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Because the bequests of legacy are both widely and narrowly defined and experienced their experiences may be old and venerable, or fresh and unpolished, associated with an institution, or a place; with groups, or with individual people. The gifts of legacy may be commonly and widely embraced, or come to the fore only on specific occasions, be with us every day, or may go completely unrecognized. Legacy plays such a central role in how we educate in and through dance that understanding its complexities, its dimensions and focuses makes the subject—broadly or narrowly focused—worthy of our considered attention.
Among the specific tacks one might take in exploring this dimension of educational sociology are the legacy and impact of specific cultural values about dance in education (for instance, the deep and complex social/sexual issues that affect boys and men in dance), the impact and legacy of professional artistic values and practices on dance education, the vast web of legacies for issues of age, class, gender, and race in dance education, the legacies of individual educators to developments in the field, or the legacies of schools of thought and practice in pedagogy for dance; to name but just a few. However, rather than direct this text toward addressing a specific topic or stream of discussion, or try to address all the major themes one might think of in considering legacy and dance education, I have chosen to include a breadth of discussion on a variety of issues on this topic. Some of the articles included here look at the gifts and baggage left us by dance educators of the past. Others address new or innovative ways to work and teach in dance education. People are remembered. Values and practices are discussed. Perhaps these discussions and remembrances will stimulate new ways of thinking about our practices, provoke different kinds of conversations about our values, or motivate readers to further investigate the lives of the dance educators who have shaped our field.
In these chapters, legacy for dance in education is broadly considered. The focus is on dance in the university, though many readers may find stories and narratives here that speak to the dance experience in many contexts. Chapter 1 considers the dimensions of legacy in dance education.