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Miranda Posten

Arizona State University

PPE 310: Healthy Learning Communities

Jennifer Houston

November 20, 2017

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Introduction

It is known by now that teens are very prone to developing some serious conditions at

their age. Whether it is emotional stability issues, body image/self-love battles, and even creating

poor eating habits; they are at an age where everything is at risk. The percentage of teens dealing

with adolescent depression is sky rocketing. They are at a very sensitive age where anything and

everything can lead them down a certain path for the rest of their lives. It is our job as educators

to ensure that they go down the right path.

It has been proven on many accounts and in many studies that physical activity relieves

stress and decreases risk of depression in anyone, but especially teens. Dance in particular is

known to be a form of emotional release. It is one of the most effective ways of clearing your

mind and leaving all of the negative things in your life behind.

I believe that it would be very beneficial to those in high school to participate in dance

classes or a dance program. It will create a safe environment for self-expression and self-love.

Dance allows creativity to flow while holding you accountable to technique. You are able to set

goals to advance and build your skills. It is an activity that has endless benefits and is universally

loved. Dance and the arts in general is a tool that is undervalued in the education system. I

believe incorporating these would bring unlimited profits to students.

Literature Review

DeMesa-Simpson, D, "The impact of dance/movement classes on adolescent

behavior in an urban high school setting" (2014). Thesis and Dissertations. 435.

http://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/435
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The first study that I found focused on 45 secondary school students who participated in

daily dance classes at the school for an hour and a half blocks each day. 11 of the 45 students

have individual education plans and a few of them have emotional and behavioral disorders.

These students took the dance class for a whole semester. The study is measured by how many

disciplinary infractions each student has while enrolled in the course from start to finish. These

infractions include things like cutting class, being disrespectful to staff, or verbal abuse/use of

profanity. The results were positive. The decrease in behavioral incidents showed that there was

a substantial decline in the amount of referrals incurred by students during and after the

participation of daily dance classes. These results indicated that movement classes had a positive

impact on adolescent behavior. (De-Mesa, Simpson)

Duberg, A.Dance Intervention for Adolescent Girls (2016) Effects and

Experience. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:902081/FULLTEXT01.pdf

The next study I found focused on adolescent girls. This study involved girls with

internalized emotional and behavioral problems. Before the study began, they all took a

questionnaire about how they feel about themselves and their stress levels. Then the study began.

It took place over the course of 8 months. The girls participated in a bi-weekly dance program at

their school. This program included a warm up, progressions, and choreography. With a few

different focus groups amongst the girls, it was clear as to what the conclusion was at the end of

the study. When the girls took the questionnaire at the end of the 8 month period, a large

majority of the girls felt that, increased levels of self-rated health, decreased somatic symptoms,

emotional distress and use of medication, increased feelings of self-trust (Duberg)

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Akandere, M., & Demir, B. (2011). The Effect of Dance over Depression. Retrieved

from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bcbc/4f9b7c8f2a16416b92d4d6d0798c017e883a.pdf

Another study that I found was focused on 20 subjects in their early twenties. They were

split into two groups, one group undergoing dance training and the other as a control. The dance

training group participated in 3 dance classes a week for 12 weeks. Each group member for both

groups were measured by a depression scale before and after the 12 weeks. The results show that

the measurements of the dance training group had decreased in depression levels significantly

over the course of 12 weeks, whereas the control group did not show significant change.

Sobash, Samantha (2014) "The Psychology of Competitive Dance: A Study of the

Motivations for Adolescent Involvement," eResearch: A Journal of Undergraduate Work:

Vol. 3: No. 2, Article. Available at:

http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/eResearch/vol3/iss2/3

The last study I found was conducted on 58 college students from California who have

been trained prior in dance. They were each given one of two surveys. Survey A was intended

for those who have participated in dance competitions and Survey B was intended for those who

have not. This study is about whether or not actual dancers feel like their dance career/studies

have given them and overall better quality of life. 35.53% said it gives dancers opportunities to

receive feedback from experiences judges in the field; 27.5% said it gives dancers more

opportunities to perform; 21.6% said it gives dancers opportunities to meet and see the work of

dancers from different areas. The dancers (77.1%) enjoyed competing, but only 47.9% would

encourage adolescents to participate in dance competitions. (Sobash) The conclusion was not

that ground breaking but it definitely offered a different perspective.

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Synthesis of Information

All four of the articles I have collected had studies conducted to find out if participating

in dance creates a better life for individuals as well as combatting certain emotional and

behavioral issues that may be ongoing. Every study came to a consensus; dance is proven to

reduce stress and risk of depression as well as give participants an overall better quality of life.

Each study was conducted in a different way and with a variety of participants. Some

were just adolescent girls, some were a mix of teens and others focused on young adults. The

studies ranged from dance interventions for complete novices to advanced/professional levels.

Each one of these studies used different methods and procedures but ended with the same

outcome.

The articles I chose completely support my stance about dance. It is an outlet that allows

us to release our feelings and built up stress. It gives us the freedom to let go and focus on

something else. It is a form of creativity and self-expression. It is therapeutic. It would be

beneficial to anyone, but especially those who are struggling or at risk for teenage depression.

Marketing

To help market my after school dance program for high schoolers, I will start out by

creating posters to put up around the school. (see Appendix A) These posters will be fun and

bright. They will present the idea of a dance program without giving the details of dates and

times. I want these posters to have a fun graphic on them as well as relatability to them for the

students to connect with. They will say, If you love to dance, come see Ms. Posten during lunch

or before/after school. That way I can see how many students have seen the posters and I can
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gauge what my audience looks like. I can then better prepare for how many students are going to

want to be involved; and if it is not a lot, I know can market more to obtain a larger audience.

Next thing I will do it to send out a newsletter to the parents as well post the newsletter

on the school walls. (see Appendix B) This newsletter will advertise when the program start date

is and how to register. I will make the newsletter that it posted on the walls have rip away tabs

with the information on them for students to take. They will be able to register online. When the

start date comes, I can see exactly how many students will be involved.

From there, I plan to make T-shirts for everyone in the program. (see Appendix C) Not

only does this give a sense of belonging to students, but it also is a way to keep advertising more

students to join when they wear their T-shirts at school. The shirts will be fun, neutral, and send

a message!

Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Appendix C

Funding

I think a great start for funding a dance program at first is to use money from the T-shirts

to go towards the program. We could sell the T-shirts to students outside of the program as well

as other faculty and parents. Secondly, dance programs normally have performances. Whether

these are at basketball games, football games, people pay a ticket to see the game. If the dance

program is part of that package, we can receive a small cut of the money. Lastly, I remember

some of the most fun I had was doing car washes with my dance team in high school. It was a

bonding activity and we made a lot of money. Fundraisers are a great way to bring in some cash

and bring you group together.

Committee

Once the program has been started, I will be able to see if there are any leaders or anyone

who excels in vocalizing directions. I think it is important to have a captain or a few captains to

look to guidance if the coach or admin is not around. I also think that having more than one

person in my position as the coach or admin is really helpful as well. Depending on how large
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this group is, multiple points of reference are necessary in order to run smoothly. It is normally

not very difficult to find a teacher who used to be on dance or cheer who wants to help out.

Engagement

At the end of each season, I plan to do an awards banquet. We will have a potluck

somewhere in the school, most likely the cafeteria. The students in the program will come and

bring their families and friends if they want. We will give out superlatives and other awards to

every single student. No one will be left out. We will also give them each a medal or certificate

with their name on it. I think the next day on the morning announcements it should be said that

we had the banquet and we are all very proud of our participating members of the dance

program.

Recognition

I would love to have the morning announcements once every few days say something to

help advertise the program. It would also be fun to have them share victories we have had in

competitions or share the skills we are working on. I think that reaching out to the local paper

about the dance program would be a great idea as well. It would give us a chance to put a

paragraph or two in it about who we are, what we do, and why we do it.

Scheduling

This program would hopefully start at the beginning of the school year. I would have the

start date be in the beginning-middle of September, that way we are able to put together a routine

to do at a few of the last football games if we could. I would have practice 3 times a week, 2 hour

long practices, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is a great way to give some students a
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place to go and a place to feel welcome after school. Other activities or events outside of normal

practice would be scheduled accordingly.

Conclusion

Dance has been an extremely important part of my life for 18 years. I know I can thank

dance for my sanity and being the person I am today. Without dance, I probably would not be in

college and working to get my own house. I would probably be living off of my parents or

sleeping at my friends house. It has been my release and my stress reliever for many years. It

helped me get through my parents divorce, multiple finals weeks, and normal everyday stress

and emotions.

I know that implementing a dance program in a high school would be so beneficial to the

students. It would give them a sense of belonging and a place to go after school. Clubs and

organizations are very important for kids at this age. It is crucial for them to feel like they have a

home in a social setting and they have people outside of their family to talk to and connect with.

I hope that this dance program is successful. I would like it start out as an after school

club that participates in a few voluntary performances. Eventually I would like to have 2 separate

teams/programs. One that would just be recreational and focus on creativity and artistry and

emotional release; the other one would develop into more of a competitive team for those who

want to grow their skills in dance and take on some leadership roles. I think that this would be a

fantastic addition to a school system to promote emotional, social, mental, and physical well-

being of each student.

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References

DeMesa-Simpson, D, "The impact of dance/movement classes on adolescent

behavior in an urban high school setting" (2014). Thesis and Dissertations. 435.

http://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/435

Duberg, A.Dance Intervention for Adolescent Girls (2016) Effects and

Experience. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:902081/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Akandere, M., & Demir, B. (2011). The Effect of Dance over Depression. Retrieved

from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bcbc/4f9b7c8f2a16416b92d4d6d0798c017e883a.pdf

Sobash, Samantha (2014) "The Psychology of Competitive Dance: A Study of the

Motivations for Adolescent Involvement," eResearch: A Journal of Undergraduate Work:

Vol. 3: No. 2, Article. Available at: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/e-

Research/vol3/iss2/3