Педагогические науки / 5. Современные методы преподавания

Romanov V.A., Rudneva L.V., Egorov A.I.

Tula Leo Tolstoy State Pedagogical University, Russia

Pedagogical requirements for expressive movements development by means of choreography for schoolgirls with muscle-skeleton disorder

 

The number of schoolchildren with muscle-skeleton disorder is increasing nowadays. Literature data analysis as well as our professional experience proves that such students face  problems in independent living skills, movement, training, communication, pastime, which makes the task of creating necessary conditions for their socialization and integration in the society especially important.

Within a framework of Accessibility State Programme (2011 -2020) schoolchildren with different development delays, including muscle-skeleton disorder (amputees, wheelchair invalids and others), will have the ability to access the activities according to their interest, choreography among them. In our opinion choreography provides the best possibility for character building, esthetic development and cultivation of dancer’s personality in general.

Wheelchair dances started to develop in Tula in 2014. The movement was initiated by Raisa Lazareva,  leader of “My dear Sunny light” society uniting mothers of disabled children. She worked out the “Harmony of soul” project which gained governmental support, special wheelchairs were bought and all necessary conditions for the class were provided (ground floor, easy access, spacious stage, etc.) [5]. 

The grounds for the wheelchairers classes were provided by city of Tula’s cultural establishment “Culture and leisure Centre”. Wheelchair invalids were united in “Tulitsa” ensemble directed by professional choreographer Irina Eremina. The group consists of two disabled girls of 15 and 16 years of age, and two male students  of Tula regional culture and arts college.

In our opinion, dancing classes teach not only to understand beauty but also to express beauty by body movements. Body expressiveness is one of the components which delivers the dance “language”.

S.I. Ozhegov and Ju.I. Rodin consider expressiveness to be “the ability to express your inner state by outer means” [1].

According to Ju. I. Rodin, Doctor of Psychology, “expressiveness can be viewed as a certain unity of psycho-physiological system, which include a number of co-existing and self-regulating functional systems of preverbal and verbal levels, reflecting the values of external and internal human impetus, manifesting itself as muscle movements.  Every human movement is expressive, because it always shows at least presence or absence of emotional experience (motor response), person’s attitude to what is happening (motor behavior)” [3].

 Thus, movement expressiveness is the means to deliver a certain emotional state by acting.

Ju.I. Rodin states that “expressive movements can have their own, independent of words, meaning. This refers to immediately arising emotions. It is not the case with the expressive movements in the dance – they are scenic, different from life-like, though at the same time “acting” calls for the actor’s special emotion which enhances the technique” [3].

Literature data analysis shows that dance movements expressiveness is determined, on the one hand, by the richness of inner emotional experience and, on the other hand, by control of  motor palette, choreographic vocabulary, ability to convey these feelings. In our opinion it is determined by the inborn potential of the performer and, at the same time, by the environment in which the performer, the dancer lives.  Particularly the choreographer-tutor has a great effect on the modeling of  the pupil’s personality. Both these factors are closely connected, but the minor role is played by  spirituality, because you cannot rise to eminence in any field without persistence and determination.

Principal expressive means of dancing art are harmonic movements, posture, plastic, facial mobility, dynamic motion, tempo and rhythm, spatial design, arrangement. Onstage dress and requisites are also of great importance but the main thing in the dance is music, which enhances the expressiveness of dancers’ movements and gestures, emotional charge of the dance in general.

The wheelchair schoolgirls’ ability to express emotions and display  feelings is somewhat hindered due to primary and secondary handicap, but it is absolutely necessary in dancing, and that makes the girls look for means and techniques to encourage the development of this ability. This quest is the aim of our investigation. 

Successful solution of the movement expressiveness problem requires development and introduction in the teaching process some necessary pedagogical conditions of its perfection on the basis of intensification.

Taking into account professional experience  of present day pedagogical researches we may say that “pedagogical conditions are to be understood as a content validity of the components which constitute  the training and education system” to which we can add from our professional experience “and creation of such an educational process that would be aimed at reaching particular didactical goals in the framework of training the girls the movement expressiveness by means of choreography” [2; 4].

We have found out that the process of movement expressiveness development in schoolgirls with muscle-skeleton disorder will be more efficient under the following pedagogical conditions:

1.     Use of special verbal and tactile communication means;

2.     Compensation of both primary and secondary deviations of the schoolgirls with developmental delay in dancing classes;

3.     Creation of  correctional-developmental environment in the dancers’ training process, etc.

We have developed adaptive complexes of choreographical exercises for the basic part of a training class for the  movement expressiveness development in schoolgirls with muscle-skeleton disorder.

 The complex consists of four training blocks with three exercises in each:

1.     Port de bras  of I, II, III forms.

2.     Musical rhythmical exercises for hearing perception.

3.     The student listens to the music, determines its character and follows with his hands movements rhythms of smooth, alarming and  expressive music.

4.     Posture correction exercises in sitting position which include different movements of the head, arms, body, performed separately and in combinations.

The research involved two girls of 14 and 16 years of age, disability status 2. The dancing classes took place two times a week, duration of each 45 - 75 minutes. 

We can state with certainty that the experimental training complex aimed at development of movement expressiveness has proved successful, which was demonstrated by the improved results of special tests. The best results were obtained in “The evaluation of sense of rhythm” and “The reflection of  music character with the arms movements” tests. In “Port de bras” test one of the students got the highest result, and the other showed a satisfactory result. In our opinion it can be explained by the personality traits of the participants and their primary defect.

Despite the sort time of its existence the Tulitsa ensemble has repeatedly  participated in the city’s public events on different stages. The ensemble’s repertoire includes both solo dances and duets.

Thus, the analysis of our research shows that dancing is not only the means of adaptive rehabilitation, motor recreation,  but  also contributes a lot to spiritual and  esthetic development, overcoming of isolation, to social integration and the realization of disabled people’s creative potential.

Literature

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2.     Егоров А.И. Система организации индивидуальных образовательных программ // Научно-методическое обеспечение  инновационной деятельности для повышения качества образовательного процесса: XXXIV учебно-методическая конференция профессорско-преподавательского состава ТГПУ им. Л.Н. Толстого. Часть 1. – Тула:  Изд-во ТГПУ им. Л.Н. Толстого, 2007. С. 268-270.

3.     Родин Ю.И. Развитие представлений о выразительности человека и его движений. Инновационные технологии в физическом воспитании и спорте: / Мат. Всерос. науч.-практ. конф. / Под ред. А.Ю. Фролова. – Тула: Изд-во Тул. гос. пед. ун-та им. Л.Н. Толстого, 2015. С. 222-229.

4.     Романов В.А. Психолого-педагогические условия успешности обучения  бакалавров в вузе / В.А. Романов // Research Journal of International Studies (Международный научно-исследовательский журнал). 2014. № 8(27) Часть 2.  С. 90-91.

5.     Яковлева Е.А., Шепеленко С.А. Танцы на колясках как паралимпийский вид спорта и его развитие в Туле. / Вестник ГОУ ДПО ТО «ИПК и ППРО ТО». – 2016.  – № 2. С. 46-47.