choreographic outcomes warburton critique on smith autard

7/27/2019 CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES Warburton Critique on Smith Autard

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CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES:

IMPROVING DANCE COMPOSITION

by Jacqueline Smith-Autard andJim Scho-

field, assisted by Michael Schofield. 2005. Bed-

ford Interactive Productions, j CD-ROMs

(for PC) including Resource Pack with "Cre-

ative Practice Guidebook" and Smith-Autard's

"Dance Comp osition" (^th ed, 2004). $j6o.

Computer-aided instruction for dance is

a hard sell . On the one hand, judging

from the proliferation of dance technology-

related websites, dancers seem more inter-

ested in computer applications for perfor-

mance than instruction. Not surprisingly,

dance is regarded by the educational soft-

ware industry as something less than aniche market and therefore a low-priority

investment. On the other hand, popular

views of educational technology in dance

tend to exaggerate both its promise and its

peril . Advocates tout computers and the I n-

ternet as instant remedies for dry curric-

ulum and didactic instruction. Alarmists

worry that computers will undermine cre-

ative activity and the W orld W ide W eb w ill

replace teachers as the preferred source ofinformation.

Until recently, these states of mutual dis-

interest and distrust among dancers, edu-

cators, and software-makers have resulted

in a serious lack of imaginative, intelligent,

and effective educational uses of new tech-

nologies in dance. No more. Together with

Bedford Interactive (www.dance-interactive

.web.com), Jacqueline S mith-A utard's re-

cent forays into educational technology

have produced a series of state-of-the-art

CD-ROMs for dance and dance educat ion.

These impressive computer resources com-

bine Smith-Autard's substantial knowledge

with Jim Schofield's commonsensical ap-

proach to the technology. The ir m ost recent

product ion. Choreographic Outcomes, avoids

placing too much emphasis on the technol-

og y itself, leaving ample room for people—

especially teachers—to shape its role in

learning.

Choreographic Outcomes is described as a

"comprehensive CD-ROM resource pack

. . . aimed at improving student choreog-

raphy th rou gh detailed study . . . [w ith]

full access video of 8 dance pieces." Sounds

simple, but do not let the attractive pack-

aging fool you. While the program can

be used off-the-shelf to good effect, it is

a teaching and learning resource that ex-

pands exponentially if one understands the

logic behind its approach. In the interests

of full disclosure, I admit to a predisposi-

tion toward technological applications and

Smith-Autard's work in particular. How-ever, before now, I had not previously used

or beta-tested this program, so I came to it

with fresh eyes (and ears).

T he first th ing you will notice about the

program is the high-qu ality production val-

ues. It is clear from the outset that this is

a hefty piece of software with plenty of

features and supporting materials that lie

just off the beaten path. The package in-

cludes three CD-ROM discs , a CreativePracticeGuidebook, and Smith-Autard's book

Dance Composition (2004). The program in-

cludes over a hundred movies and requires

a lot of computer memory, so Bedford In-

teractive includes two different discs to al-

low the user two options: direct-use from

disc or full-install on user's hard drive. The

direct-use option downloads each movie

as you select it and thus involves a short

delay each time you click on a new movie.

If you can spare the 630 M B on your hard

drive, then I recommend the full-install

option. You'll move more quickly through

the program and you can insert the Work-

sheets disc, which includes an electronic

version of activity wo rkshee ts. A helpful i n-

struction booklet walks you through these

options.



The potential of all these resources at

the touch of one's fingertips is enticing.

Unfortunately, I realized immediately that

I could not access the CD-ROMs because

I work on an Apple PowerBook with Mac

OS X. The hardware requirements for Cho-.

reographic Outcomes are quite reasonable, but

a PC Windows environment is required. In

my experience, many American dance stu-

dents, teachers, and programs in h igher ed-

ucation, use and stock computer labs with

Apple computers. The market may be too

small, or the cost prohibitive, but I sincerely

hope Bedford Interactive has plans for a bi-

platform version in the near future.

You can start working with Choreographic

Outcomes by click-opening the source video,"Motifs For A Solo Dancer," which takes

you to a step-by -step analysis of the original

piece. Th e o ptions include viewing the entire

filmed solo, a universal access feature, a li-

brary of key motifs, time analysis, and space

analysis. As a graduate student in the mid-

1990s, I participated in numerous usability

studies at Harvard University's Education

with New Technologies project (http://

learnweb.harvard.edu) . CD-ROMs were

the latest technology, and I learned phrases

like "wayfinding index" and "universal ac-

cess" to describe the nexus between acces-

sibility, ease-of-use, navigation, and inter-

face elements. Bedford Interactive deserves

high marks on all these design indices.

Overall , Choreographic Outcomes takes

full advantage of what computers do best.

The multiple representations—from dia-

grams to videos—make it highly accessible,

deepening the learning experience without

sacrificing breadth of information. The

ubiquitous views, perspectives, and th um b-

nail pictures m ake it easy to follow and fun

to use. The logical structure, clearly marked

buttons, and text directions support navi-

gation through the sophisticated analyses.

The uncluttered desktop's attractive color

and font scheme is one of the most appeal-

ing interface designs that I have seen in

any educational software. The high-quality

film and sound direction are impressive

and essential. The solo performer, Lauren

Potter, is a brilliant dancer of remarkable

movement clarity and articulation. I found

her lack of affect somewhat curious, but

perhaps there was a conscious decision to

focus on form versus feeling. Regardless, it

is clear that Bedford Interactive engaged a

dream team of dancers, educators, and de-

signers to produce this work.

Though Bedford Interactive and I have

different definitions of the term, I was par-

ticularly enchanted with the Universal Ac-cess option. In some software design circles,

universal access refers to software design tha t

seeks to mak e new med ia accessible to every-

one; for example, creating "electronic curb-

cuts" for cognitively or hearing-impaired

persons (see wAvw.cast.org). Bedford Inter-

active uses the term Universal Access to mean

a comp rehensive, catholic look at all aspects

of the dance composition. On a single page,

one has access to the whole solo dance: itsmovement phrases, key motifs, and tim-

ing. So, for instance, if one wants to make

a close examination of how the "tip" motif

develops into a "tip back into travel" ph rase,

one can easily locate the motif, watch its

development from a thumbnail video that

pops up seamlessly into a full view, and lis-

ten to the precise musical phrase in which

it occurs. In the space and time analyses

sections, I yearned for a Labanotation score

to round out the phrase structure studies,

but I suppose enough is enough. O ne has to

make choices, and the choices are generally

splendid.

I found that one of the more innovative

choices included an "Outcomes" section:

that is, seven new pieces choreographed

92 Dance Research Journal 37 /2 Winter 2005



by three different people inspired by the

original solo motif. Details of participants

are included in this section, which serves

as a kind of credits-cum-comparison page.

Here one can read about the director and

choreographers, view the new works, re-

view a detailed composition analysis, and

compare the new works to the solo dance in

a directed or search mo de. Th e comparison

modes place the outcome video next to the

solo video, allowing the viewer to compare

and con trast the phrases. Or, at least, I think

that is the intention. This section is a great

idea, but it seemed like a bridge too far for

the computer. I was never able to make this

function work to my satisfaction. O f course,

it is entirely plausible that, after eight hours,

I was losing my mind and my (borrowed)

computer was losing its memory.

Clearly, Choreographic Outcomes is no

"plug-and-play" program. It is a sophisti-

cated , deeply inte lligen t, effortful endeavo r.

The fact that it embeds many important

educational insights and practices into the

very fabric of the pro gram should also come

as no surprise. Dance education is Smith-

Autard's bailiwick. This is an importantadvantage, but also a real challenge to the

user. There is no simple answer to how one

mak es effective e ducation al use of new tech -

nologies. Sometimes the tool seems attrac-

tive, but exactly how to integrate it in prac-

tice is unclear. Fortunately, Smith-Autard

has brou ght he r "A" gam e to this issue. She

understands learning, how diversified it is,

and how im portant it is to develop method s

and materials that are as articulated andflexible as the individuals utilizing them.

For this reason, the accompanying sup-

po rt m aterials are key to the effective use of

this program. Th e Dance Composition book

provides a clear framework for integrating

teacher-directed instruction with opportu-

nities and challenges for creative and criti-

cal inquiry. Through a series of carefully

constructed activities and worksheets, the

Creative Practice Guidebook demonstrates

how to use the technology selectively to

present dynamic models of key concepts or

to enable students to participate together in

disciplined inquiry.

I highly recommend this computer re-

source to dance professionals in private

studios and higher education. Before buy-

ing the program, however, I suggest you

review Smith-Autard's The Art of Dance

in Education (2002). This seminal work

will alert you to the cond itions affecting

teaching and learning, and highlight how

technology might improve your practice.

Next, be sure to use the supporting mate-

rials in concert with the discs. Together,

the program and m aterials can promote the

kind of retention, understanding, and ac-

tive use of difficult concepts—such as mo-

tif development—that are both crucial to

further progress in dance and widely rec-

ognized as difficult to teach and learn.

Finally, respect the process and take your

time. When used by knowledgeable dance

instructors in a reflective, integrated way, Ihave found that this new, interactive, por-

table tool can extend instruction beyond

the dance studio and significantly enhance

student learning.

Edward C. Warburton,

University of California, Santa Cruz

Works Cited

Smith-Autard, Jacqueline M. 2002. The

Art ofDance in Education. 2nd ed. Lon-

don: A8cC Black.

. 2004. Dance Composition: A Practi-

cal Guide or Teachers. 5th ed. New York:

Routledge—^A The atre A rts Book.

Dance Research Journal 37 /2 Winter 2005 93

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