Education - Performing Arts - Information Technology: An Impossible Triangle?

Integration of IT in performing arts education is often considered to be lagging behind in comparison with other educational fields. This might very well be somewhat of an exaggeration: as Koehler and Mishra (2008) point out the problem of integrating IT in educational settings is ubiquitous. The question this contribution tries to answer is whether on top of these general problems there are specific ones for IT within performing arts curricula that can be held accountable for the perceived arrear. In order to answer this question some main characteristics that determine the nature of the performing arts are briefly discussed: transitivity, collectivity of production and reception, multimediality and the principle of ostension. From these the particular difficulties for integrating IT in performing arts education are traced, mapping the (im)possibilities and pointing out some of the reasons for the relatively slow pace of IT integration. Having thus assessed the major problems and challenges the conclusion discusses the immediate and mid-term developments that would be welcomed by teachers and students in the field of the performing arts.