Dance Tracing Footsteps Curriculum

Tracing Footsteps:

Honoring Diverse Voices Through Dance History in NYC

INTRODUCTION

A New York City Department of Education and Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) partnership, The Tracing Footsteps curriculum focuses on exploring embodied dance history through the examination of the rich dance contributions of distinct cultural groups who have been marginalized, ignored, and underrepresented in history and inhabited and continue to inhabit different areas of NYC throughout history until today.

The curriculum provides teachers with detailed and high-quality units and lesson plans with embedded links to resources including numerous worksheets, assessments, and extension ideas for furthering the lessons.

Each curricular unit is aligned with NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts – Dance Learning Strands 1-4 (Dance Making, Developing Dance Literacy, Making Connections, and Working with Community and Cultural Resources) and NYS Learning Standards and the DEL pedagogical framework.

Hence, each dance unit is a reflection of this framework and includes:

Skill-based and improvisational dance practice, including learning specific dances from specific eras and peoples;
Inquiry-based dance research and investigation;
Individual and collaborative dance making;
Imagined and authentic reconstruction of dances of diverse peoples representing different eras;

Training from dance experts in the field representing different forms and styles;
Interfacing with high-quality, curated resources from dance artists and cultural organizations

DEL Mission: One key goal of DEL is to respect and honor diverse perspectives and to critically examine dance learning through the lens of anti-racist and culturally responsive pedagogy. In DEL, we aim to develop skills and attitudes that help bridge cultural differences and encourage courageous conversations, increased multicultural awareness, and cross-cultural communication and collaboration. As a community of dancers, dance educators, choreographers, and teachers from around the globe, DEL’s commitment to anti-racism and culturally responsive pedagogy aligns with our community’s shared passion for bringing the gift of dance to every child.

For more information about Dance Education Laboratory (DEL), visit their website by clicking here.

Tracing Footsteps 2021-22 Curriculum

The Tracing Footsteps: Honoring Diverse Voices Through Dance History in NYC curriculum was created in response to the need to develop high-quality, standards-based dance curricula in collaboration with the NYCDOE to provide critical dance learning for NYC public school students during 2020 when arts learning has been restricted. Initially funded by a grant from the NY Community Trust and the Arnhold Foundation, the 2nd year of the Tracing Footsteps Curriculum was created in partnership with the OASP Dance Division and includes two new curricular modules which will be disseminated over the course of the 2021-22 school year:

Each dance unit provides teachers with detailed and high-quality lesson plans with embedded links to resources including numerous worksheets, assessments, and extension ideas for furthering the lessons. In addition, teachers will explore and experience online resources and supplemental support materials, including instructional dance videos, developed by the DEL team and dance artists who are experts in the field. The K-2 module contains a 4 lesson Dance Unit with accompanying google slides and resources. Modules for grade bands 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 contains a 6 Lesson Dance Unit with accompanying google slides and resources.

Module 1: Salsa Stories

- Grades K-2
- Grades 3-5 (including D75 lessons)
- Grades 6-8
- Grades 9-12

Module 2: Join the Cypher: A Hip Hop Experience

- Grades K-2
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 6-8
- Grades 9-12 (including D75 lessons)

Tracing Footsteps 2020-21 Curriculum

In the 2020-2021 school year, the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) Tracing Footsteps: Honoring Diverse Voices Through Dance History in NYC remote learning curriculum was created in response to the need to develop high-quality, standards-based dance curricula in collaboration with the NYCDOE to provide critical dance learning for NYC public school students during this challenging time when arts learning has been restricted. Funded by a grant from the NY Community Trust and the Arnhold Foundation, the Tracing Footsteps Curriculum includes three student facing remote learning curricular modules.

Please see links to Modules 1, 2 & 3 below:

Module 1: Native American Dance History in NYC – Roots to Branches

Overview and Acknowledgement

Module 2: History of Tap Dance – Soul Rhythms

Overview and Acknowledgment

Module 3: Into The Heart of Chinatown: Hidden Voices

Overview and Acknowledgement

ORGANIZATION OF CURRICULUM

Each lesson is designed for approximately 30 minutes of synchronous remote instruction yet can be expanded upon and adapted in multiple ways. Modules are meant to be delivered synchronously though can be adapted for asynchronous learning. In addition, teachers will explore and experience online resources and supplemental support materials, including instructional dance videos, developed by the DEL team and dance artists who are experts in the field.

TeachHub Resources

TeachHub is a portal designed to provide educational resources to NYC DOE teachers. The following are direct links to over 14 weeks of lesson and unit resources the Office of Arts and Special Projects has added to TeachHub weekly since the fall.

The weekly sequences were created by our talented dance educators and beginning late in the fall you'll notice that Modules based on the Tracing Footsteps Citywide curriculum created by amazing curriculum writers and partners at Dance Education Laboratory have been added.

Please find those resources here, organized by grade band:

*In order to access TeachHub resources directly you must log in from your NYC DOE Email account