Planning in the Dance Strand

Here is an example of a dance phrase written in Motif Description. The phrase is read as follows: travel, fall, twist to the left, jump, pause, turn to the right, expand, gesture, contract. When executing this phrase, the actions could be done in any way; for example, travelling could be crawling, hopping, rolling; twist to the left could be an arm twisting or the whole body twisting.

Have students keep dance portfolios and dance journals.

One excellent way to encourage the active involvement of students in their dance program is to have them develop dance portfolios. The portfolios should be used as "idea collectors" and storage containers for all of their dance materials, including their dance journals. The purpose of keeping material in a portfolio should be to encourage students to collect ideas and information that are of particular interest and relevance to them, to expand and work out their ideas as possible material for dance expressions, to become aware of their own creative processes, and to keep records of their dance experiences.

The dance journal is a booklet or notebook for the students' personal writing about dance. Students can use their journals for recording observations and ideas about themselves, their world and their dance class, and for problem solving and research. The dance journals, included in the portfolios, serve as a place for students to record their reflections on their experiences and dance work.

Because of the personal nature of portfolios and journals, students and their teacher should establish guidelines early in the school year for their use and their possible role in student assessment and evaluation. Following are some suggested procedures:

• Use a large folder made from light cardboard, a large shoe box, or other suitable container for the portfolio.
• Use a notebook, binder, sketch pad, scrapbook or constructed booklet for the journal, depending on what is available and convenient.
• Encourage the use of portfolios or journal entries that consist of notation, drawings, video and audio recordings, brainstorm lists, concept maps, cut images, quotes and articles from other sources, as well as a variety of writing.
• Encourage students to get started in their journals by modelling journal writing, demonstrating processes for idea exploration and reflection, asking sample questions, or presenting examples from other students' journals. Students should be encouraged to develop their own style and format.
• Ensure that each entry is dated.
• Decide how often entries will be made and be flexible about time spent on them. Time could range from five minutes at the end of every class to fifteen or twenty minutes at the end of a unit of study.
• Decide whether the portfolios and journals are personal or public and how they will be used to assess student progress.
• Inform students that whatever system for evaluation is implemented, teacher checks will be frequent and non-threatening.
• Review portfolios and journals to observe whether students are expressing their opinions, ideas, insights, observations and research in a meaningful way. Teachers should not be critical of the ideas and opinions expressed.
• Keep a portfolio in order to model desired practice regarding portfolios and to record ideas, observations of the students' work, resources, methods and themes.

Planning for Students' Dance-making

• The Dance-making Process At A Glance
• The Dance-making Process in Detail
• Accompaniment
  
• Working with a Choreographer

Dance-making activities focus on developing students' abilities to express themselves. Usually, dance-making activities will span several lessons. Students should be encouraged to create dances using their own ideas and experiences as starting-points, thus making their dance experiences personally meaningful. Students will need support in developing their ideas or themes so that they go beyond pantomime or mimicry and reach the objective of expressing themselves in the language of dance.

The five steps described in this planning section outline ways teachers can plan lessons and assist students in dance-making. The steps allow for the incorporation of a variety of instructional methods; for example, brainstorming, discussion, co-operative learning groups, problem solving, demonstration, concept mapping, reflective discussion, synectics, and focused imaging.

Using this dance-making process is not the only way to plan and assist students' dance-making. Some teachers may already have their own ways of planning. Whatever process is used, the teacher should include the students in the planning as appropriate and keep the foundational objectives in mind.

The steps show how teachers and students can develop themes and ideas in dance. The key is for the teacher and/or students to be familiar with the dance elements (which are the language of dance) and to ask questions which encourage full exploration of dance concepts. The steps also show how teachers and students can use movements as a starting-point (right-hand column), rather than a theme or idea (left-hand column).

Steps One to Four focus on planning for dance-making. Step Five is included to help teachers structure the dance-making lesson.

At the Secondary Level, students will be familiar with these and other ways of planning and will take a more independent approach to their problem solving processes than in the middle years. Strictly following these steps may inhibit either the teachers' or students' intuitions and inspirations so valued in the creative process. However, teachers may use the steps as a guide and encourage the exploration of any new ideas that might arise.

The Dance-making Process At A Glance

Step One: Starting Points When planning for students' dance-making, the teacher and students might choose to start working from a theme or idea or they may start with movement itself.

Step Two: Brainstorming Once a starting-point has been chosen, teachers and students may use discussion and brainstorming to arrive at the movements they will explore.

Step Three: Finding the Movements for Exploration Teachers and students may choose to make concept maps or webs of possible movements for further exploration over the next few lessons. Over the next few lessons students will go on to improvise, explore, develop and further refine their movements, working from the suggestions on the concept maps.

Step Four: Taking Stock At this point, students and teachers might need to focus on small parts of the concept maps of Step Three for further exploration. Learning objectives, particularly those related to the elements of dance and principles of composition, will be addressed.

Step Five: Structuring the Lesson Dance-making lessons should be structured to allow for warm-up, exploration and development, sequencing the dance phrase, cool-down and reflection.

The Dance-making Process in Detail

• Step One: Starting-points
  
• Step Two: Brainstorming
  
• Step Three: Finding the Movements for Exploration
  
• Step Four: Taking Stock
  
• Step Five: Structuring the Lesson
  

Step One: Starting-points

Starting with Themes or Ideas Ideas to inspire dance-making can come from many sources: personal experiences and feelings, the environment, observation, the imagination, memories, current affairs, the other arts strands, and so on. Not all themes or ideas lend themselves to movement. Teachers and students should look for themes or ideas that have images suggesting movement. It should be noted that some themes or ideas might not seem to have potential for movement at first glance but may prove stimulating upon reflection and discussion. With a little experience, teachers and students will soon discover which themes or ideas inspire movement and are easily explored in dance.

Starting with Movements Ideas for dances need not begin with an external idea or theme. Some choreographers approach dance in a more formalistic way by manipulating and exploring movement itself. In this case, the choreographer's focus is on the elements and structures of dance. For example, instead of creating a dance using a theme such as "the environment", the choreographer might begin with a movement idea, such as "energy used to resist gravity".

Teacher Information: The dance elements are the language of dance. For more information on the elements and on the principles of composition, see the section entitled "Elements of Dance and Principles of Composition" in this Planning Guide.

Step Two: Brainstorming

Once a starting-point has been chosen, teachers and students may use discussion and brainstorming to arrive at the movements they will explore.

Starting with a Theme or Idea If the teacher and/or students selected "the environment" as a starting-point, for example, they would begin by brainstorming ideas about the environment. The Environment        wild life oceans rain forests         whales pandas earth beaches conflict cities protection forests pollution rivers ozone population endangered species destruction nature recycling conservation

Starting with Movement When starting with movement, this step is usually omitted and planning would begin with Step Three. However, the teacher and students might wish to begin with a discussion about the starting-point. For example, if the teacher and/or students selected "energy used to resist gravity" as a starting-point, they might begin with a discussion on gravity.

Step Three: Finding the Movements for Exploration

Starting with a Theme or Idea Select one or two words from the brainstorming list. The teacher and/or students can then ask questions in order to make concept maps or webs of possible movements for further exploration over the next few lessons. The questions should ask students to associate core characteristics of the theme or idea with concepts related to the dance elements: actions, body, dynamics, relationships and space. In doing this, students will be encouraged to go beyond mimicry in their movement explorations. For example, if the theme is "the environment" and the teacher/students selected "endangered species" and "protection", they would then brainstorm action, body, dynamic, relationship and space concepts associated with these words. Students could respond to questions such as: What actions does the term endangered species make you think of? How do you think you would do the actions (dynamics)? Teachers should note that students may not associate every element with a particular idea or theme. Although all elements are present, some elements may predominate for some themes. Sample concept maps follow below.

Starting with Movement When using movement as inspiration for dance-making, teachers and students may still choose to make concept maps or webs of possible movements to explore over the next few lessons. For example, if the teacher and/or students selected "energy used to resist gravity", they would then brainstorm movement ideas from that concept. Two sample concept maps follow in this column on the next page.

Over the next few lessons students would go on to improvise, explore, develop and further refine their movements, working from the suggestions on the concept maps.

Step Four: Taking Stock

At this point, the teacher and/or students might need to focus on small parts of the concept maps from Step Three for further exploration. This might be necessary as concept maps can have too many ideas to explore in a single lesson. The teacher will also need to determine learning objectives appropriate for the concept maps. Some learning objectives may have been determined previously. Other learning objectives, particularly those related to the elements of dance and the principles of composition, may be more easily determined at this point. After the learning objectives have been set the teacher can design tasks specific to the objectives. The teacher might want to involve students in this.

Planning from a Theme or Idea Learning objectives focusing on the element of dynamics might be particularly appropriate for the theme "endangered species". The teacher might also decide to incorporate objectives focusing on the composition principle of climax and resolution. Teachers may find other elements and principles which work just as well and would then select appropriate learning objectives.

Planning from Movements Learning objectives focusing on the elements of dynamics and actions might be particularly appropriate for the movement idea "energy used to resist gravity". Teachers may find other elements and principles which work just as well and would then select appropriate learning objectives.

Before structuring the lesson, teachers might want to step back and consider the following:

Step Five: Structuring the Lesson

The concept maps have now been developed. The teacher will use the information gathered to plan the following essential parts of the dance lesson. These five parts apply to all dance-making, whether the students are planning from a theme or idea, or from movements.

The Warm-up Exploration and Development Sequencing the Dance Phrase The Cool-down Time for Reflection

1.       The Warm-up

The warm-up uses activities to:

• warm the body's muscles and joints
• encourage concentration and body awareness
• improve or teach new movement skills.

Both locomotor (travelling) and non-locomotor (non-travelling) actions are used in warm-up activities. The material taken from the concept maps to be developed later in the lesson can be used, although this is not necessary. Warm-up activities can be repeated or extended from lesson to lesson.

2.       Exploration and Development

In this part of the lesson the students will explore their starting-points using ideas on the concept maps. Students should be encouraged to improvise, experiment with and create their own movements in response to the tasks set by the teacher and/or students. The teacher acts as a guide and observer, encouraging the students' development of the movements, ensuring that a movement is fully experienced, making suggestions and responding to what the students do.

3.       Sequencing

The movements that the students explored and developed will now be ordered and refined into dance phrases and compositions. Not all the movements will be used; students will use the ones that best convey their intentions. Students should consider each movement and ensure that it contributes to the whole dance composition. When sequencing movements and dance phrases, the students should be encouraged to use their understanding of the principles of composition. Again, the teacher acts as a guide and observer, encouraging and responding to what the students do.

Sometimes several dance lessons may be needed for students to refine and complete their dance creations. Students should be given the opportunity to sequence their movements in every dance-making lesson, as this is essential in order for students' dance experiences to have meaning. Movements in isolation are simply movements, not dance ideas.

4.       The Cool-down

The cool-down uses slow, stretching activities to help the students' heart rates and concentration return to normal. Movements from the warm-up activities might be adapted for cool-down activities. As in the warm-up, activities can be repeated from lesson to lesson.

5.       Reflection

Reflection should occur throughout the lesson. Students should be given time to think about their own work, clarify their intentions, refine their work and decide if they are satisfied with their work. Do they find what they do is interesting to them? Do they think their expressions are clear to others? If not, how could they make their dance expression more interesting for themselves or clearer to others?

At the end of the dance lesson, students should show their work to each other. They should be given the opportunity to look at, describe and discuss their peers' work. This can be done with half the class watching the other half, with small groups demonstrating to the class, with partners demonstrating to each other, etc.

Caution: To maintain objectivity, keep the students' comments to observations about the movements and discourage comments which simply express a judgement. For example, the comment, "I liked John's dance", would be better said as, "I thought the jumps in John's dance were interesting". (See "Responding to Arts Expressions".)

Dance-making lessons require students to be active learners. Students are experiencing, gaining knowledge, experimenting and facilitating at the same time. Often there is a social dimension where students are working with partners or in groups. To facilitate students' learning in the creative dance lesson, teachers will need to be interactive -- constantly coaching, guiding and discussing with the students.

Accompaniment

Accompanying students in their dance will help motivate them to move. The following discusses three methods of accompaniment: percussion instruments , music and student-created accompaniment.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments such as drums, tambourines or cymbals are well-suited to the creative dance lesson. The teacher can stimulate the students to move by using a variety of instruments, and by adapting the tempo and accents to suit the students' movement explorations.

Music

Music is an effective way to motivate students to move. Music can be used as background music to enhance movement that already has been structured, or the movement can be sequenced according to the musical structure. If music is to be used to create a mood or an atmosphere, simply put the record on and let it play. If music is being used for a more structured purpose, then it must be analysed. Teachers will need to identify the time signature, the tempo and the number of beats in a musical phrase.

Once the music is analysed, the teacher can set the dance tasks, keeping in mind the musical structure. For example, if the music has a 4/4 time signature and the lesson concept is "directions in space", the task might state that the students are to travel in a straight line, changing directions every eight beats. When introducing music to the students, have them begin by listening to the beat of the music.

Selecting Music

Selecting music is usually a matter of personal preference. The following will provide some guidance:

• Most importantly, select music which makes you feel like moving.
• During the year, use a variety of musical styles.
• Be mindful of music with words that might elicit movements of a mimetic nature.
• Select music that will elicit the desired movement qualities.

Records, Tapes and Compact Discs

Records, tapes or compact discs can be used in the dance lesson. Records allow teachers to find quickly a musical selection, but they tend to scratch easily. Tapes are more durable than records, but finding musical selections can be time consuming. (When using tapes, cue the tape to the musical selection before the lesson and use only one music selection on a cassette in one lesson. Use the tape counter to easily rewind to the chosen spot.) Compact discs are probably the best. They scratch less easily than records and musical selections can be cued to play immediately.

Caution: Teachers should keep in mind that some dance educators feel that music should be used sparingly. They claim that music tends to structure movement, and when students are involved in finding their own unique solution to a problem, their breadth of discovery may be limited by the imposition of a metric rhythm. Caution students against letting the music dictate their quality of movement. Instead, they should make their own choices as to the qualities they desire.

Student-created Accompaniment

There may be times when students will choose to accompany their dances with vocal sounds, body percussion, their own soundscape or musical composition. Consult the Music section of this Planning Guide for instructions on "Creating Sound Compositions in the Classroom".

Working with a Choreographer

There may be opportunities for students to work occasionally with a guest choreographer in the school or community. Students at the Secondary Level may also have a chance to work as choreographers themselves, creating dances for their classmates or younger students. Teachers are encouraged to provide these experiences to their students whenever possible.

When a guest choreographer is working with students, the teacher should undertake the following:

• Arrange for a brief meeting or telephone conversation with the choreographer to discuss appropriate learning objectives and expectations.
• Ask the choreographer to consider the three components of the program when planning the visit. For example, as well as dancing with the students or showing his or her dance, the choreographer might discuss the sources of his or her ideas, the factors that have affected the various changes in his or her work, and traditions or new directions in the particular dance form.

When a student is working as a choreographer with his or her peers or younger dancers, have the student consider the following:

• What might the particular student dancers reasonably be able to accomplish at that grade level?
• What safety factors must be kept in mind?
• Have warm-up and cool-down activities been planned?
• Is the music appropriate for a school setting and will it motivate the dancers to move?
• Is there a plan established for working through and sequencing the various parts of the dance?

Dance, Societies and Cultures

• Teaching a Set Dance

In cultures past and present, dance has been a means of expressing emotions, ideas and customs that have significance in the daily lives and history of people. Dances often express themes such as work and conflict, and are closely related to a people's religion, ceremonies, spirituality, rituals and celebrations. The study of these dances affords a glimpse into a people and their way of life. Studying dances is a way of examining a people's values and beliefs.

It is not intended that studying social and cultural dances should be only an historical investigation. Dance exists today as valid expressions of a people. In fact, though altered through time, many of the current dances retain vestiges of the past. Therefore, learning about social and cultural dances includes studying the historical and present-day aspects of the culture or society, examining how these dances may reflect the culture or society and, finally, experiencing the dances. As students actively participate in exploring the culture or society, they gain new insights and come to appreciate the significance of the dances in the spirit intended.

Depending on the students' levels and abilities, the following should be considered by the teacher when planning:

• the origin of the dance to be learned
• the purpose of the dance (for example, social, ritual, ceremonial, celebratory, occupational, etc.)
• the geography and climate of the country of origin
• the beliefs and customs of the culture or society
• any historical factors which may have influenced the dance
• the symbolism, if any, used in the dance.

Teaching a Set Dance

As in dance-making lessons, teaching a set dance such as a cultural or social dance requires teachers to plan warm-up and cool-down activities. The teacher may wish to use steps of the dance as the basis of the warm-up activities. In this way the teacher can develop the skills the students will be using later in the dance lesson. The following tips will help in teaching a set dance. [ "Teaching a Set Dance" was adapted from the following source: From Folk Dance to Disco Dances, A Teacher Handbook for Divisions II, III and IV , Saskatchewan Education, 1980.]

1.       Dances can be broken down into two parts: the steps of the dance or the actual movements           made, and the floor pattern or the pathway made when the dancers move. Begin by teaching           the steps of the dance. Each step is described and demonstrated separately. The steps are           done slowly at first without the music, and then at the proper tempo.

2.       Teach one part of the basic step pattern at a time. When two parts have been learned,           combine them in order to establish continuity of the dance.

3.       The floor pattern is explained next. The dancers walk through the floor pattern. Then the step           pattern and the floor pattern are combined; first without music, then with music. Remember           that not all dances have a set floor pattern.

4.       The whole dance is done to music. Repeat the dance several times in order that all students           can be more fluent in the dance and so they can enjoy it.

Consult the Arts Education bibliography for a list of resources which contain information and instructions for a variety of set dances.