On the 19th June 2017, three of our ADA Members, Joanne Grace, Paul Kemp and Lisa Maloney were asked to form the Judging Panel of the 17th Annual Sydney Catholic Colleges Dance Competition at All Saints Catholic College Liverpool. It isn’t very often adjudicators have the opportunity to work together and for all of the panel to consist of ADA members was a very special occasion.
Thank you Sydney Catholic Colleges for a very well organised event and it was a privilege to part of the day.
This article explores age appropriate choreography for children.
ADA Member Lisa Moloney was interviewed for this article published in Dance Australia Magazine in October/November 2013.
Click on the image to read the article or follow the link below
http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/age-appropriate-choreography
Too much choreography for children is too adult for their age, writes Karen van Ulzen.
One of the main issues that arose from the RG Dance scandal was that of age appropriate choreography for children. Internet chatter about the case expressed horror at the adult or sexual nature of some of the school’s costuming and choreography.
It should be a simple matter to judge. Don’t give students under 18 dance moves, costuming or music that are sexually suggestive or involve “adult concepts”. But the trouble is, it seems we do not all agree on what is “age appropriate”. What is cute to one set of eyes is obscene to the next.
The issue of offensive choreography has been of concern to some adjudicators and eisteddfod organisers. Some eisteddfod committees have taken a stand by writing new rules forbidding offensive material.
For example, in a direct response to the RG Dance Scandal, the Bendigo Dance Eisteddfod has added a new rule that “inappropriate lyrics, costumes and/or movments on stage may lead to disqualification”. The Sunshine Coast Dance Eisteddfod made headlines this year when it issued a new rule that “students must wear a pair of flesh tights and… avoid the overextended (turned in/inverted) mount with the crotch facing the audience”.
I asked the Australian Dance Adjudicators, a voluntary organisation set up to lift the standard of dance adjudication, if they had guidelines on what constitutes “age appropriate” choreography…
This is an edited extract from an article in the Oct/Nov issue of Dance Australia. OUT NOW! Buy it at your favourite dance shop or subscribe here.
Read more at http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/age-appropriate-choreography#7WpjTwT9EUI0OmZr.99
