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- FULL NAME: Ulla Mäkinen

- PHONE NUMBER: +358 40 7735776 / +358 50 3657149

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- TITLE OF THE ACTIVITY: Talk

• DETAILED CONTENT DESCRIPTION (150 words or more): 

WHAT DOES A DANCE EDUCATION TEACH?

This year, all college-level educations in Finland face a national educational restructuring process. The reforms include major changes on both financial and pedagogical levels, and both of these create pressure for efficient, quick production of degrees and shortening the time that the student is allowed to stay enrolled in the college.

The reform includes reworking the qualification criteria and asks to approach teaching more as coaching: seeing the teacher as a mentor who guides the student into working life. The requirements become less and options are more flexible, supporting individual study paths and choice making.

In this process of studying the new guidelines, rewriting curriculum and anticipating possible (even dramatic) effects of this efficiency-based criteria, I wonder. 

I wonder what we teach while the amount of information and dance practices available increase, and the amount of time gets less and less.

(Some educations react to this by minimizing repetition. But how does this educate dancers to create constant practice, to revisit and rework material and develop patience and diligence necessary in the field?)

I wonder what happens to continuum.

I wonder what happens to form. We need to give multiple choices, individual study paths and personalized solutions how to employ oneself. We need to teach attitudes, ways of working, tools for comprehending.  Ways of mixing and matching. When we mix and match long enough, will there be any nameable tradition left, a lineage to be seen, or is each practice just a personal one, and each artist naming his or her work just after him/herself?

I wonder what happens to history.

The attitude towards forms needs to be open minded. But will there be any specific form required? If so, which form(s) will it be, and is this form/these forms seen consciously or subconsciously superior to others? Which forms should be recognizable/embodied for a contemporary dance student? Are there any such requirements? Or are our requirements becoming more conceptual, less physical?

While writing this I go astray and find myself in Facebook. One of my students complains that right now there is too much talk, overanalyzing, philosophizing going on in the classes. And she asks can't we just move.

It gets to the point.

We can't just move. But we have to just move.

- Anyone to coach on that?

• SUMMARY OF CONTENT DESCRIPTION (max 60 words; for publishing) 

WHAT HAPPENS TO FORM? TEACHER AS A COACH IN DANCE EDUCATION

a talk and discussion on teaching in a dance education, basing on experiences of directing the dance department of North Karelia College Outokumpu, Finland.
The new national pedagogic strategies ask teachers to become coaches who support the students to meet various needs and demands of the changing society. What does this mean in dance?

• SHORT BIOGRAPHY (max 60 words for publishing (if co-taught all in all max 60 words)

Ulla Mäkinen is a dancer and teacher, currently lecturing dance and directing the dance education in the North Karelia College Outokumpu, Finland. She holds an MA from the MACoDE studies of University of Music and Performing Arts, Frankfurt a.M, and works with teaching and performing somatic and release-based contemporary dance practices internationally.

• AIMED AT WHO (AND HOW MANY PEOPLE MIN /MAX?)
• dance teachers, educators, freelancers and people working in institutions min/max depending on space

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-  TIME REQUEST: 1,5-2 hours                                                                                                                                                                 

- TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS (audio, beamer etc):  audio and projector if possible, mics if space is big                                                                                                                                                                                

- SPACE NECESSITY (studio size etc): a focused space, any size