Asia Scope and Sequence for The Arts

Five broad areas of The Arts (Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual Arts) have been selected to underpin and structure the Asia Scope and Sequence for The Arts. These aspects approximate the scope of the concepts, content and perspectives found within State and Territory Arts curriculums and syllabuses.

Dance

Dance involves non-verbal kinaesthetic expression, where the language of movement is explored using mind and body. The elements of dance are combined to create expressive movements that convey meaning. Students use and reflect upon the various elements of dance in appreciating and performing their own dances and the dances of others, from different times and cultures. The contexts for learning experiences may be drawn from a variety of sources, including contemporary and popular dance, social dance, modern dance, and indigenous, folk and traditional dance from Australia and Asia.

Throughout history, dance has existed in a range of forms and for a broad range of purposes: cultural activities, theatrical performances and religious rites. Traditional and contemporary dances from the diverse cultures of Asia enrich our lives and expand our knowledge and creative horizons.

Dance education emphasises the exploration of the diversity of styles, contexts, purposes and genres, as well as the skills, techniques and processes associated with the making, performing and appreciation of dance. Current curriculum resources emphasise the role of learning in collaborative teams, the integration of thinking and learning tools, and the importance of understanding, critically analysing and responding to stereotyped views of traditions in Asian cultures.

Drama

Drama involves the exploration of real and imagined events through human interaction, play, 'theatrical' performance and film and television improvisation. Shared elements of drama include audience and participants, character, sound, voice, dramatic tension, movement and mood. Drama draws on past and present social and cultural contexts, and contemporary and traditional dramatic styles, traditions and forms. The range of traditional and contemporary dramatic elements from the diverse cultures of the Asian region enrich our understanding and broaden our perspectives.

Drama education encourages the co-operative exploration and development of concepts and ideas in a range of contexts, and uses skills such as stagecraft and rehearsal to shape the elements of drama. Key elements include exploring the metaphorical and symbolic, the use of appropriate physical and verbal language, and discriminating and responding to specific stimuli.

Cultural context, perspective and values affect definitions of drama. Viewing or engaging in dramatic representations of Asian cultures' traditional and contemporary contributions to the field of drama, builds students' knowledge of traditions and historical events and aids an understanding of their contributions to Australian heritage and contemporary society.

Media

Media involves the use of technologies to represent ideas and experiences. Media production can take many forms including film, television, print, computer and digital technology, audio, photography and an ever-increasing range and scope of associated technologies and equipment.

Media education involves developing technical skills and competencies in a range of production processes. The exploration, evaluation and production of media 'texts' should occur with an awareness of audience and creator's intention as well as social and cultural contexts. Audience, representation, language and critical analysis are integral to engagement in media forms and representations. Through practical work, students can develop technical and production skills and build an understanding of how media products create and manipulate meaning. Skills developed will include scripting, framing, positioning, listening, recording and editing.

While Media is a global art form, it is important that students, as both audience and producers, understand Asian societies' contributions to the development of media technologies and knowledge. The media is a common source of information about contemporary and historic Asian societies. Students need to understand the trends and developments common to Australia and Asia as well as recognise the cultural richness and diversity expressed in and provided by Asian media products. They also need to understand that the ways in which audiences receive and respond to media productions (eg radio and television productions and film, both at home and in cinemas) is culturally determined. Media products are the result of contemporary, historic and institutional influences on the makers.

Music

Music reflects the experience of the composer/creator, performer and listener. Because music is a unique means of expression, of knowing and communicating experience, it makes a profound contribution to personal, social and cultural identities. Students' involvement is usually through composing, improvising, performing, listening and responding.

Music is frequently part of other art forms such as dance, theatre, film and the visual arts. As well as being intellectually and emotionally stimulating, it serves aesthetic and functional purposes. Working with sound when rehearsing, composing, improvising, and arranging a work for performance, develops skills and knowledge.

Music education involves working individually and collaboratively with others. It can involve playing a musical instrument (manufactured or improvised, acoustic or electronic), singing and using equipment like computers, synthesisers and other electronic equipment. Presenting music is the act of performance directly connected with the creation and interpretation of a music work. Through experiences that incorporate practice, theory, analysis and historic research, students learn to make critical responses to music.

Music has the capacity to evoke strong responses. Although individuals in Australian and Asian cultures may respond in different ways to the same music, there are cultural and social similarities in the way people perceive and/or value music and the role it plays in societies, places and times. Recognising the diversity of forms (vocal, instrumental, theatrical), instruments, styles and traditions (genres) across cultures and the role of music in religious and secular ceremonies will enhance students' appreciation of music.

Visual Arts

Through the Visual Arts, people explore and express ideas, emotions and experiences and explore concepts and images. They use a range of skills, processes, techniques, materials and mediums to produce images. Reflection upon, and appraisal of personal work and the work of others in both historic and contemporary contexts is an integral component.

Dividing the Visual Arts into art, craft and design and trying to describe associated processes, products and people is not necessarily helpful today. In addition to traditions such as painting, printmaking and sculpture, works can be two-, three- or multi-dimensional, multi-modal, and involve digital elements and performance. Today's students need to appreciate this diversity, to be challenged and to uncover stereotypical viewpoints through an examination of cultural, traditional and contemporary examples. Another account of artistic understanding is the interrogation of objects. Exploring questions like 'What is art?' requires reflective engagement with practices across the art world. Digital photography and computer-generated images confront students with new questions about virtual reality. Developing responses to these questions has become as important as understanding texture in paintings.

To existing notions of production and 'Western' views of the visual arts, must be added in-depth, crosscultural learning through examination of artefacts and aesthetic processes and issues associated with many cultures. Through the study of, and engagement in, historic and contemporary Australian and Asian works, students can explore skills, techniques and understandings from diverse cultural practices and traditions.

Visual Arts education involves the students as creators, critics and historians. Emphasis is placed on making, exhibiting and evaluating works to aid analysis and interpretation. They learn appropriate terminology as they come to understand that specific and cultural meanings can be conveyed through visual symbols and forms. It is important that they explore the values and historic traditions behind the arts in their own and Asian cultures.