left side of this website by clicking Educator Resources. Using my dancical as a supplemental teaching aid in the classroom-- and hopefully someday on a school stage!-- is a great-- and easy-- way for educators to make the Harlem Renaissance come to life while addressing the NCAS since the play is annotated for historical reference and period slang. And, if the Student Questionnaires are read online, students can click links to multimedia examples of dance, music, and history.
Special thanks to Dance Magazine for this additional info validating something as dancers we always knew.
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