2025 Institute for Dance Studies Keynote: Arts-Based Pedagogies Book Launch

The Institute for Dance Studies (IDS) and Hart House invite you to the 2025 Keynote Event, Arts-Based Pedagogies Book Launch, with presentations by Editor Dr. Tanya Berg (SL, Kinesiology, U of T) and Collette ‘Coco’ Murray (PhD, AMPD, York).   

A Q&A and social will follow.

Attendees will be able to purchase a copy of Arts-Based Pedagogies for a special, limited-time 20% discount at the event.  

Arts-Based Pedagogies Abstract

Arts-Based Pedagogies explores the transformative potential of creative-learning through the implementation of arts integration in K-12 classrooms. Contributors share real-world experiences of bringing the arts into their curriculum and share success stories of using interdisciplinary approaches to build vibrant, student-centred environments that enrich student experience without sacrificing academic rigour. Written from a Canadian perspective, Arts-Based Pedagogies merges theory and practice, providing practical implementations of teaching, learning, evaluation and assessments that have enriched their own teaching practice and helpful steps pre-service and experienced educators alike can use to engage students in their own classrooms.   

Expert contributors explore how various arts including dance, drama, visual arts, and music can cultivate critical thinking, independence, and confidence in students through decentering the Eurocentric methods of teaching and provide more tools and approaches to educators to meet the diverse needs of each student. A perfect resource for those studying to be the next generation of teachers, this unique text brings the fine arts to the forefront of teaching methodologies and provides practical strategies to implement that will inject the exciting creativity of the arts into any subject for both the educator and the students.   

About IDS

The Institute for Dance Studies (IDS) is a research institute at the University of Toronto that advocates for dance studies within the academy, and for the value of dance beyond performance. Hosted within the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies, IDS supports dance-focused scholars, students, and artists through meetings, events, working groups, workshops, practice pop-ups, resource sharing, and our annual Keynote Lecture and Workshop Series. IDS was founded in 2016 by Seika Boye following the “The Other D”: Locating Dance in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies in Canada Symposium, which you can learn more on the IDS website.  

While IDS does not offer courses or grant degrees, it supports and collaborates with people working in a range of curricular and non-curricular contexts across disciplines, including Theatre and Performance Studies, Music, Kinesiology, Education, Physiotherapy, and History.    

IDS has an ongoing partnership with Hart House. IDS and Hart House share a commitment to expanding dance-focused programming at the University of Toronto through community and academic collaborations. Learn more about Dance at Hart House.

Please register for this event in advance. 

Collette Murray
Artist-scholar, Dance Educator, Cultural Arts Programmer
Collette Murray is a multi-award-winning artist-scholar, dance educator, and cultural arts programmer. Murray received the 2023 National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from the National Dance Education Organization. Murray is pursuing a PhD in Dance Studies, focusing on dance education in the Canadian African-diasporic dance sector and anti-racist dance pedagogies. She is published in dance media and academic journals, and as an emerging dance scholar, she presents research on various panels and international conferences. Murray is artistic director of Coco Collective, which offers culturally responsive projects connecting participants, organizations, and schools to African and Caribbean arts. Miss Coco Murray is her mobile dance education business. Murray performs Caribbean folklore and West African dance styles such as stilt-walking.  
instagram: @misscocomurray 

Tanya Berg
Dance Educator, Researcher
Tanya Berg is a Toronto-based ballet teacher, dance educator, and researcher. Tanya holds a PhD in Dance Studies from York University and is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School Teacher Training Program. Tanya currently teaches in the Faculty of Education and the Theatre, Dance and Performance Department at York University as well as the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. She is the chair of DACI Canada, a chapter of Dance and the Child International. Tanya has presented her research at many international conferences organized by renowned associations of which she remains an active member. Tanya’s publications can be found in multiple academic journals as well as in the anthologies Ethical Dilemmas in Dance Education: Case Studies on Humanizing Dance Pedagogy and The Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy (forthcoming). 
instagram: @dr.tanyaberg3