Recently I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine and we got to talking about how so many young students do not know who choreographers such as Bob Fosse or Alvin Ailey are. I have noticed that in the last 5-7 years of my teaching experience fewer and fewer students are exposed to any sort of historical context and know nothing about the choreographers who shaped today's dance world.
Luckily we live in the age of technology and YouTube has been a life saver in the classroom. When I teach theater dance to high school students I can pull up videos of Jack Cole, Bob Fosse, Twyla Tharp, Susan Stroman, and many more with the click of a mouse (or tap of my iPhone screen). The students have responded well to these video viewings; I accredit this to their obsession with Facebook, YouTube, OoVoo, and Skype.
YouTube is now an essential part of my curriculum development. It is a free, easy, and highly accessible way to keep students historically informed and use technology in the classroom.
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