A Sense of Dance: Exploring Your Movement Potential

A Sense of Dance: Exploring Your Movement Potential, Second Edition, is written for true beginners—students who are exploring the art form for the first time and are not likely to describe themselves as dancers. Through this text, students discover that dance is an accessible art form that can bring greater self-awareness and self-confidence. It helps new dancers learn how to express themselves through dance.

This second edition, based on an already-successful textbook, features three new chapters that add even more depth to the topics covered. The chapters address the power of dance through time and place, culture, and community; a sense of style; and patterns of coordination.

Like the first edition, this empowering text uses an interactive approach to invite students to learn about dance through everyday experiences, personal observations, and guided experiences.

The following are some of the special elements in the text:
- “Inside Insights” encourage students to reflect on interesting observations that may affect their movement and expression.

-“Try This Experiment” exercises are guided physical explorations of concepts in the text that help students become more kinesthetically aware of their movements and discover new ways of moving.

-“Think About It” sections require students to reflect on how they can apply the information presented. These considerations provide good material for journal entries.

-“Your Turn to Dance” provides two opportunities per chapter for students to work in small groups to discover movement possibilities, solve problems, and hone their observation and evaluation skills. These become springboards for choreography that reinforces the concepts in the chapter—and provide another adventure of exploring movement potential.
The author uses a basic movement vocabulary that you can use to describe and evaluate movement possibilities, improve sensitivity when working in groups, develop critical-thinking skills, and express ideas and emotions through movement.

The book also contains these features designed to help students personalize and interact with the content:
-Short quizzes

-Highlight boxes

-Self-assessment exercises

-Updated, easy-reference index
Whatever your students' level of artistic awareness, this engaging text will inspire innovation and help you guide students in the discovery of their own creativity and sense of dance.

Constance Schrader, MA, is an independent artist and a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she founded and directs the dance program. She received her master's degree in dance from Mills College in Oakland, California, in 1979. Schrader is a member of the North Carolina Dance Alliance and Alternate ROOTS, a national organization of performing artists

Throughout her dance career Schrader has been awarded many grants and scholarships, including consecutive scholarships to attend the American Dance Festival. She has toured internationally with Meredith Monk/The House and has presented her own choreography nationally and internationally. She has worked as an associate director of a dance company and is affiliated with a regional movement theater company. Schrader is also a certified Pilates instructor.

In addition to being a teacher, choreographer, and a national and international performing artist for more than 30 years, Schrader has a rich variety of real-life experiences that have helped her make dance an art form that is accessible to a wide range of people. In fact, her greatest sense of accomplishment doesn't come from diplomas or awards, but from teaching 3,000 Japanese people to clap a rhythm at a festival in Togamura and coaxing U.S. executives to loosen their ties, kick off their shoes, and leap and laugh.

Schrader lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, Clayton, and their children, where she pursues her other passion, gardening.