Dance Statement

Dance is expressive movement with intent, purpose, and form. In dance, we transform, communicate, and interpret ideas, feelings, experiences. All dance communication is transmitted through movement and mediated through the body and gestures of the dancer. Dancers are therefore both the performers and the instruments through which dance is expressed.

Dance is a vital and integral part of human life. It exists in many forms and styles and is practised in all cultures, taking place in a range of contexts for various purposes. Dance functions as ritual, as artistic endeavour, as social discourse, and as education, and people of all ages and at many levels of expertise are involved to varying degrees.

In dance choreography, body awareness, space, time, energy, and relationships are manipulated to make dance works. In performance, these works reflect and frequently challenge dance traditions. Dance is therefore always evolving, as innovations develop alongside or from traditional forms and practices. Dance works may be seen as social and historical texts reflecting the cultures from which they emerge.

Dance is a unique medium for learning about self and the world. It is an essential component of artistic, aesthetic, and cultural education and develops creative potential through physical, non-verbal expression.

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/arts/curriculum/statement/structure_e.php