Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of the Dalcroze Teaching Method in Improvisational Dance Education: A Case Study of the Art College of China Coal Mine Art Troupe

Background and Aim: Improvisational dance, as a vital component of art education, plays a crucial role in fostering students' creativity and artistic expression. However, traditional dance teaching models often focus on skill training and neglect the cultivation of improvisational abilities. This study explores the application and effectiveness of the Dalcroze method in improvisational dance teaching. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dalcroze method in enhancing students' creativity and improvisational dance abilities, addressing the limitations of traditional skill-focused teaching models. Materials and Methods: This study examines the effect of the Dalcroze method on the improvisational dance skills of tenth-grade students. A 16-week experiment was conducted with 30 participants, divided into an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group received training in the Dalcroze method, including body rhythm, auditory training, and improvisation, while the control group underwent traditional dance instruction. The research tools included an improvisational dance ability scale and a dance creativity scale, assessing technical quality, musical processing ability, and creativity. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, with t-tests employed to evaluate differences between the two groups. Results: Students in the experimental group who underwent training in the Dalcroze method demonstrated significant improvements compared to the control group in several areas: creative thinking skills (mean score 2.96±1.31, p<0.05), creative performance ability (mean score 2.75±1.25, p<0.05), technical quality (mean score 17.12±1.85, p<0.05), and musical processing ability (mean score 16.39±1.36, p<0.05). The experimental group's average scores in all metrics were higher than those of the control group, indicating that the Dalcroze method has a significant positive effect on enhancing students' improvisational dance abilities. Conclusion: The Dalcroze method effectively enhances students' improvisational dance abilities and creativity, offering new teaching strategies for dance education. These findings suggest that the Dalcroze method can serve as a valuable tool for enhancing creativity in dance education. Future research should explore its application in diverse educational contexts and with larger sample sizes.