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Tama Wātea:Integrating Māori Perspectives into Dance Education: A Tertiary Example

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Intersecting Cultures in Music and Dance Education

Part of the book series: Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education ((LAAE,volume 19))

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Abstract

This chapter explores the complexities and possibilities of intercultural dance education through reflecting about a project carried out by the Dance Studies programme housed in the School of Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Sciences located at University of Otago in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The ethnographic reconnaissance examines the challenges and potentials of integrating Māori perspectives into dance education; and how Māori worldview(s) can stimulate critical-cultural-gender understandings. The politics of asserting indigenous worldview within education extend beyond the parameters of dance pedagogies and the New Zealand context. Dovetailing into global education conversations, this study provides insights into the following: the intricacies cultural diversity, the problems arising from multicultural tokenism, the need to confront official school knowledge and curriculum; and the importance of recovering indigenous meaning and realities within postcolonial societies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Retrieved September 11, 2013, http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/SfC244b.pdf

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank Linda Ashley for her support on this paper. Jack Gray for the wonderful student mentorship, teaching inspiration and constructive feedback on this research. I also want to express gratitude for the project guidance given by Kaumatua Huata Holmes and Rua McCallum. Lastly, I want to say many thanks to the students for embracing the journey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences – Te Kura Para-Whakawai, University of Otago – Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo, 12 Gorman, MacAndrew Bay Dunedin, Dunedin, 9014, New Zealand

    Ojeya Cruz Banks

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  1. Ojeya Cruz Banks
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Correspondence to Ojeya Cruz Banks .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Auckland, New Zealand

    Linda Ashley

  2. Auckland, New Zealand

    David Lines

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Banks, O.C. (2016). Tama Wātea:Integrating Māori Perspectives into Dance Education: A Tertiary Example. In: Ashley, L., Lines, D. (eds) Intersecting Cultures in Music and Dance Education. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28989-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28989-2_16

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28987-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28989-2

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