Research in Dance Education

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/crid20

Online technologies in dance education (China and

worldwide experience)

Yuhui You

To cite this article: Yuhui You (2020): Online technologies in dance education (China and
worldwide experience), Research in Dance Education, DOI: 10.1080/14647893.2020.1832979

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Published online: 14 Oct 2020.

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RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2020.1832979

Online technologies in dance education (China and

worldwide experience)
Yuhui You
College of music, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The article analyses the current prospects for the use of Internet Received 11 September 2019
technologies in the area of study ‘Choreography and Dance’ in the Accepted 2 October 2020
field of higher education and professional e-Learning. The work KEYWORDS
aims to determine how students studying ‘Choreography and Dance education; online
Dance’ perceive the impact of online education on the formation technologies; higher
of subject-specific competencies and to identify those competen­ education online study
cies that the ideal online training program instills. The study shows programs; digital literacy
that the format of online dance training is a promising direction, skills
but the quality control system of such training needs to be
improved. The main result of the study is the development of
a competence system of Master of Arts (Dance education). The
system substantiates the necessity and expediency of implement­
ing a competence-based approach in developing educational pro­
grams for students in the area ‘Choreography and Dance’. The
system defines groups of professional competences, qualities,
knowledge, and skills that make up the profile of teachers working
in the field of choreography and dance. The developments of the
study are universal in nature and can be applied in both national
(regional) and global educational management practices.

Introduction
Online learning or e-Learning – is learning using multimedia and Internet technologies
which is the most widespread form of distance learning today, which is used in the most
diverse areas of education. Recently, online education is ahead of even the traditional
full-time format in some respects (Rowe, Buck, and Martin 2015; Valls, Black, and Lee
2019).
Analysts at many research agencies predict e-Learning’s annual market growth rate in
the context of the new Smart Education paradigm by 18.2% (Global Leadership Forecast
2018; EU Science Hub – European Commission 2019). In a report published in 2018 on
the development of Internet technologies in China, it was noted that the total number of
users of online education in the country exceeded 200 million people. Applications like
WeChat are becoming an important platform for delivering online courses. The number
of people using the services of companies engaged in online education via smartphones

CONTACT Yuhui You yyou94732@gmail.com; yyou94732@gmail.com College of music Zhejiang Normal

University, Jinhua, China
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 Y. YOU

increased by 63.3% compared to last year and accounted for 96.5% of the total audience
(Global Leadership Forecast 2018).
One of the trends of modern online learning is dance education using Internet
technologies. This form of training allows one to remove many barriers: geographical,
physical, financial and involve different categories of people in dancing training (Escobar
Varela and Hernández-Barraza 2019; Stepanova and Zeer 2019; Anoshkin and Sychev
2019). On specialized resources, one can find lessons for both beginners who want to
learn the basics, and for professional dancers (Rowe et al. 2018; Jin and Martin 2019).
One of the Chinese proverbs quoted by Confucius says, ‘I hear I forget, I see
I remember, I do I understand’ (Where and when did Benjamin Franklin say . . . 2019).
It well reflects the features of online dance training. Modern online learning involves
interactive video, gamification, applications, explanation of material in the format of
scripts, stories.
Among the relevant features of Internet technologies in the field of dance training
there are:

● A large and rapidly growing number of visualized videos on the Internet, which are
used in the form of video lessons and are quite popular and effective practices. As an
example of visualized training, it is worth highlighting the platform of massive open
online courses (hereinafter – МООС), which host short video tutorials. On the one
hand, as practice shows, the main disadvantage of these lessons is that the student
rapidly loses interest in it (attention drops after six minutes of viewing). On the
other hand, to create and edit such a video, relatively low expenditures of time and
resources are needed. Training videos are easier to distribute online through viral
marketing. Part of the educational videos can be placed on the YouTube channel
(Lee, Choi, and Young 2019; Modern distance learning platforms: wide choice,
unlimited possibilities 2019).
● Global dance education Internet platforms are created to engage students, as well
as to exchange knowledge and opinions for professionals. For example, the
Teachers Pay Teachers platform is designed for dance teachers. On this platform,
teachers can exchange lesson plans, materials for new compositions, dance pro­
jects, offer their services, etc. It is also worth highlighting such services as Exchang.
es, Theoryandpractice.ru, on which one can exchange knowledge, experience and
ideas of organizing dance events (Al-Arimi 2014; Eger 2018).
● Use of social media, where, for example, blogs can be used as a means of feedback
between the teacher and the student (e.g. YouTube, which serves as a good comple­
ment to traditional education). Social media can also mediate between the МООС
and the user. An example of this is the collaboration of LinkedIn (a social network
for finding and establishing business contacts) with the educational platform Lynda.
com (Cavus and Alhih 2014; Cavus 2015).

The advantages of online dance education include territorial freedom, schedule flexibil­
ity, the ability to choose an information exchange channel, and the learning pace.
Online technologies are also widely used in the process of full-time professional
choreographic education to increase its effectiveness. Such as the use of dance sites,
a search for special literature and the necessary information on choreography and dance,
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 3

the use of techniques for using creative tasks in dance classes using Microsoft Office tools
(creating brochures, booklets, photo collages, etc.). Along with the usage of instructional
videos – programs (video manual ‘The ABC of classical choreography’, etc.), acquain­
tance with new dance movements based on video material, viewing ideal examples of
dance culture (Phelps and Michea 2015; Dance courses 2019).
The development of three-dimensional modeling technologies and the creation of
adequate models of human movement in real time have made the use of three-
dimensional animation and motion capture mechanisms available for the study, pre­
servation and development of dance culture. The researchers point out that dance
belongs to the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the preservation of which is associated
with greater difficulties than objects of material culture. Therefore, visual capture is
a technology that allows you to translate into the form of fixing key frames and positions
of the performer’s skeleton model in order to save a record of his movements in the
future, as well as to be able to analyze, simulate and use them for training (Chan et al.
2010).
Previously, for high-precision motion capture, groups of sensors were used that were
placed on the performer. Laser detectors captured the distance to the sensor and created
a three-dimensional model of the skeleton of a moving person, onto which an image of
a mesh was then superimposed, a three-dimensional model of the body itself with all its
specific surfaces. For more than a decade, the most common method for calculating the
characteristics of such a moving model has been Laban Movement Analysis (LMA),
which is widely used in the creation of cinematic and game animation of characters, as
well as for educational purposes (Bakalos et al. 2020).
Obviously, these methods are very effective when teaching choreography and dance
online, because they allow you to analyze movements in detail anatomically and create
feedback for the student, who can refine his movements according to the ideal model. But
for this a mechanism of high-quality motion capture of the student himself is needed in
order to assess the quality of the movement by comparative parameters. It is the lack of
mechanisms for high-quality motion capture in the form of available technologies that
has not yet made interactive learning using three-dimensional interactive models really
widespread. One of the cheapest and most effective methods of circumventing these
restrictions can be considered the use of the Kinetics game manipulators, which are used
in game consoles (Aristidou et al. 2015). A number of authors have proposed using rather
complex systems of several such manipulators simultaneously to remove key frames of
the user’s movement and create a computer model, but this technology still seems too
cumbersome for widespread use (Kitsikidis et al. 2014).
However, with all the obvious advantages of online learning, its main drawbacks are
still the quality problems of educational and normative-methodological materials (due to
the lack of a complete normative scientific and methodological base). The lack of the
professionalism of teachers, the difficulty of maintaining a high level of student motiva­
tion and the lack of direct contact between the student and the teacher, which is especially
important for the novice dancer. Since each person is unique, an individual approach to
the student is needed, which is not provided in the training on the Internet (Simkova and
Stepanek 2013; Distance Learning Masters Degrees in Dance 2019).
Recently, there has been a trend of transferring online dance education from the
sphere of private lessons to the sphere of secondary (colleges) and higher education
4 Y. YOU

(universities). This correlates with online education and the issuance of official
diplomas in many specialties at universities in developed countries (Griffiths 2016;
Gregori, Martínez, and Moyano-Fernández 2018). Nowadays, in most developing
countries of the world, given the need to reform the education sector, such opportu­
nities are either not available at all, or are available only in several leading universities
of the country in some specialties. Given the relevance of this topic, the study focuses
on the implementation of dance education curricula in China and, in other countries
of the world (for comparative analysis) (Li, Zhou, and Teo 2018; UNC Greensboro
2019).
The lack of a modern model of competences (competence profile) of a dancer (chor­
eographer) is still a significant problem, taking into account the group of qualities and
skills necessary for online training. This is also one of the objectives of the study (You
2016; Management Competence . . ., 2019).

Method
Research design
The study focuses on online education services for specialties related to choreography
and dance in the field of higher education. To begin with, a sample of the leading
universities of the world (including China) was compiled. These universities include
disciplines in the field of Choreography and dance and offer distance (online)
training programs. The current state of the market of online dance education is
studied. Features of this market and the programs are identified (Data Analysis
Section).
Further, the essence and structure of these programs are analyzed, on the basis of
which a competence model is formed corresponding to the Master of Arts (Dance
Education) – choreographer (teacher of choreography and dance) in the framework of
online training higher educational programs (Results Section).
This work focused on the use of e-learning in choreography and dance teacher
education in Chinese universities. The comparison of associated education programs
across countries (e.g., the US, Canada, UK and more) was studied. Furthermore, the
comparative analysis of competencies covered in those education programs made it
possible to list the basic and professional competencies offered within our program.
The choice of competencies stems from the mechanism of their formation: the proposed
program incorporates competencies that are developed through e-learning. Afterwards,
a survey was conducted to understand how students assess the impact of e-learning on
competence formation in choreography and dance teacher education. The results were
helpful in refining the proposed program.
The survey involved 365 second- and third-year students (185 women and 180 men)
from Chinese universities majoring in ‘Choreography and Dance’. Students were asked to
complete a questionnaire form by ranking the impact of e-learning on professional
growth on a Likert scale from 0 (no impact) to 5 (major impact). The survey was
confidentiality. No personal data of students was requested, stored or used during the
study. The reliability of the sample estimated based on the overall population of studied
majors (24.000 students) is equal to 0.0143.
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 5

Statistical data processing was carried out by comparing the total scores of respon­
dents for every competence in MS Excel Office 360. The analysis only involved compe­
tencies covered in the proposed education program.

Analyzing choreography and dance education programs

The state of the market of online education services in the area of choreography and
dance in the world and China is analyzed.
As practice shows, online training programs in China are not as widespread as in the
USA, Canada or the UK. However, leading rating universities offer such programs.
According to researchers and analysts preparing the ranking of Chinese universities
published by the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development
Center (CDGDC), as well as the CUSR ranking, the best in the specialty of ‘Dancing
and Choreography’ are the following. Beijing Dance Academy; the National Academy of
Chinese Theatre Arts; Fujian Normal University. Along with Nanjing University of the
Arts; Capital Normal University and Northeast Normal University (China University
Subject Rankings (CUSR) 2019; Top 10 Chinese universities . . . 2019; Results of the
2012. . . 2019).
This assessment was carried out for one full year and covered the disciplines related to
dancing and choreography, which are taught at Chinese universities and institutes. Both
objective indicators and subjective opinions were included, based on publicly available
data published by public sector organizations and social institutions, as well as based on
other analytical and statistical materials. The opinions of professionals, government
officials and other people from various business circles were also taken into account
(China University Subject Rankings (CUSR) 2019; Top 10 Chinese universities . . . 2019;
Results of the 2012. . . 2019).
The figure below shows the structure of online training in the general structure of the
proposed training programs in Choreography and Dance for the Rating Universities
listed above.
The figure shows that Beijing Dance Academy has the largest (in %) number and
volume of online programs for Choreography and dance. This is a higher education
institution with continuous training, which strives to improve professional dancers,
choreographers and dance researchers. Founded in 1954, Beijing Dance Academy was
the first professional dance academy founded since the founding of the People’s Republic
of China. The Academy studies undergraduate and graduate programs and is a fully
specialized higher education institution for vocational dance training in China, as well as
a prestigious academy in the world.
The Academy offers training programs for full-time and part-time (including distance
and online) forms of training, having in its structure a School of Continuing Education.
According to Academy statistics, more than 50,000 dance exams are held annually at
home and abroad for students and current teachers (as part of continuing education).
Currently, the Academy has such departments as the Department of Chinese Classical
Dance, the Department of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, the Department of Ballroom
Dancing, the Ballet Department, the Department of Music. There is the Creative School,
which consists of the departments of choreography, modern dance and art design,
and the humanities. The other School consists of the departments of dance, art
6 Y. YOU

Figure 1. The structure of online training in the general structure of the proposed training programs
for specialization choreography and dance for ranking universities in China. Source: designed by the
author, based on [1; 5; 9; 26; 27; 30]

communication, and general education. School of Education, BDA Youth Dance

Company, School of Continuing Education, School of Dance Exams and BDA Affiliate
High School. There are academic areas of dance performance, dance training, choreo­
graphy, art design, etc. Students from other countries, including the USA, Great Britain,
France, Germany, Canada and Singapore, study full-time and distantly at the Academy,
trainings are conducted (including online).
For classes, incl. in online mode, the Academy has about a hundred dance studios for
dance training, the largest number of dance school studios in the world (Beijing Dance
Academy 2019).
A larger number of students study dance and choreography online in the USA,
Canada, and Great Britain than in China (Figure 2).
For example, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG, USA) provides
a wide range of higher education services in the field of choreography and dance,
including online courses, but these services have restrictions for people living outside
this state. At the same time, students graduating from this university after graduating
from online programs are provided with official online diplomas, certificates. Which
confirm the passage of professional licensing in the state in which the student lives. In
general, the university provides services in the field of online education in three
programs:

● UNCG Online;
● Online Degrees;
● MA Dance Education.
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 7

Figure 2. On-line dance education in the world. Source: designed by the author, based on [4; 43; 44]

The online Master of Arts in Dance Education program is intended for teaching dance
for different groups of students (full-time, part-time and distance learning, sometimes
combined):

● 100% online;
● 36 credit hours;
● Online education lasts 3–4 years (UNC Greensboro 2019).

At the same time, Canada offers online programs for dance teachers at Dance National
Academy. Programs are designed at several levels and are aimed at providing students
with their own interests, acquiring knowledge in the field of digitalization of commu­
nication technologies in the process of teaching dances. Along with developing critical
thinking, and sharing knowledge, developing skills and applying course content in
accordance with their own needs and experience, motivation, skills to solve problems
using the proposed programs. On the official website of the university, it is noted that all
potential students can apply online and be available to participate in the conference once
a week for 1 hour with other classmates (including using AR/VR technologies) and
a teacher (or course instructor). The structure of the online courses gives some freedom
8 Y. YOU

Table 1. Average cost of services for online training programs

in the field of dance and choreography in universities in the
USA, Canada, Western Europe, and China for the 2019/2020
academic year.
Credits In-State Out-of-State
3 $899.85–1000, 20 $1,667.34 – $2,917.20
6 $1,799.70–2100, 02 $3,334.68 – $5,834.40
9 $2,699.55–3700, 1 $5,002.02 – $8,751.60
Source: the author’s calculations, based on Universities of USA, Canada,
West Europe and China data

in planning the time for classes, partial selection of the course content, and the material
studied. Online programs offered by the university include specialization in ballroom and
belly dancing, studio dance styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, lyrics, etc. (Canada’s
national academy of dance education 2019).
Analyzing the possibilities of online higher education in Europe, the universities of
Great Britain are worth noting, in particular, Middlesex University London (School of
Media and Performing Arts), Royal Academy of Dance and University of Aberdeen
(Scottish Heritage MLitt (Online), specialization – Scottish dances). The university offers
undergraduate and graduate programs (Master of Arts in Education (Dance Teaching),
including training, master classes in various dance areas for students from all over the
world. These universities offer programs of study corresponding to the Master of Arts in
Education (Dance Teaching). Based on the description of the programs presented on the
official websites of universities, these are flexible online distance learning programs
designed for dancers and practitioners. The courses are designed so that students can
continue to work by integrating their professional practice and knowledge with academic
training. The programs are adapted for practitioners whose professional practice is based
on dancing but also covers other areas of research (Distance Learning Masters Degrees in
Dance 2019).
In most cases, online training programs are higher than, for example, the same full-
time. The table below shows the average cost of higher education services in the field of
Dance and Choreography in the USA, Canada, Western Europe, and China for the 2019/
2020 academic year, published on university websites (see Table 1).
Thus, the rates are slightly different for student citizens of the state and foreigners and
vary depending on the duration (credits) of training.

Results
The comparison of education programs and competencies across countries is given
below. The survey results are presented in Figure 3.
Data in Figure 1 show that all competencies scored above 3. The best results relate to
communication skills (4.8), biomedical knowledge (3.74) and cultural competence (4.11).
These competencies are best developed using graphics, videos, and interactive methods
of knowledge delivery. The lowest score corresponds to theoretical knowledge (3.11).
This may be due to the fact that theoretical knowledge received a less appealing
representation. Practical skills scored slightly lower too (3.46), although the final estimate
is above the average. It can be concluded that students are positive about the impact of
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 9

4.5
4
3.5
Evaluation

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Competence
Figure 3. The impact of e-learning in choreography and dance teacher education as seen by students.

e-learning, especially on communication and cultural competence, and are ready for its
adoption.
The training can be effective if the role of modern technologies and the Internet industry
is taken into account and there is a competence model corresponding to the qualification of
Master of Arts (Dance education). The Figure 4 describes the Master of Arts (Dance
education) competence model developed and proposed for use in the framework of this
study. This model is distinguished by the presence of a group of skills related to digital-

Figure 4. Competences model of choreographer (teacher of choreography and dance) in the frame­
work of online training higher educational programs. Source: designed by the author
10 Y. YOU

communication, which represents a combination of digital literacy skills in using online

technologies and the ability to communicate with both teachers and classmates online.
It is also worth noting that choreographic education, as a creative area, has its features
and requires certain competences. The structure is considered and the groups of skills
and knowledge that form the basis of the proposed model are described.
In general, the normative model of the professional competence of the choreographer
and dancer is his/her qualification characteristic as well as the educational program profile.
A choreographer can be referred to as an artist, ballet master, leader of the choreographic
collective, teacher of choreographic disciplines. Qualification characteristic defines the
functions, typical tasks of the activity and competences of professional activity. The
educational program profile includes academic and professional qualifications of a future
specialist, purpose and expected result of professional training in the form of competences,
principles and methods of training at a university, the scope of further employment, etc.
The educational program of training Master of Arts (Dance Education) should
provide for the formation of students’ general (basic) and professional (special)
competences.
The group of General (basic) competences of the future choreographer should
include:

● Value-semantic features – competences associated with the student’s value guide­

lines, his/her ability to see and understand the world around him/her.
● General cultural knowledge – experience in the field of national and universal
culture; spiritual and moral foundations of human life and humanity.
● Educational and cognitive competences – a set of student competences in the field of
independent cognitive activity (ways of organizing goal setting, planning, analysis,
reflection, self-esteem.
● Personal self-improvement abilities (acmeological) aimed at mastering the methods
of physical, spiritual and intellectual self-development, emotional self-regulation
and self-support. These competences include the rules of personal hygiene, taking
care of one’s own health, internal ecological culture, and methods of a safe life (EU
Science Hub – European Commission 2019; EU Science Hub 2019; Lee, Choi, and
Young 2019; Management Competence . . . 2019).

The group General (professional) competences include:

● Organizational skills (the ability to plan, organize, coordinate, control and evaluate
the activity and interaction of subjects of the choreographic process, the ability to
organize the educational process in the choreographic class).
● Psychological and pedagogical (possession of basic knowledge in pedagogy and
psychology and the ability to implement them in artistic and pedagogical activities.
Knowledge of the laws of personal development at different age stages).
● Art skills (the ability to apply knowledge on the history of choreographic art, the art
of choreographers, world art culture, the history of music and other types of art in
professional activities. The ability to analyze, evaluate and interpret cultural phe­
nomena of different eras, works of art of different styles, genres and forms, the
ability to express and argue their own value judgments and positions).
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 11

● Musical, informational and technical knowledge and skills (knowledge of the theory
and history of music necessary for working in a choreographic class. Musicality,
a sense of meters, the ability to work in a rhythmic ensemble with other dancers and
accompanist. The ability to independently search for musical material on the
Internet, textbooks, teaching aids. The ability to work with sound recording
equipment).
● Methodological skills – to develop the ability to apply basic philosophical, psycho­
logical, pedagogical and methodological knowledge and skills to form key and
subject competences of students in the classroom (including online) in the choreo­
graphic class. Compilation of normative and methodological documentation, guide­
lines for conducting practical classes and seminars, lecture notes.

The Choreographic (professional) competences group includes:

● Choreographic skills (skills in special choreographic terminology; mastery of the

technique of performing movements, flexibility, ability to reproduce and clearly
demonstrate facial expressions, gestures, posture, gait, etc. Mastery of the technique
of performance and methodology of staging a classic, characteristic, historical and
every day, ballroom, modern (jazz, contemporary dance, etc.) dances. The ability to
conduct training and classes with dancers of different age groups, the ability to
prepare the choreographic team for public performance).
● Artistic and stage abilities (the ability to show acting talent in the process of rehearsal
and stage activity; to be able to reproduce the artistic image of the dance; plasticity,
stage expressiveness, emotionality, artistry. The improvisation and artistic interpreta­
tion; the formation of stage culture and non-verbal communication skills in the
process of concert performances; ability to stage concerts and directing).
● Biomedical features (physical endurance and the ability to distribute correctly
various types of physical activity. The ability to put into practice knowledge of
physical culture, human physiology, hygiene, the ability to diagnose correctly
a person’s natural physical data for choreography, etc.).

The fourth group (Digital and communication competences) include the following
competences:

● Information and data literacy: ability and skill to articulate information needs, to
locate and retrieve digital data, information and content; to judge the relevance of
the source and its content; to store, manage, and organize digital data, information
and content.
● Strategic communication – the purposeful use of communication to fulfill a certain
mission. It is multidisciplinary and has a variety of methods and subject areas.
Creating clear goals and understanding how a certain set of audience’s attitudes,
behaviors, or perceptions will support those objectives (Pressbooks 2019).
● Communication and collaboration: ability and skill to interact, communicate and
collaborate through digital technologies while being aware of cultural and genera­
tional diversity. To participate in society through public and private digital services
and participatory citizenship; to manage one’s digital identity and reputation.
12 Y. YOU

Communication via portal

Project management – is an application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and
experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance
criteria within agreed parameters (What is project management? APM 2019).

● Management and control, management of others – a possibility, that requires a set

of skills that, when combined with a strong sense of integrity and professionalism,
allows a manager to work with other people to accomplish objectives. As a manager,
to manage the others a person must encourage performance through motivation
and feedback and hold people accountable (Management Competence . . . 2019).
● Digital content creation: ability and skill to create and edit digital content; to
improve and integrate information and content into an existing body of knowledge.
Understanding of copyright and licenses application. Ability to give understandable
instructions for a computer system.
● Safety: ability and skill to protect devices, content, personal data and privacy in
digital environments; to protect physical and psychological health, and to be aware
of digital technologies for social well-being and social inclusion; to be aware of the
environmental impact of digital technologies and their use.
● Problem solving: ability and skill to identify needs and problems, and to resolve
conceptual problems and problem situations in digital environments; to use digital
tools to innovate processes and products; to keep up-to-date with the digital
evolution (EU Science Hub 2019).

Within this competence group, digital competence should be understood as confidence,

critical and creative use of information and communication technologies to achieve goals
related to work, employment, training, leisure, participation in society life and the digital
economy (EU Science Hub – European Commission 2019).

Discussion
Dance training using Internet technologies is a modern educational format that is
rapidly developing and gaining an increasing audience, comprised mostly of ama­
teurs who study at home and do not have the opportunity to regularly attend dance
classes (Escobar Varela and Hernández-Barraza 2019). Its popularity is easy to
explain: this is a huge selection of dance training disciplines of various orientations,
as well as the opportunity to engage in individual mode at a convenient time (Rowe,
Buck, and Martin 2015; Jin and Martin 2019). An increasing role in online learning
of choreography is played by 3D modeling and motion estimation mechanisms using
motion capture mechanisms. Transferring only some of the key movements of the
user using special sensors to an already existing interactive model, including key
positions, allows the user to see his movements in the form of a moving model. On
the one hand, this technique makes it possible to quickly correct almost all move­
ments, and also speeds up learning. On the other hand, this technology is still poorly
adapted to the anatomical features of the user and reflects the movements of the
ideal model rather than the actual user himself. The survey results indicate that
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 13

e-learning is least effective in developing motor that other skills, although the
opposite could be expected.
However, there are already techniques that can partially eliminate these restrictions
(Kitsikidis et al. 2014; Aristidou et al. 2015). There is a consensus among online practi­
tioners and their opponents that new technologies will create comfortable conditions for
training by transforming the familiar information and communication educational
environment into an online community. Another important advantage in the opinion
of supporters of online learning is that it allows saving time and money (Chow, Tse, and
Armatas 2018; Jin et al. 2018).
At the same time, many choreography and dance teachers, leaders of professional dance
groups have doubts about the quality of teaching and the knowledge gained. Issues are also
raised whether to recognize certificates and diplomas of completed online programs. To
resolve issues at the level of online platforms, one can use the system of reviews and ratings
of those who have completed training. At the level of secondary and higher educational
institutions – it is necessary to create official regulatory bodies to manage licensing and
certification of such programs (Al-Arimi 2014; Heidrich et al. 2018).
Opponents of online education also mention the lack of the effect of ‘socialization’ and
direct contact between the teacher and the student and even more so between a computer
model and a student. Argument – dance training has its own specific features. The ability
to perceive the movement of other people through the eyes is a skill that is developed
much more slowly than it seems. On the contrary, all students surveyed believe that it is
the communication competence that improves best with e-learning. This opinion should
be tested empirically in the future. Moreover, to acquire this skill just by watching the
video is extremely difficult. As a rule, teachers and dancers with long experience have this
skill (Li, Zhou, and Teo 2018; Pressbooks 2019).
It is worth noting that the results of the analysis of a number of works show that the use
of Internet technologies for dance classes should not be an end in itself. In order to
determine correctly the place and role of the Internet and 3D modeling in dance training,
it is first necessary to find answers to the questions: for whom, for what period, and to what
extent the training is needed. Methodists who have developed well-known distance pro­
grams of dance training argue that one needs to analyze carefully the structure of the course
(Calvani et al. 2010; Gregori, Martínez, and Moyano-Fernández 2018). Also, choreography
instructors are still reluctant to use motion capture software or 3D motion models exten­
sively for professional training on a professional level. But this process is actively developing
and requires fundamental research in the future, primarily from a pedagogical point of view,
because its technical aspects are well studied (Aristidou et al. 2015; Bakalos et al. 2020).
When choosing a program, it is necessary to pay attention to whether it is accredited,
to analyze the requirements for the level of preparation of the student. Along with the
target audience of the training, the availability of practical tasks, the level of technical
support in case of problems, for example, access to materials, teacher qualifications, etc.
(Modern distance learning platforms . . . 2019).
The format of online dance training has great potential, but a system of monitoring the
organization and quality of such training is needed. One of the steps towards creating this
system is the creation of a competence profile for an online graduate (Lee, Choi, and Young
2019; Management Competence . . . 2019). A competence-based approach or competence
model in professional dance education involves the acquisition of not only professional
14 Y. YOU

knowledge and skills, but also non-core skills, for example, self-organization, initiative, the
ability to use modern digital technologies to increase one’s effectiveness and professional­
ism. This research shows that these skills are highly appreciated among students.

Conclusion
The results of the study show that online education in the field of Choreography and
Dance, in particular in the field of higher education, is gaining more and more popularity
every year among practicing dancers, dance teachers and just beginners who want to
learn how to dance. Internet technologies are very effective tools for applicants who are
not able to study permanently or come to a specific country where the universities of
interest to them are located. In the study of the structure and content of online dance
training programs, a wide application of the competence-based approach was revealed.
The professional competence of a future specialist in the dance industry is a generalized
indicator of his/her theoretical and practical readiness to carry out professional activities.
During training at a higher educational institution, it is impossible to learn an
exhaustive amount of knowledge and skills necessary for professional activity. Based
on this, an optimal set of necessary general and special competences was determined in
this study, reflecting the content of the training of a future specialist in the field of dance
education (Master of Arts, Dance Education). These competences divide into four groups
and are presented in the form of a model. Thus, competency profile of choreography and
dance teachers in the framework of online training higher educational programs. The
impact of e-learning on competence formation was assessed using the student survey
method. The results revealed an above-average improvement in all competencies (3 out
of 5 on the Likert scale). Best scores associate with communication (4.8), biomedical
knowledge (3.74) and cultural competence (4.11), whilst the lowest score relates to
theoretical knowledge (3.11). Practical skills scored in between top competencies and
theoretical knowledge (3.46). It should be noted that the nature of the application of this
model is universal and can be used in national and international practices of teaching
dance in the framework of higher education.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor
You Yuhui is a lecturer, teacher in the College of music at Zhejiang normal university, Jinhua, 688
Yingbin Avenue, Zhejiang Province, 321004 China. Research interest include music education and
dance education.

ORCID
Yuhui You http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-2414
 RESEARCH IN DANCE EDUCATION 15

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