Virtual Borders: reflective and digital approaches to choreographic pedagogy in tertiary dance training

This paper describes the Virtual Borders project developed in response to the dramatic changes in dance teaching and learning globally, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from action research, Virtual Borders presents an innovative adoption of Peirce’s sign theory to tertiary dance choreographic pedagogy, that enhances students physical, creative and cognitive engagement with dance training in the virtual arena. Virtual Borders used digital technology to connect tertiary dance students from geographically distant locations: London, England and Brisbane, Australia, in choreographic practice enhanced by digital and reflective pedagogies. In doing so, the tertiary dance students developed their emergent choreographic practice and embodied understandings concurrently with their peer networks and an international community of practice. Such digitally mediated across-cultural exchange would provide a means through which to support tertiary dance students learning in isolation and facilitate their development of necessary skills for the 21st century dance practitioner operating within the COVID-19 reality. Virtual Borders foregrounds these skills in tertiary dance training praxis to the considerable advantage of the tertiary dance students.