Creative Dance: Enriching Understanding

Susan Free teaches movement in the drama program at the University of
Toronto.

This dense little book makes a case for creative dance in the
educational curriculum. Adopting a philosophical approach, Bergmann
Drewe argues that although the arts may be intrinsically valuable (art
for art’s sake), one must judge their extrinsic value in order to make
a case for them in education. She critiques current theories of the
educational value of creative dance and examines how dance has been
promoted as physical education, therapy, integrative activity, and art.
She believes that the physical and psychotherapeutic benefits of
creative dance must be seen as “side-effects” and that it is as an
aesthetic activity that creative dance can be said to further cognitive,
affective, and psychomotor learning. Her book considers the educational
value of creative dance relative not only to other dance forms but also
to other arts.

Creative Dance is not a practical guide to teaching creative dance;
rather, it is a multifaceted philosophical argument that seeks to
advance creative dance as something other than a frill in the
educational curriculum. The book was adapted from the author’s
doctoral thesis, and the text is heavy with references (one 12-page
chapter contains 40 footnoted references). A worthwhile read for anyone
who is interested in the philosophy of the arts, and especially for
those who wish to see creative dance receive its due as an unusually
rich form of learning.