The class is mixed, with mixed academic abilities and students are between the ages of 16 and 18. The case study included a number of individual interviews with the students at the end of the project, as well as various discussions that took place throughout their involvement. This research interrogates the assumptions and stereotypes that can be found in the context of an all-boys private boarding school about dance in particular, and how this affects the way boys experience it. Therefore, this research will question the assumptions and stereotypes that can be found in the context of a private boarding school for boys about dance, and how this affects the way boys' masculinity is perceived.
Mission, Values and Ethos
When asked what they consider a Hilton guy to be, some of the boys' answers were quite contradictory. Cox, 2015: Student 7) Student 7 deals with the expectations of boys (from within the school and society outside the school) because they attend Hilton College. In this reference too, it is noted that the expectation of school performance in rugby was established over a hundred years ago.
Methodology and explaining the parameters of the Case Study
- The researcher’s location within the study and the journey to the case study
- Dance as a medium to communicate/discuss/interrogate
- Masculinity and its place and relevance for this study
- The Context: The boys and the school
- Gendered dance: The role that gender plays in dance and the boys’ perceptions around it
- Adolescent Sexuality
- Dance within the Dramatic Arts curriculum
- Dance within the Hilton College context and its connection to masculinity
- The Project and Process
- Key Questions to be asked
- Research Methods and Approach to Study
- Extension of the project beyond the FUNK choreography
- Who was involved in the project
- The process of creating the FUNK choreography
- How is the data obtained
- Aims and intentions to be achieved through this project
The lifestyle they live at the school perpetuates the affluent and privileged life many of the boys grew up in. This shows the cost of the ethical and moral code of conduct that students adopt. Singing the school song (Oh Boys of Hilton) as mentioned on page 25 would be a prime example of this.
One of these factors is the compulsory involvement of boys in sports life at school. It was through the students' involvement in this process that they were hopefully able to shed some light on how dance can function as a transgressive space for them, within the framework of the school environment at Hilton College and specifically on what is expected of them as students at the College. It was helpful to give them these considerations before they began the final, formal interviews at the end of the project.
This is how I am immersed in the culture of the school, as mentioned before. I wanted the concept of the piece to revolve around identity and the identity that the boys felt they were labeled with as Hilton boys. At the end of the part the boys moved to the back wall, took off their masks one by one and pointed up.
Many students were confronted with their perceptions of identity and, more specifically, male identity.
Analysis of the project
29 Ironically, when they asked the students about this idea, some of them said that the gender of the teacher actually did not matter. This reaction was not particularly surprising, as many of the students are resistant at the beginning of the process. For some of the students, it was the very first time they had ever participated in any kind of dance.
This comment also supports the theory that dance is something unacceptable, that the students are aware of the way other students will react to their involvement in a dance performance. The questions asked about the College focused on the perception of the boys (internally and outside the school gates) and the reputation of the students who attend the school. The students have a relatively clear understanding of the ethos of the school and the moral uprightness mentioned in Chapter 1, and this was touched by most of the students.
This suggests that this may be an issue that is only relevant to the students who are really involved in the cultural life of the school as they are personally affected by it. After the process, a number of the students said how they actually felt more masculine after performing FUNK. 37 'Giming' is a slang term used by the students which is a verb form of the word 'gym'.
Few of the students actually mentioned the perception that at Hilton College, if you study drama, you have to be gay. It was hoped that this process would change the boys' ideas about experiencing different aspects of art. In saying this, most of the students actually seemed very comfortable with their own sexuality when it came to actually performing in FUNK.
Dance: Contextualised
In order to fully understand the influence of dance practice on the process of this case study, the next chapter will focus on dance and its origins in history, the perception and role of the male body in dance practice and the connotations surrounding men who dance within . the context of the case study for this project. Most of the students involved in the project had never danced in a performance capacity before, and. The students were also exposed to other performance skills such as warming up, stretching and focusing for performance.
It is the idea that any form of physical expression can be considered both an art form and a form of entertainment that serves as a solid foundation for the next chapter. Dean says that “to the Westerner the word dance is synonymous with entertainment, social or theatrical. Nevertheless, many of our own dance forms have their origins far back in history and in sacred ritual” (Dean, 1966: 36).
Dance and the dancing male body: rethinking cultural hegemony in the dance education sector in South Africa.
Dance and the dancing male body: rethinking cultural hegemony in the dance education sector in South Africa
Dance as physical practice and form of expression
- Performativity of gender/race/culture
I try to do this without locating 'real' meaning elsewhere (i.e. in the realm of the social) and then considering the ways in which bodies point to this external layer of meaning. Some students spoke positively about using dance as a means of communication because it challenges not only the performer (because, for example, they cannot rely on spoken text as in a scripted play), but also the audience because they have to look, observe, extrapolate and need to assess/assign meaning. The students also learned this through creating the choreography, which is one of the most successful results of involving the students in the process.
It is experiential learning and students benefit greatly from their engagement in this aspect of the work. Those who are 'dancing', I believe encompasses anyone who engages in the use of the body to perform planned or choreographed movement for a specific result. This should be considered in the context of the students who participated in this case study.
Although many of the students have their own personal story to bring, they also attend a FUNK show in 10th grade as a Dramatic Arts class and see the show with the knowledge that they will be attending next year. This notion of the responsible body that investigates the relationship between body and identity is further developed when Albright describes dance as containing a “double moment of representation in which bodies are produced and produced by cultural discourses of gender, race, ability. sexuality and age. Once again this suggests that the dancing body forms an imperative part of self-identification, and through observing or participating in contemporary dance theatre, one can develop ideas and.
It was hoped that through the challenge of engaging in a form of communication that does not require spoken language, students will be able to rethink this area of the creative arts, the challenges they.
Gender in dance: The male dancing body
- The element of homosexuality – The femininity of males who dance
- DANCE AND ITS ROLE IN DRAMATIC ARTS AND THEATRE EDUCATION
- Arts in Education in South Africa
- Dramatic Arts – The platform for Dance education
- Dance in Education
This confirms the statement that students' frame of reference in this aspect of the dance field is generally somewhat limited41. In the context of the students participating in this research, it's more about the idea of referring to something less than "gay" without really knowing the gendered connotation behind what they remain. Dance is an area where some holes in the construction of male identity can sometimes be revealed.
This could also apply to students' perceptions of other areas of this study, such as masculinity and dance. Many students spoke out about the school's lax attitude towards boys' involvement in the school's cultural life, even though sports are compulsory. The interviews with the students therefore provided insight into their opinions, which underlie the purpose of this research.
The students willingly engaged in the interview process and provided valuable information that reiterated many of the claims made before the study began. Hegemonic masculinity is reiterated daily in the day-to-day running of the school, and students are expected to behave in a manner consistent with these ideals. The discussion with the students about cultural activities at Hilton College provides a thorough background for what informs their perception of activities in the arts versus all the other activities in which the students are involved.
It was through this ongoing addressing of topics that students were equipped to engage in a thorough and thoughtful interview process with the researcher.
Primary sources: Interviews
Secondary sources
Do you think the school encourages you to become a well-rounded individual, or do you think the school favors certain things over others, or certain skills over others. Do you feel that as a Hilton boy there is a lot of pressure on you to conform to a certain bill or prescribed stereotype? How much do you know about the different dance styles you can explore?
Do you think that the style of dancing has anything to do with what is acceptable or not. Did you expect to experience dance as you have through your involvement with it so far. Do you think that as a class we will be able to create a good piece and finally be able to perform confidently on stage.
Has your opinion about dance and dancers changed during the process of creating the work? Do you think that the way other guys perceive you on the sports field is somehow influenced by watching you perform in a dance show? What do you think you learned during the process of creating the piece and performing in the Theatre.
