From Student to Dance Artist
Advanced high school dancers deepen their art through lessons blending movement with analysis, performance, and choreographic projects. Guided through anatomy, injury prevention, fitness, and historical context, students cultivate creativity while exploring dance as both expressive art and scientific practice.
Experiencing Dance: From Student to Dance Artist, Third Edition, is a best-selling high school text for students who have completed an introductory dance course and want to further expand their dance knowledge and skills. Geared toward students in dance II, III, and IV classes, this text places teachers in the role of facilitator and opens a world of creativity and analytical thinking as students explore dance as an art form.

Designed to meet national and state dance education standards, Experiencing Dance offers a complete and flexible dance curriculum that will allow students to understand dance through creation, performance, analysis, and response. Whether as performers, choreographers, or observers, students will cultivate a deeper appreciation of dance as they delve into major topics such as these:

• Recognizing movement potential as a dancer
• Understanding dance science and its application through studying basic anatomy and injury prevention in dance training
• Developing proper warm-ups and cool-downs
• Integrating fitness principles and nutrition information into healthy dancing practices
• Exploring dance as an art form-the roles of the dancer, the historical and cultural heritage of the dance, and the dance’s connections to community and society
• Choreographing dance in a variety of styles and forms and incorporating various production elements for the performance
• Preparing for a future as a dancer or choreographer or for a career that is otherwise connected to dance

• Move It! introduces students to the lesson through a movement experience; the web resource supplements some activities with video examples.
• Vocabulary provides definitions of key terms.
• Curtain Up offers relevant background information.
• Take the Stage presents dance-related assignments for students to produce and share.
• Take a Bow gauges students understanding of the assignment.
• Spotlight introduces a person, thing, event, or place aligned with the topic.
• Did You Know? offers additional information to enhance overall knowledge.