As set out in the above, typical learning and teaching methodologies in the performing arts subject field of higher education include a high degree of inter-disciplinary learning and/or learning within a multi-disciplinary context. It usually involves a high degree of co-learning, co-creation and collaborative practice – as well as the development of a tacit knowledge of a range of related disciplines – where the individual specialism and/or creative capacity of each student contributes to a shared learning outcome of some kind, typically a performance (often presented to a public audience). An emphasis is often placed on developing the students’ ability to self-assess (often formatively) their own practice, and the practices of others, and to critically apply their understandings drawn from this process to their future practice. Many assessment processes in the performing arts subject field are dialogic in nature, so as to facilitate a tutorial overview that supports teaching staff in helping students to develop their creative and critical capacities. The example given below provides a good (and typical) example of how the creation and realisation of a developmental learning project with a performance outcome is structured to maximise student learning.   

 

The example given below is drawn from the Department of Circus, Dance, Dance Pedagogy, Opera and Acting at Stockholms konstnärliga högskola (Stockholm University of the Arts) – hereafter SKH – specifically the BA Circus programme.  

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BA Circus Programme

In this element of the programme (Performance and Interpretation), students continue to develop their knowledge of, and practical techniques in, applied circus creation and performance. Students also explore the aesthetics and composition of circus and other performing and visual arts as a means of understanding, and critically reflecting upon, the ways in which ethical, social and political issues can be addressed through, and with, circus arts. The course also develops the student's knowledge of leadership related to producing and mounting a show. The students will apply the knowledge within the various sub-courses through independent work, tutor-led discussions and workshops.

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The Context:

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Second year BA circus students at SKH participate in a module entitled ‘Ensemble Project’: a collective creation process that leads to a contemporary circus performance in front of a public audience. Students are guided through the process by director/creators with the aim of learning methods for artistic creation, the pragmatic considerations of stage production, and the performance of their specialty discipline (for example, tight wire) for an audience. This type of project-centred educational experience is intended to provide a firm framework with clear goals (learning outcomes) that enable students to orient their interests and develop rich, personalised knowledge within their field. In the final year of their studies, students go on to develop individual ‘acts’ in their primary circus discipline, with which they will graduate into their professional work. This second-year project uniquely requires the students to achieve learning outcomes in collective practices. The assessment of pedagogic ‘success’ is conducted in dialogic reflection with the students themselves, towards an integrated understanding of recognising how the tensions and difficulties that arise through their experiences of creation and production were mediated and resolved. The assessment forms part of the learning outcomes and guides students towards future application of similar methods to overcome the inevitable complications of circus performance.

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The Outline Brief: Performance Techniques

This course element contains analytical and practical work with different methods for composition for circus (aa well as other art forms). The course contains written and practical tasks that are presented on a continuous basis, both individually and in groups, and includes practical, physical training, the development of individual practices, and the interpretation of circus arts.

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Programme: Bachelor of Circus Arts, Year 2, term 4

 

Course: Performance and Interpretation (15 ECTS)

 

Course Aims: 

 

Using their knowledge of their individual circus disciplines and other stage arts, students are expected to contribute to the creation and production of a final performance, as well as to appear on stage as part of an ensemble. 

This module includes two different performance experiences: 

 

• The Ensemble project (directed) 

• and Short Shows (self-directed) 

 

The first performance is the Ensemble Project, a collaborative creation with a director, who chooses and oversees the direction of creation, performance, and who is the final directorial ‘lens’ through which the performance passes. This project is allotted 5 weeks for creation and production. In part, this project prepares students to work with a director.

 

Ensemble Project Brief

 

This long-form directed performance provides students with experience of working with an external creator (director) for practice and observation, experience of show creation and production conditions, experience of receiving direction, experience of collaboration with students of other production and performance disciplines, performance in front of external audience, participation in the load-in, load-out of a circus production, and other production activities, as well as increasing their stage experience.

 

Using knowledge of their circus disciplines and other stage arts, students are expected to contribute to the creation and production of a final performance, as well as appear on stage as part of the performance ensemble. 

 

Learning Outcomes:

 

1. demonstrate in practice a deepended ability to perform different types of circus performances, integrating circus discipline and stage performing techniques. 

2. compose and perform a circus performance/act in which techniques from the Performance and Interpretation Course are integrated with the student's circus discipline.

 

Assessment Criteria:

 

• Pass: The student has achieved the specified learning outcomes

• Fail: The student has not achieved the specified learning outcomes 

 

Timeframe:

 

• Weeks 2, 3, 4: short workshops with directors

• Weeks 5-7: creation

• Week 8: performances

 

 

About The Project:

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The 2023 production (titled ‘Cave Inn’) was collectively co-created by 15 students and 3 creator/directors who also acted as co-producers, stage managers, photographers and technical support during the performances. The 3 creator/directors were all graduates of SKH programmes and were chosen because their approach to contemporary circus work resonates with interests (aesthetic and socio-cultural) of the student group. The production was additionally supported by the SKH rigging and technical team, the teaching staff, the Circus-subject Co-ordinator and the Head of the BA programme. With consideration of available performance spaces, diverse physical disciplinary expertise, and a common desire to integrate audience in a non-traditional format, the students and creator/directors devised a performance that invited audiences through interactive, flexible performance moments. 

 

In their native languages, students guided audiences to comfortably relocate towards shifting perspectives of the performances and the performance space. Audience members were invited to directly interact with the various disciplinary apparatuses and the student-artists themselves. The considerate care of the students for each other and audience members throughout the show created an atmosphere of inclusion and amazement, enabling spectators to receive the playful, aesthetic exceptionalism presented by each artist in their specialty domains.

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Assessment:

 

Assessment was both formative and summative. Formative assessment took place during the six public performances: students met with the director/creators and the Head of Programme to refine the audience experience of specific performance moments. Examples include refining transitions between discipline presentations, ensuring the audience’s emotional safety watching high-risk activities, and choreographing moments of interaction between performers to sustain an integrated aesthetic experience. This dialogic assessment served to ensure that student’s artistic intentions were received by the audience and aligned with the emotional-aesthetic intentions of the performance as a whole. 

 

Through this process students participate in assessing their own contributions in relationship to a whole performance and the broader audience (and thereby also prepare for entry to the professional practice). Summative assessment occurred after completion of the performances. SKH fosters artistic exploration by using pass/fail evaluations. This encourages artists to take risks and then discuss the outcome without fear of ‘failing’ their experiment. Through involvement in the performance, all students completed the core learning outcomes of using collaborative creation methods to compose performance, integrating different stage performance techniques with their primary discipline techniques, and demonstrating deepened performance ability. Yet, we consider achievement of the learning outcomes to be the first step in the assessment process. 

 

Group and individual feedback discussions with the students encourage reflection on artistic and logistical processes and outcomes. Students self-assess in these discussions by considering the different ways they contributed to the whole experience, as well as recognising where their peers and support network of technical, production and coordination staff also play essential roles. While it is an enjoyable experience to have an artistic proposition well-received by an enthusiastic audience, we consider successful completion of the project to include the steps of 1) participation, 2) presentation, 3) self-assessment, and 4) group reflection. These steps ensure that students bring their acquired knowledge into their diverse futures with complex understanding of the interrelationships inherent in every artistic project.