PERCEIVED IMPACT OF DANCE ON PHYSICAL FITNESS OF STUDENTS OF IBITE HIGH SCHOOL, IWAYA, LAGOS STATE (Chapter 1-5)

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Dance is basic to learning. People learn most readily from experience. John Dewey understood this when he asserted, Action is the test of comprehension (Dewey, 1915).

To learn by doing and to act on knowledge is the basis of kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic learning is becoming more widely understood through the work of Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Howard Gardner (1944), and other cognitive theorists. Dance, in particular, integrates kinesthetic learning with understanding. People do not conceptualize abstract processes (Piaget). They primarily learn through physical and sensory experiences. When people are provided with creative movement problems that involve the selection of movement choices, they learn to think in the concrete reality of movement. Thus, learning the art of dance helps young people develop knowledge, skill, and understanding about the world.

Dance helps people develop literacy. To the young child, verbal language and movement are entwined. Preverbal movement expression does not cease when a child develops language. The road to literacy involves the translation of movement expression and communication into words. Learning language and learning dance are not separate threads, but are woven together and incorporated into a fabric of communication and understanding.

Dance provides young people multiple perspectives. It is a foundation of experience necessary for the future development of more advanced skills and a way to affirm an inner life and alternate realities (Stinson, 1990). Through dance, people develop enhanced sensory awareness, cognition, and consciousness. It is this heightened state that creates the magic of movement that is dance. Dance embodies one of our most primal relationships to the universe. It is pre-verbal, beginning before words can be formed. It is innate in people before they possess command over language and is evoked when thoughts or emotions are too powerful for words to contain.

People move naturally. They move to achieve mobility, they move to express a thought or feeling, and they move because it is joyful and feels wonderful. When their movement becomes consciously structured and is performed with awareness for its own sake, it becomes dance8. Dance is a natural method for learning and a basic form of cultural expression. People learn movement patterns as readily as they learn language. Just as all societies create forms of visual representation or organize sounds into music, all cultures organize movement and rhythm into one or more forms of dance.

The formal dance class has long been considered the cornerstone of training, providing all the technical, physical and aesthetic requirements of dance. In recent years a considerable amount of research has been carried out regarding the health of dancers. Findings from this research indicate that many dancers are not as fit and healthy as they could be. It has also been found that there is a discrepancy in the physical intensity level between training, rehearsal, and performance. This means that training methods, which are generally based on tradition, are not sufficient to help prepare dancers for the higher, more physically demanding aspects of performance. In light of these studies, and with increased understanding of the artistic and athletic needs of dancers in different genres, it is no longer acceptable to train dancers without preparing them physiologically for the demands of current choreographic work (Laws, 2005; Wyon et al., 2003; Krasnow, 1996).

For dancers, the whole body (physical and psychological) is their instrument, their means of artistic expression. Dance calls upon all aspects of fitness. Good fitness is key to reducing the risk of injury, enhancing performance, and ensuring longer dancing careers. A healthy dancer is one who is in a state of being ˜well’ in both body and mind. A physically fit dancer is one who has the ability to meet the demands of a specific physical task at an optimal level. The goal of improving dancers’ fitness is to minimize the difference between the dancer’s individual maximal abilities and their performance requirements, so that they can become the best dancer possible (Clarkson & Skrinar, 1988; Koutedakis, 1999).

While research indicates that some dance styles require certain elements of fitness more explicitly than others, in a well-rounded dance training program, it is necessary to consider all the components of fitness.

The components of fitness are:

1. Aerobic fitness: associated with moderate, longer-term levels of activity.
2. Anaerobic fitness: associated with high intensity, maximal, short bursts of activity.
3. Muscle endurance: the ability of a muscle to produce continuous movement.
4. Strength: the ability of a muscle to produce a maximal force on one occasion.
5. Power: the explosive (speed-related) aspect of strength.
6. Flexibility: the range of motion at a joint in association with the pliability of a muscle.
7. Neuromuscular coordination: associated with balance, agility, coordination and skill.
8. Body composition: the make-up of body weight by percentage of muscle and fat.
9. Rest: a period of no activity, to allow for recovery and regeneration.

While any change in traditional dance training regimens must be approached cautiously to ensure that enhanced artistry and expression remain the primary goals, it may be suggested that unless dancers are physiologically honed to the same extent as they are artistically, their physical conditioning may potentially be the limiting factor in their development. Ignoring the physiological training of today’s dancers could eventually hamper the development of the art form. It is the continual responsibility of dance teachers and educators to develop their knowledge and understanding of the physiological demands of dance, and be aware of the options for either integrating physical fitness training into the technique class itself or providing it through supplementation (Koutedakis, 2005; Berardi, 2005).

In a recent study, full time contemporary dance students completed a year of weekly dance fitness classes alongside their regular technique training. Students perceived positive physiological adaptations such as reductions in fatigue, improvement in general energy levels and an improved capacity in their dance classes to sustain technique and jumping ability. The importance of warm up and cool down was also commonly cited and the recognition of the relationship between fitness and injury prevention was highlighted (Rafferty et al., 2007).

More than twenty years ago it was stated that the best dancers have an integrated combination of two talents: knowledge of what is to be expressed and the physical and mental tools to accomplish that expression. A dancer who is able to jump higher, balance longer and create illusions such as floating may not necessarily be a better dancer, but she does have the advantage of a greater range of tools with which to produce the desired images of dance choreography. Although a topic of continual debate, more recent research has since indicated that a fitter dancer is a better dancer (Angioi et al., 2009; Shell, 1984).

1.2 Statement of the problem

Development of children consists of a variety of layers for example physical, mental, emotional, social each of which is a part of a whole. Motor development develops in parallel with mental and emotional development patterns. The acquisition of coordinative skills, however, is a result of the learning process (Muratli, 1997). The first and basic movements of child development cover the early childhood-adolescent stages. Basic skills are acquired at this period (Bekman, 2000).

Nowadays trainers state that motor education lessons must include theater, game, dance and art activities, and that especially rhythm and dance education to be applied during Physical Education (P.E.) classes plays a crucial role in development of motor skills of children (Oktay, 2000). Although the positive contribution of sportive activities is discovered through researches, the effects of dance on physical conformity are not known well enough which is why this study is being carried out.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to find out the perceived impacts of dance on physical fitness of students of IBITE High Schoo, Iwaya, Lagos State. This study intended to find out the perceived impact of dance on some specific components of physical fitness. The objectives are to examine:

1. If dancing will impact on muscular endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
2. If dancing will impact on flexibility of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
3. If dancing will impact on speed of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
4. If dancing will impact on aerobic endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were answered in this study

1. Will dancing have an impact on muscular endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya?
2. Will dancing have an impact on flexibility of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya?
3. Will dancing have an impact on speed of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya?
4. Will dancing have an impact on aerobic endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were tested in this study

1. Dancing will not have an impact on muscular endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
2. Dancing will not have an impact on flexibility of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
3. Dancing will not have an impact on speed of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.
4. Dancing will not have an impact on aerobic endurance of students of IBITE High school, Iwaya.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study may be of benefits to the government, school administrators, parents and al stakeholders in the education sector as it will sensitize them on the numerous benefits of dance and dance education.

This study will also be of benefits to policy makers so that they can be aware of the importance of dance (movement education), a form of physical activity/exercise, as it contributes to cognitive functioning, self-esteem, improved classroom behaviour and good attendance, which are all elements that improve academic performance.

Findings from this study may also be of use to other researcher who may be interested in this study.

1.7      Limitation of the Study

The problem that was encountered in this study includeed the getting of approval by the IBITE High School authority to administer the questionnaire and his will be solved by informing them on time through an introductory letter that will be written by the researcher’s Head of Department.

1.8      Delimitation of the Study

This study was delimited to students of IBITE High School, Iwaya, Lagos State.

 1.9      Operational Definition of Key Terms

Dance: dance is a performance art form consisting of purposefully selected sequence of human movement.

Physical fitness: this is the ability of an individual to carry out daily task with vigour and without undue fatigue and still have reserved energy to enjoy leisure pursuit.

Muscular endurance: this is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period of time.

Speed: this is the rate of motion, or the rate of change of position.

Flexibility: this is the range of motion of a joint or the ability of a joint to move freely

Aerobic endurance: this is the ability of the body to continuously transport oxygen throughout its various systems for extended period of time.

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