Education in the
performing arts is a key part of many
primary and
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
curricula and is also available as a specialisation at the
tertiary level. The
performing arts, which include, but are not limited to
dance,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
and
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, are key elements of
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
and engage participants at a number of levels.
The endpoint for performing arts education varies: some educators integrate arts into school classrooms to support other curricula while simultaneously building students' art skills, and some focus on performing arts as an academic discipline in itself.
Performing arts integration
Performing arts integration in schools
Integrating performing arts into educational experiences can help students learn other subjects, such as science, as well as help them develop various non-arts-based skills. As children grow, engaging them in performance arts can help them meet developmental milestones, including those for
motor skill
A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, muscles, and br ...
s and
psychosocial skills. For example, teachers can integrate performing arts and the discussion thereof into their classrooms to honor student
self-expression.
Bilingual youth can benefit from this type of
arts integration
Arts integration differs from traditional education by its inclusion of both the arts discipline and a traditional subject as part of learning (e.g. using improvisational drama skills to learn about conflict in writing.) The goal of arts integrat ...
because it offers them modes of communication that can respond more easily to their culture and language than text-based or test-based learning.
Regardless of the language used, teachers have found that using performing arts in the classroom, such as improvisational drama, can help students process and prepare for non-arts-based life situations, including
bullying.
Performing arts integration out of schools
Performing arts integration that empowers students in these ways doesn't only happen in schools; community organizations, such as the Beat Nation Collective in Canada, use hip hop performance to help students deepen their understanding of and broaden their experience with indigenous identity and language.
Issues of access and equity
Despite the benefits of engaging students in performing arts, many students, particularly minority students such as African American and Latino students, do not have equitable access to performing arts in their school classrooms.
Discipline-based performing arts
The performing arts differ from the
plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face and/or presence as a medium Performers often adapt their
appearance
Appearance may refer to:
* Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light
* Human physical appearance, what someone looks like
* ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp
* Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
by special
clothing,
stage makeup
Theatrical makeup is makeup that is used to assist in creating the appearance of the characters that actors portray during a theater production.
Background
In Greek and Roman theatre, makeup was unnecessary. Actors wore various masks, allowi ...
, etc.
For students pursuing elite
professional
career
The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...
s in performing arts like
classical ballet
Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), it ...
and
circus arts, the physical demands are such that early entry into training can be essential.
The breadth of areas covered by the performing arts is wide, including:
*
Acting
**
Comedy
**
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
**
Magic
**
Film
**
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
**
Theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
*
Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
**
Busking
**
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
*
Dance
*
Circus skills
**
Acrobatics
**
Juggling
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...
*
Marching arts
The marching arts are a collection of fine arts related activities that are closely associated with wind music. The marching arts include, but are not necessarily limited to marching band, drum corps, pep band, color guard, winter guard, and ...
*
Performance art
Prominent providers of performing arts education
Australia
*
Helpmann Academy
*
National Institute of Circus Arts
*
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...
*
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
India
*
Darpana Academy of Performing Arts
*
Kala Academy
Kala Academy (Academy of the Arts) is a prominent cultural centre run by the Government of Goa, in Goa, India. Situated at Campal, Panjim
Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of ...
*
Meghalaya Academy of Arts
Kuwait
* Higher Institute of Musical Arts
* Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts
United Kingdom
*
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), founded in 1861
*
Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), founded in 1920
*
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
(RADA), founded in 1904
*
Royal Ballet School, founded in 1931
*
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
, founded in 1906
United States
*
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
*
American Musical and Dramatic Academy
The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...
(AMDA), New York City and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
*
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
*
Leland Powers School
*
National Dance Institute
*
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. Locate ...
(NOCCA)
*
The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (NYCDA), New York City
*
School of American Ballet,
Lincoln Center, New York City, the official academy of the
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
*
Un-Cabaret Laboratories, teaches
alternative comedy writing and performance
See also
*
:Schools of the performing arts
*
:Drama schools
*
Entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
*
Performing arts
*
Visual arts education
References
External links
Arts in the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum FrameworkCalifornia Department of Education "Visual and Performing Arts Framework"Preschool to year 12
{{Education by subject
Performing arts
Entertainment