Utbildare i dans perspektiv på formeringen av en pedagogutbildning 1939-1965

Sammanfattning: This thesis describes and theoretically illuminates perspectives on the formation of a dance teacher education in Sweden during the period 1939–65. The process is explored mainly through the visions and activities of Svenska Danspedagogförbundet, SDF (The Swedish Dance Teacher Association). Particular attention is paid to specific instances which eventually could lead toward the establishment of a government-sponsored educational program. The work is both chronologically and thematically arranged in order to enlighten time specific turning points that also encompass three major themes which can be seen as initiation, expansion and establishment. These themes summarize the problems my investigation zeroes in on. The chronological framework is bounded by the foundation of the SDF in 1939, and the first year of classes at the new pedagogical section of Koreografiska Institutet, KI (the Choreographic Institute) in 1964–65. The study focuses on the intersection of aesthetic, educational, and professional transformative processes which also includes the international field of dance. More specifically the study explores the initial process gathering practitioners in a professional association, which could lead both to unionization and the establishment of an education. As far as professional and educational questions are concerned the process toward establishing a system of dance teacher education followed a general growth and organization of the Swedish educational system as a whole. The educational alternatives which evolved between 1959 and 1965 corresponded to both internal and external needs, especially by exposing the lack of a competent corps of teachers. The study examines how these alternatives collaborated and competed with one another for a relatively short time. Though lines of contention were drawn between leading actors this work also illuminates how the profession and the art itself acquired increased status in a broader cultural context. The vision of modernizing the art of dance along with its pedagogy is shown to be as much about pedagogic matters as about aesthetic ideals. Regardless of actual differences and approaches to aesthetics and education the process was guided toward the establishment of a dance teacher education.