Dance, Education Students Move to a New Beat with Attack Theatre
Assistant Professor of Dance TaMara Swank and Attack Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director Michele de la Reza are working to create a pipeline for new dance educators in Pennsylvania.
Seton Hill became the first university in Pennsylvania to receive approval to offer the Undergraduate PK-12 Dance Teacher certification preparation program after the Pennsylvania Department of Education approved PK-12 licensure for teachers of dance in January 2023. Dance education students were welcomed into the Bachelor of Arts In Dance - Dance Education Concentration with PK-12 Dance Teacher Certification in the fall of 2024.
But one significant obstacle faces these students: a lack of existing certified dance teachers in school settings.
Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre has had education as a core component since its founding 30 years ago. This year, the group received funding through a Moonshot Grant from Remake Learning to work with Seton Hill University, the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization, and Central Westmoreland County Career Technical Center to help develop an inclusive pipeline for educators to earn certification in PK-12 dance education.
“Dance nurtures the whole child and can help to reinforce a well-rounded curriculum, supporting physical, cognitive, social and emotional development,” Swank added. “It can also help students to improve problem solving skills, express their emotions, build confidence, and practice their teamwork skills.”
Attack Theatre has established curriculum and techniques that their teaching artists have been using for decades to teach in community workshops and schools. For the Seton Hill portion of the program that took place this fall, Attack Theatre’s arts education manager, Brit Tague, worked with Assistant Professor of Dance TaMara Swank to develop the structure. The artists have visited campus several times to work with dance majors, dance education majors, and education majors in various workshops.
Seton Hill students learned from Attack Theatre’s teaching artists on campus and then had a chance to shadow the artists as they worked with third-grade students at Stanwood Elementary School children in the Hempfield school district over several sessions. Attack Theatre teaching artists spent time with dance majors and minors in several classes in the downtown Seton Hill Arts Center where Seton Hill students had the opportunity to learn more about teaching dance in schools.
“I loved everything that this workshop taught me and it really opened my eyes to what could interest kids and make kids intrigued,” said Payge Lytle, a junior Dance Education major with PK-12 Dance Teacher Certification.
For some students who may not have considered different applications for their dance major, working with Attack Theatre brought awareness of new possibilities.
"It wasn't until I got to know Attack Theatre and their methods for teaching K-12 that I understood how I could take my knowledge of dance and composition into Teaching Artist work,” said Savannah Bruno, a BFA Choreography major. “It is a wonderful opportunity for the undergraduates at Seton Hill to be exposed to this work so early in their dance careers."
For education students in Associate Professor of Education Melissa Tamburrino’s Science and Health class, the chance to bring dance into the classroom was one they fully embraced.
Attack Theatre teaching artists visited Tamburrino’s class in September to work with the future teachers, including elementary education, special education, and dance education majors. The artists modeled how to teach storytelling through movement and the following week the students taught a spin-off lesson alongside the team using this technique at Stanwood Elementary. Together, they engaged the lower elementary school students in the gym, incorporating storytelling through dance.
For Tamburrino’s class, working with movement to teach a lesson related to the health aspect of the class reinforced the idea that teaching goes beyond traditional methods.
“These types of activities make teaching more engaging and provide a variety of techniques to support different learning styles,” Tamburrino said. “They also encourage creativity and show that learning can happen in many different environments.”
The benefits of dance are something Swank and Attack Theatre have been familiar with and hope to continue to expand to others through their work with the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization. They hope that programs such as the Seton Hill initiative this fall can serve as a template for future dance educators across the state.
“The Pre-K–12 Dance Teacher Certification in Pennsylvania has created a need to effectively prepare future dance educators, as there are currently few certified teachers available to mentor student teachers,” said Swank. “Working with Attack Theatre has provided an example of what our dance education students will experience as a dance teacher in the public school system. Partnering with teaching artists from Attack Theatre allowed our education and dance students to gain valuable, hands-on teaching experience in a real classroom setting.”
Seton Hill became the first university in Pennsylvania to receive approval to offer the Undergraduate PK-12 Dance Teacher certification preparation program after the Pennsylvania Department of Education approved PK-12 licensure for teachers of dance in January 2023. Dance education students were welcomed into the Bachelor of Arts In Dance - Dance Education Concentration with PK-12 Dance Teacher Certification in the fall of 2024.
But one significant obstacle faces these students: a lack of existing certified dance teachers in school settings.
Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre has had education as a core component since its founding 30 years ago. This year, the group received funding through a Moonshot Grant from Remake Learning to work with Seton Hill University, the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization, and Central Westmoreland County Career Technical Center to help develop an inclusive pipeline for educators to earn certification in PK-12 dance education.
“Dance nurtures the whole child and can help to reinforce a well-rounded curriculum, supporting physical, cognitive, social and emotional development,” Swank added. “It can also help students to improve problem solving skills, express their emotions, build confidence, and practice their teamwork skills.”
Attack Theatre has established curriculum and techniques that their teaching artists have been using for decades to teach in community workshops and schools. For the Seton Hill portion of the program that took place this fall, Attack Theatre’s arts education manager, Brit Tague, worked with Assistant Professor of Dance TaMara Swank to develop the structure. The artists have visited campus several times to work with dance majors, dance education majors, and education majors in various workshops.
Seton Hill students learned from Attack Theatre’s teaching artists on campus and then had a chance to shadow the artists as they worked with third-grade students at Stanwood Elementary School children in the Hempfield school district over several sessions. Attack Theatre teaching artists spent time with dance majors and minors in several classes in the downtown Seton Hill Arts Center where Seton Hill students had the opportunity to learn more about teaching dance in schools.
“I loved everything that this workshop taught me and it really opened my eyes to what could interest kids and make kids intrigued,” said Payge Lytle, a junior Dance Education major with PK-12 Dance Teacher Certification.
For some students who may not have considered different applications for their dance major, working with Attack Theatre brought awareness of new possibilities.
"It wasn't until I got to know Attack Theatre and their methods for teaching K-12 that I understood how I could take my knowledge of dance and composition into Teaching Artist work,” said Savannah Bruno, a BFA Choreography major. “It is a wonderful opportunity for the undergraduates at Seton Hill to be exposed to this work so early in their dance careers."
For education students in Associate Professor of Education Melissa Tamburrino’s Science and Health class, the chance to bring dance into the classroom was one they fully embraced.
Attack Theatre teaching artists visited Tamburrino’s class in September to work with the future teachers, including elementary education, special education, and dance education majors. The artists modeled how to teach storytelling through movement and the following week the students taught a spin-off lesson alongside the team using this technique at Stanwood Elementary. Together, they engaged the lower elementary school students in the gym, incorporating storytelling through dance.
For Tamburrino’s class, working with movement to teach a lesson related to the health aspect of the class reinforced the idea that teaching goes beyond traditional methods.
“These types of activities make teaching more engaging and provide a variety of techniques to support different learning styles,” Tamburrino said. “They also encourage creativity and show that learning can happen in many different environments.”
The benefits of dance are something Swank and Attack Theatre have been familiar with and hope to continue to expand to others through their work with the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization. They hope that programs such as the Seton Hill initiative this fall can serve as a template for future dance educators across the state.
“The Pre-K–12 Dance Teacher Certification in Pennsylvania has created a need to effectively prepare future dance educators, as there are currently few certified teachers available to mentor student teachers,” said Swank. “Working with Attack Theatre has provided an example of what our dance education students will experience as a dance teacher in the public school system. Partnering with teaching artists from Attack Theatre allowed our education and dance students to gain valuable, hands-on teaching experience in a real classroom setting.”