AIRS 2nd Annual Conference: Seattle 2010
Title: An exploration of the learning and performance practices of song & dance in cross-cultural contexts
Authors: Dr. Andrea Emberly & Professor Jane Davidson (University of Western Australia, Perth)
Introduction
Ethnomusicologist John Blacking proposed that all humans have the potential to be musical. The current
study has investigated his ideas by focusing on how songs and dances are transmitted within a cultural
group and the ways in which the two forms are integrated in embodied learning. Specifically, the research
explores the role of formal and informal education in perpetuating and sustaining the learning of songs and
dances in a range of cultural contexts. Data from South Africa demonstrates that Venda children from the
Limpopo Province learn songs and dances both within the formal school education system and informally
in the community, as proactive means to safeguard musical traditions. It is expected in Venda communities
that everyone participates and develops high-level competencies. In musical interactions, crucial social and
cultural information not otherwise expressed is communicated through the teaching, learning and
performance of song and dance. These musical practices in Venda culture persist across the lifespan, with
transgenerational participation that relies on singing as a means to communicate culture and maintain
tradition. In Australia our study traces children who auditioned to attend a specialist arts school in order to
learn musical theatre practices - with its integration of song and dance - to focus on the attainment of
professional performance excellence. The student efforts are focused for specialist performance outcome
and are far less integrated into common cultural practice as in the case of the Venda. In Bali, all children
learn traditional song and dance through school and in everyday village life, but as these individuals grow,
specialization on the basis of talent is encouraged, and adult participation diminishes leaving only those
with specialised training in song and dance performance roles. Together, these data have the capacity to
expand understanding of how song and dance, and the intrinsic integration of the two forms, can be used as
a means of transmitting crucial cultural values. The fundamental questions of this project explore themes
across the AIRS research initiative with particular emphasis on Theme 2 - singing and education and
Theme 3 ^ singing and wellbeing. Subtheme 2.1, with emphasis on learning to sing informally, informs
particular aspects of this research project. The research is currently in progress with field data collected
from South Africa, Australia and Bali.
Bios
Andrea Emberly completed her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington in 2009 where
she focused on the musical cultures of childhood in Venda and Pedi cultures in Limpopo, South Africa. Her
dissertation explores the intersections of local, national and global influences on children’s musical cultures
including community music making, handclapping games, school music curriculums and television
programs. In addition to her work in South Africa, Andrea has conducted research on the use of music in
children’s “edutainment”, specifically the program Sesame Street and its South African Version Takalani
Sesame. Andrea conducted field research in South Africa from 2005-2007 and recently returned to South
Africa in 2009 to collect additional research as a part of the Communicative Human Musicality Project at
the University of Western Australia where she is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of
Music. Andrea’s interests in the AIRS Project stem from continuing collaborative research on children’s
musical cultures, education and ethnomusicology with Patricia Campbell at the University of Washington
and Caroline van Niekerk at the University of Pretoria as well as others passionate about the study of
children’s music.
Jane Davidson graduated with a Ph.D. in Music Psychology from City University, London in 1991. From
1991- 1993 she was a Leverhulme Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellow. In 1993 she took up her first
lecturing position at City University, London, moving on to University of Sheffield in 1995, to join a senior
colleague in order to consolidate a research unit in music psychology and to instigate a masters program in
music theatre studies. Between 1995-2005, Davidson was promoted at 3 yearly intervals to become a full

 professor. She joined the staff at The University of Western Australia in 2006 as the inaugural
Callaway/Tunley Chair of Music. She is Research and Postgraduate Coordinator, Vocal Studies
Coordinator and Director of the Callaway Centre, a significant research archive out of which she manages
six funded research projects ranging from work on collections (specifically the ethnomusicologist John
Blacking’s personal and research papers) to practical work such as developing a program to use music for
health and wellbeing impact.