Fostering Creative Bravery: Exploring Innovation Among Future Female Pioneers In Dance Through Historical Composition Studies

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if learning from the innovative methods of past female choreographers could enhance the creative abilities of today’s young high school female dancers and dance-makers. This thesis aimed to teach young dancers about past dance pioneers and build confidence in young women when creating dances. Women have paved the way for dance choreography and innovative techniques throughout dance history. However, today’s generation of young choreographers rely on imitating movements they witness at dance competitions and on social media such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok instead of becoming originators. This thesis aimed to answer the following four essential questions: Q1 How have female dance trailblazers of the past demonstrated creative bravery and innovation in their choreography? Q2 What are the current challenges and barriers faced by aspiring female choreographers? Q3 How can studying historical composition in dance inspire and empower future female pioneers to innovate and demonstrate creative bravery? Q4 How are creativity and innovation measured in dance choreography? The study took place at High Point Academy in Fort Worth, Texas. High Point Academy is a small K-12 charter school with numerous campuses spread across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. In this qualitative study, the 26 participants were high school students ages 15-18, the majority being 17 years of age. The participants were selected in Spring of 2024 from the two advanced dance classes taught by the researcher. The participants were divided into two groups and issued numbers. Group A was issued numbers 1-11 and Group B received numbers 12-28. Each group had a different set of criteria. Group A received the dance history lesson along with the choreography prompt for an eight-week dance history course, while Group B received the prompt only. Each week, both groups choreographed a dance in various groupings and presented the dance to the class and researcher at the end of the week. The researcher selected a dance that showed the most creativity from each group to be shown to three pre-selected third-party evaluators. All dances were videoed and kept in a file and then emailed to the third-party evaluators for scoring at the end of the study. The evaluators recorded their scores using the creativity rubric in a Google Form. The researcher then compiled all the scores and sorted them based on highest to lowest. At the end of the study, the results showed that learning from past dance trailblazers could foster creative bravery. While Group B was deemed more creative than Group A by the third-party evaluators, most of the participants showed an increase in overall confidence. Additionally, this research showed that the participants felt more inspired and creative compared to when they began the study. Lastly, the participants shared that they saw themselves as potential trendsetters in the future, which could ultimately lead them to be trailblazers like their predecessors.