关于舞蹈素质教育相关问题的反思——由中美艺术教育观念比较引发的思考

Reflections on the Quality Education in Dance A Comparison between Chinese and American Dance Educational Ideas

本文以对美国艺术教育观念的认识为出发点反观中国舞蹈的素质教育,在对后者重"做动作"而非"如何动"、重"技巧"而非"技术"、重"形式"而非"表意"等现象进行阐述的基础上,提出对美国艺术教育在思维观念层面上所具备的明确认知与定位。同时,通过中、美两国舞蹈教育的两相比较,指出中国舞蹈的素质教育乃至中国艺术教育不应仅停留在表面理念的学习、拼贴或模仿层面等,而要以体现既有职业化学科构建思维及其学术理念支撑作为具体行进方向。

The publication of the National Core Arts Standards in the United States in 1992 marks not only the rise of arts education in American education system but also the profound and explicit definition of the educational ideas behind it. It reflects the position of arts education defined by American education. Or to be more specific, arts education is an important part of the internal structure of the education system. It means that arts education is no longer subordinated to some purpose of social utility or to other types of education. It is an established system in accordance with an open visionary, comprehensive, and local education, rather than an affiliate outside the system. While we look at the arts education in China in this way, the current arts education ideas are about focusing the arts education on a singular goal(e.g., to train the students’ technique and skills, or to open a new course). It does not take it as an integral part of the education system, ignorant of constructing an institutionalized system or implementing effective programs for arts education.I. The Significance of Arts Education Completing Education System In addition to improving curriculum, the reason why American education system has incorporated arts education is to reform and broaden the understanding of arts education—education is comprehensive quality training in both reason and emotion for a 'human.' What’s more, the courses of arts education should notonly be opened and taught to a specific group of people. It shall benefit all the students, not only those who are particularly talented to have more opportunities to practice and learn but also those who are less interested in arts to establish their own perception and aesthetic approach to arts in the group learning process.II. Reflection on Dance Quality Education in China(I) Emphasizing on 'Doing Movements' over 'How to Move'In today’s classroom, the instructors emphasize more on teaching students how to 'do the movements' and how to imitate them exactly, requiring them to do standard movements. Undoubtedly, performing standard movements is the basic target for training. However, as far as the current problems are concerned, it has been shown that if we continued forcing imitation-based learning and requiring nothing but perfecting movements and dynamic of dance styles, we would spend little energy in guiding and developing students’ other abilities such as creativity, even resulting in the homogenization of the body.(II) Emphasizing on 'Skill' over 'Art''Skill' refers to the basic qualities of dancers’ body and certain abilities that they possess in the process of physical training. Yishu(art) is composed of yi(skill) and shu(method). Briefly speaking, it is a dance thinking and aesthetic approach formed through the dancers’ perception, understanding, and expression of body. Inthat sense, the contemporary dance quality education is promoted as a test-oriented education, which is a result of emphasizing 'skill' over 'art.'(III) Emphasizing on 'Form' over 'Meaning'In the dance quality education, it is often seen that many instructors try new methods to assist their teaching and choreoraphy, such as musical improvisation. Undoubtedly, a variety of methods are used to better stimulate the students’ creativity. However, the students’ creativity cannot be truly discovered and they don’t know how to use their body to express freely if the instructors only teach the 'form' of the method—the method of producing movement materials.III. Dance Quality Education Is Supported by Professional Dance The author regards that the current research on dance quality education is mainly focused on understanding and defining it in an academic way, or discussing on the discipline construction, curriculum, and other specific issues in practice of dance quality education. There are very few studies exploring the understanding of disciplinary thinking and academic ideas of professional dance behind dance quality education. In this regard,we should think about the following question: Is our research limited to the understanding of dance quality educational ideas, and ignores its intrinsic connection with professional dance? This question is not only about dance quality education. It reveals and amplifies the problems in professional dance education. For this reason, it can be seen that today’s dance quality education concentrates on the training of meeting the standard and requirement of movements and skills. It has become an exam-oriented and competition-oriented education, a 'device' or a 'tool.' In this way, it cannot establish the spiritual connection with dance, or in other words, an interaction with Tao.Quality education in dance is not a reproduction of professional dance education. It seems simple, but there lies the ideas of arts education and selforientation of Chinese education after integrating western educational mode behind it. It involves a great deal of deliberate choices and judgments, especially vision. Only in this way can quality education in dance realize a comprehensive reform both in thinking and action, being implemented in practice.