As dance training evolves and becomes more complex, knowledge of motor behavior is foundational in helping dancers learn and master new skills and become more efficient in integrating the skills. Motor Learning and Control for Dance is the first resource to address motor learning theory from a dance perspective. Educators and students preparing to teach will learn practical ways to connect the science behind dance to pedagogy in order to prepare dancers for performance. Dancers interested in performance from the recreational to professional levels will learn ways to enhance their technical and artistic progress.
Chapter 1: Foundations of Motor Behavior
Part I: Motor Development
Chapter 2: Theories of Motor Development
Chapter 3: Development of Postural Control and Balance
Chapter 4: Development of Locomotor Skills
Chapter 5: Development of Ballistic Skills
Part II: Motor Control
Chapter 6: Organization of Motor Control
Chapter 7: Attention and Performance
Chapter 8: Motor Control and the Sensory Systems
Chapter 9: Motor Control and Central Organization
Chapter 10: Speed, Accuracy, and Coordination
Part III: Motor Learning
Chapter 11: Theories and Concepts of Motor Learning
Chapter 12: Instructional Strategies
Chapter 13: Motivation
Chapter 14: Conditions of Practice
Chapter 15: Retention and Transfer
Chapter 16: Mental Practice and Imagery
Donna Krasnow is a professor emerita in the department of dance at York University in Toronto, Canada, and is a member of the special faculty at California Institute of the Arts in the United States. She specializes in dance science research, concentrating on dance kinesiology, injury prevention and care, conditioning for dancers, and motor learning and motor control, with a special emphasis on the young dancer.