Individuals Who Determined the Dance Philosophy of Graduate Education

Abstract

Twenty-nine teachers of dance in graduate schools in the United States were interviewed to find out what teachers and what performing artists were seminal in determining their teaching philosophies. Data on the longevity of the teaching careers of the subjects were gathered. A statement of teaching philosophy was sought. The subjects named Gertrude Kline Colby and Margaret Newell H'Doubler as seminal teachers and Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Mary Wigman as seminal artists. The longevity of the subjects' careers indicated that they have largely determined the teaching philosophy of dance in education in the United States. The statements of philosophies, although available, are too complex and lengthy for this report.