Fundamentally cultural and aesthetic in nature, dance is a powerful non-verbal language. Students are actively involved in a universal, essential form of personal, social, cognitive, physical and artistic expression.
Dance education makes significant contributions to the understanding of culture while developing personal creativity and expressiveness through guided movement experiences. The Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance strongly affirms that dance is a comprehensive academic discipline which is essential to the total growth, development, and education of all children K-12.
TAHPERD agrees with the National Dance Association (NDA) and the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) that a comprehensive, progressive curriculum for dance should be required throughout grades K-12. Movement is known to be a fundamental form of communication and a primary means of self-awareness. A variety of multi-cultural dance experiences provides students with a broad understanding of cultures through the study of traditional forms of artistic movement such as ballet, ballroom, folk/ethnic, jazz, modern, and tap. These dance forms are fundamental ways we come to know our world, our heritage, and others around us. Creative experiences enlarge the students' understanding of life. They engage the imagination in projects that encourage commitment and self-fulfillment.
Dance is approved by the Texas Education Agency as a certified teaching area. Whether dance is offered for physical education or fine arts credit, a certified dance teacher should be provided for grades 7-12. In grades K-6, an elementary movement education specialist, with a minimum of 12 credits in dance is essential.