Continuing Professional Development
Develop your teaching practice
The suite of short CPD courses at The Place and London Contemporary Dance School aims to nurture and build a rich and supportive community of global dance practitioners by offering a framework for high quality teaching and learning at pre-vocational and higher education levels. The Place is recognised as a world leader in the field of dance education and training. The short CPD courses for Dance Teachers programme extends this calibre of excellence and opens accessibility globally through a bespoke training provision facilitated online and in-person, both at The Place in London and at a range of national and international locations. The vision is to celebrate and share innovative practices and promote accessibility, inclusivity, and cultural exchange in professional development for dance practitioners.
KEY BENEFITS
- Globally accessible CPD provided in-person and online
- Inclusive approaches to dance pedagogy
- Singular ‘pick up’ units of study
- Progressive pathways of study
- Integrated dance science and somatic approaches to dance teaching
- Mentoring from Internationally respectedworld-leading practitioners
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
There are six independent units of study that you can pick and choose from to achieve your personal learning goals. A brief overview of each unit is provided below.
Introduction to Dance Pedagogy
Introduction to Dance Pedagogy aims to provide you with theory, practical experiences, tutor and peer support, and collaborative discussion to enhance your professional development as dance practitioners with a focus on teaching within pre-vocational, and vocational/HE contexts. In this unit of study, you will engage with key pedagogical frameworks and consider their application in dance teaching and learning. You will be introduced to methodologies for embodied transactional learning and encouraged to critically review and appraise your own teaching practice, You will be guided through practical workshops, peer and tutor observations and discussion, and key reading to support the development of your own professional teaching practice.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.
Reflective Practice in Dance
Reflective Practice in Dance aims to provide you with theory, reflective tasks, and collaborative discussion to support your personal-professional reflection as dance practitioners, while also giving you skills in relation to your own teaching and use of reflective practice with your students. In this unit of study, you will be introduced to key theoretical frameworks of reflective practice through the work of scholars including Donald Schön, and David Kolb, as well as engaging with embodied methods of teaching and learning which foster applications of reflexivity in practice. You will be guided through tasks, peer and tutor discussion and key reading to support your engagement with your own reflection, and the development of modes of reflective practice with your students.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.
Inclusive Spaces of Teaching and Learning
Inclusive Spaces of Teaching and Learning aims to provide you with theory, practical experiences, tutor and peer support, and collaborative discussion to enhance your professional development as dance practitioners with a focus on teaching within pre-vocational, and vocational/HE contexts. In this unit of study, you will engage with theories and perspectives on inclusivity and diversity and consider their application in dance teaching and learning. You will be introduced to approaches to nurturing safe and accountable spaces for dance and strategies for inclusion and empowerment of students. You will be guided through practical workshops, peer and tutor observations and discussion, and key reading to support the development of your own professional teaching practice.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.
Safe and Inclusive Dance Practice
Safe and Inclusive Dance Practice aims to provide you with theory and practical experiences to enhance your professional development as dance practitioners with a focus on teaching within pre-vocational, and vocational/HE contexts. In this unit of study, you will engage with theories within the field of Dance Science and become more aware of strategies of Safe Dance Practice and Inclusive approaches to teaching dance technique. You will be introduced to approaches to working with students through developmental stages of growth and maturity from a scientific perspective and from the perspective of working with mixed ability groups. You will be guided through practical workshops, peer and tutor observations and discussion, and key reading to support the development of your own professional teaching practice.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.
Developing Creative skills with Improvisation
Developing Creative Skills with Improvisation aims to provide you with practical experiences and creative dialogue, to enhance your professional development as dance practitioners with a focus on teaching within pre-vocational, and vocational/HE contexts. In this unit of study, you will engage with a range of improvisatory techniques and approaches to using improvisation as a creative tool. You will be introduced to approaches to working with improvisation in performance, choreography, and for improved communication and team building with young dancers in training. You will be guided through practical workshops to support the development of your own professional teaching practice in this area.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.
Exploring Cunningham Technique® Fundamentals
This short course, taught by Jeannie Steele, will offer Cunningham-based teachers a deeper exploration of the foundational elements of the Cunningham Technique®. It is fully endorsed by the Merce Cunningham Trust (MCT) and participation in this short course may provide you with advanced standing in applying for further accreditation by MCT in New York. In this unit, you will be interrogating the fundamental principles of the technique including; the functionality of its opening exercises, use of variation and application of modifications as well as aspects related to overall class structure, pace, and progression. This will be studio-based learning and will offer the opportunity to engage in peer and tutor discussion, mentoring, and reflection. This course is intended for those who already have an existing Cunningham-based teaching practice. It will be assumed that all participants have a clear prior understanding and experience with the Merce Cunningham technique.
Closed.
Teaching Release Technique
Teaching Release-based technique aims to provide you with core principles of safe and effective teaching and learning practice specifically in the fundamentals of Release-based techniques. Through engaging in practical workshops, peer observations and one-to-one mentoring, you will develop skills and confidence in teaching Release-based technique through clear principles of practice. In this unit of study, you will be introduced to fundamental principles of somatic practice, lineages and philosophies of release-basedn techniques; guided through the functionality and the breakdown of exercises; and learn the overall structure, pace, and progression of release-based work. You will engage in practice-based studio learning (which can be facilitated in person or online), peer and tutor discussion, mentoring, and reflection in the development of your advanced learning in teaching release-based technique.
Registration for this unit is not open yet. Details will be updated here.