Dance Curriculum Toolkit

Title of Resource: Exploring Gender Stereotypes through Dance

 

Targeted Audience: Educators

 

Description of Resource: This resource discusses a great in-class activity that breaks down the gender stereotypes in our society as an introduction to ballet as an art form.  Teachers put stereotypical "male" professions on the back of the female students and stereotypical "female" professions on the back of the male students in class.  Students then must go around the room asking their fellow peers yes/no questions regarding the profession posted on their backs in order to figure out what the profession they have been given is.  Once each of the students have identified their profession, the teacher facilitates a class discussion about what the students experienced.  Was everyone ok with the profession they were given? Why or why not? What are the gender stereotypes of these specific professions?  Can students identify their personal bias or opinions of these stereotypes? How could this possible relate to ballet?  What are some stereotypes about ballet and ballet dancers?

 

Appropriateness for High School Students: This activity is essential for high school student's as so much of high school is about finding yourself or taking the first steps towards self-discovery.  Young adults today have so much pressure from society, media, family etc. about what is "right" and "wrong" that they don't even know how to listen to their heart to do what they love.  This activity breaks down barriers and opens students eyes to harsh reality of pressures that society has laid on them and opens the doors for students to embrace ballet as an art form because they have identified that they can be anything they want to be.

 

Use of Resource in Classroom/Ways to Implement this Resource in my Classroom: I would utilize this resource as an in-class opening activity as an introduction to ballet exactly as the author suggests.  

 

Strengths of Resource as a Teaching Tool (Purpose, Value, Uniqueness, Positive Aspects):  This activity has a dual purpose.  The purpose of the exercise is for students to identify gender stereotypes in society by correctly identifying the gender norms within certain professions as well as relating these gender norms to the world of ballet dance.  This lesson opens students eyes to what is really means to stereotype without knowing all of the information.  

 

Possible Modifications to Resource (Weaknesses, Limitations, Supplemental Resources):  I cannot identify any weaknesses within this activity, as I believe it is a complete, enriching lesson for students.  With that being said, I do believe that this lesson can stretch further than ballet.  I think that this activity could be done in relation to Hip-Hop dance and the stereotypes of Hip-Hop culture and/or any cultural dance style (Latin Dance, Irish Dance, German Folk Dance etc.).  By expanding this lesson in order to explore other cultures, student's will be exposed in a positive way to our diverse world and it's relationship to diversity in dance.

 

Ways to Access Resource:

1. Click on the picture to the left.

2. Click the link under Resource Citation

 

Resource Citation:

Thomas, J. E. (2011). Exploring gender stereotypes through dance. Retrieved from http://www.tolerance.org/blog/exploring-gender-stereotypes-through-dance