Introduction to Dance

Since early time, people have danced. Dance has been an integral component of social, religious, ceremonial, and spiritual functions of many cultures throughout history. Dance has been a way for people to express ideas and feelings that were significant in peoples’ daily lives.

Young children reflect this impulse of people to dance as they whirl, spin, and gallop for the sheer enjoyment of feeling their bodies in motion. Starting with the students’ natural abilities, the dance program nurtures this urge. The dance program encourages students to explore and to discover dance in a meaningful way, and enables them to express themselves through a non-verbal means of communication – the “language” of dance.

The dance program gives students a comprehensive understanding of dance through learning specific dances, responding to dances, and creating dances. Through these dance experiences, students are encouraged to explore, reflect on, and learn about dance in a meaningful way.

The Dance Strand

The dance strand provides students with opportunities to:

• participate in creative dance and learn social and cultural dances
• develop their dance techniques and deepen their spatial and kinesthetic awareness (the internal feelings of the body’s muscles and joints)
• create dances using a problem-solving approach when exploring and developing movement to express personal ideas and feelings
• further their understanding of dance by examining the role of dance in cultures and societies, past and present
• view and respond to dances of various styles.

Dance links the body, intellect, and emotions. This integration provides students with opportunities to further personal and social growth and to promote well-being. At the same time, dance gives students another means of communicating their own ways of seeing and responding to the world around them.

Ultimately, the dance curriculum strives to foster a lifelong interest in dance. It challenges students to new levels of discovery and awareness, and promotes the understanding of dance and its value.

The dance strand is organized into four required units:

Unit 1: Learning About Motion
Unit 2: Ideas and Inspirations
Unit 3: Making Sense of Things
Unit 4: The World of Dance.

The three components of the Arts Education Curriculum (creative/productive, cultural/historical, and critical/responsive) are to be integrated within these units. (Refer to page 3.) Dancing, creating dances, responding to dances, and learning about dance can all be undertaken within the units.

The following describes what teachers can find in the dance section of the curriculum guide:

• Dance Unit Overviews and Sample Topics for Grades 1 to 5: This chart displays the four required units, the corresponding mini-unit themes, and sample topics for Grades 1-5.
• Foundational Objectives: There are eight foundational objectives for Kindergarten to Grade 5. These are broad objectives that are achieved gradually over the Elementary Level. This section includes a description of each foundational objective.
• Kindergarten to Grade 5 Developmental Continuum: This chart shows the scope and sequence of learning for dance from Kindergarten to Grade 5. The chart displays both foundational and specific learning objectives.
•  Instructional Guidelines: Instructional guidelines are general instructions to the teacher. They apply throughout the year.
•  Planning from the Dance Section of the Curriculum Guide: This section is intended to assist teachers in planning dance lessons and units or mini-units from the curriculum guide. A template for lesson planning is provided, along with a unit planning checklist.
• Learning Objectives Checklist: This checklist appears at the beginning of each grade and displays the learning objectives for the grade. Objectives selected for the grade’s sample unit are checked.
• Unit Overviews: The unit overviews include a statement about the unit’s purpose, a sample topic, a list of suggested resources for the sample topic, and a starter list of suggested activities for use in planning. There are four unit overviews per grade. Each unit overview includes suggestions for two mini-units. Both mini-units are required; however, the activities provided within the mini-units are suggestions only. The chart on the next page displays the four units, the corresponding mini-units, and the sample topics for Grades 1 to 5.
• Sample Unit: Each grade includes one sample unit. The sample unit is intended to show how a series of lessons can be developed from the suggested ideas in the unit overviews.
• Appendix: Each grade includes an appendix intended to give teachers ideas for teaching the dance elements within their dance units.
• Glossary: A glossary is included at the end of the dance section. The glossary provides basic definitions of terms. If more information is needed, the teacher can refer to resources on dance listed in Arts Education: A Bibliography for the Elementary Level (2003).

The Dance Unit Overviews and Sample Topics for Grades 1 to 5 appear in chart form on the next page.

Teacher Reflection

 Following are things that teachers might think about while reading the Dance Strand section of the curriculum:

□ Will I teach the units in the order they appear in the curriculum guide (i.e., units 1-4) or will I begin with the sample unit for my grade?
□ Suggested resources in the sample unit and starter lists of activities that I have access to include:
□ School library resources (e.g., books, videos, websites, music recordings) include:

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□ School Division resources (e.g., shared resources, teacher leaders for K-5 Arts Education) include:

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□ Community resources (e.g., arts organizations, local artists, public library) include:

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□ Resources I would like my school to purchase include:

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Dance Unit Overviews and Sample Topics for Grades 1 to 5

Note: The mini-unit themes listed in this overview are required. The topics listed, however, are samples or examples. Teachers may choose other topics to express the required mini-unit themes. Mini-units in bold-faced type have been developed in the curriculum as sample units with lesson plans using the sample topics listed (available on CD-ROM and on Saskatchewan Learning website).

Foundational Objectives

There are eight broad foundational objectives for the Elementary Level dance strand. These objectives are to be developed throughout the Elementary Level, and can be achieved through the specific learning objectives. The foundational objectives cover the scope of the dance program and embody the three components of arts education.

The eight foundational objectives are listed below and are followed by an explanation of each.

The students will:

1. Understand the elements of dance and develop concepts that lead to an understanding of structure in dance.
2. Develop movement skills to use the body as an instrument for expression.
3. Begin to understand the variety of sources for dance ideas.
4. Begin to develop own ideas in dance compositions, using choreographic structures and processes.
5. Begin to think about and talk about own dance ideas and compositions.
6. Develop understanding of a diverse range of dance, dancers, and choreographers.
7. Talk about, interpret, and respond to dances.
8. Become aware of the dance and dancers in the daily life of own community.

1. Understand the elements of dance and develop concepts that lead to an understanding of structure in dance.

The elements of body, actions, dynamics, space, and relationships comprise the basic language of dance. The elements are best explored in a context of interest to the students. Students should be encouraged to identify, describe, and reflect on the elements of dance as students encounter the elements in their ongoing dance experiences.

Students should realize that the way in which the elements are used affects the expression of dance. What students learn about the elements of dance needs to be reinforced and applied throughout the year. It is important for students to use the elements in meaningful contexts in order to support growth toward understanding and applying this knowledge in later years.

Principles of composition include repetition, contrast, sequencing and development, transition, climax and resolution, variety and unity. They are the tools or devices, which over time, have proven to be useful in creating well-formed dances. Although kindergarten to grade 5 students do not study the principles of composition in depth, students are introduced to concepts that are further developed in later years. Connecting movements (transitions), contrast, repetition, sequencing, development, and variety are appropriate concepts to introduce at the Elementary Level. (See the Kindergarten to Grade 5 Developmental Continuum beginning on page 61 for concepts to introduce or develop further at each grade level. See the Appendix for each grade for further information on the Elements of Dance.)

2. Develop movement skills to use the body as an instrument for expression.

This objective focuses on developing movement skills that help students move purposefully and feel confident in using their bodies to express themselves in dance. It is important that movement skills be developed within students’ ongoing dance explorations and creations, rather than be focused on isolated repetitive exercises.

Students become aware that taking care of the body is important for dancers. Students come to understand and extend their bodies’ range of movement, strength, and balance with attention paid to correct alignment and clarity of action.

3. Begin to understand the variety of sources for dance ideas.

This is the first of three foundational objectives related to the creative process. This objective focuses on ideas for dances; the next two focus on decision making and reflection.

This foundational objective encourages students to become aware that ideas for dances viewed and created may come from many sources such as stories, personal experience, feelings, memories, music, research, observation, imagination, or movement itself. At the grade 3 level, students begin to keep a journal of dance and movement ideas, a practice students will continue throughout their ears of studying dance.

4. Begin to develop own ideas in dance compositions, using choreographic structures and processes.

The purpose of this objective is to introduce students to choreography. In choreographing a dance, there are two things to consider. The first is what the dance is to be about or the content of the dance; for example, a dance may tell a story, express a feeling, or be about movement for movement’s sake. The second consideration is the form of the dance such as theme and variation, binary (AB), rondo (ABACADA), narrative, or chance. Usually the form of the dance evolves from the content; however, both are of equal importance.

In making a dance, choreographers create segments or dance phrases that are developed and synthesized into a whole, much like writers create a story. A dance phrase is a sequence of movements that has an observable beginning and end, like a sentence. Choreography is the process of organizing these movements into phrases and sequencing the phrases into a form that gives dances meaningful and lasting substance.

To begin, students focus on expressing themselves through creating dance phrases. Students explore the use of various images or situations as inspiration for dance creations. Students learn how to generate dance ideas from stimuli by finding the essence of the stimuli and by using the findings as starting points for dance improvisation. Teachers can assist students by setting tasks within which the students can express themselves.

5. Begin to think about and talk about own dance ideas and compositions.

Reflection is essential to the creative process. Through reflection on their dance creations, students learn how dance can represent their own way of seeing or experiencing the world around them. Students begin to take their ideas and life experiences, and express them in the language of dance. In doing so, students stimulate their imaginations and become aware of and sensitive to new movement possibilities.

It is important that students learn to reflect on the meaning they communicate through each dance.

6. Develop understanding of a diverse range of dance, dancers, and choreographers.

To live in a diverse society, students need to learn about dancers and dances of various styles, regions, and cultural groups. This includes dance in Saskatchewan and Canada, including that of First Nation and M é tis dance artists. Styles that students view and experience may include modern, ballet, jazz, heritage, mainstream, and popular culture. Students come to understand that dances are created for a variety of reasons such as commercial, entertainment, celebration, social, or expressive purposes.

The study of a culture’s dances gives a glimpse into a people and their way of life. Dance is a means of expressing emotions, ideas, and customs that have significance in the daily lives and history of people.

In the past, dances expressed themes such as work and conflict. They were, and in some cases are, closely related to a people’s religion, ceremonies, spirituality, rituals, and celebrations. Recognizing that dance continues to be a valid expression of a people, the teacher is encouraged to treat this objective as an investigation into the experience and expression of a people today, as well as of a people in the past.

7. Talk about, interpret, and respond to dances.

One of the goals of the arts education program states that students should gain a lasting appreciation of art forms experienced as audience. Through viewing dances, students become familiar with and gain an understanding of dance as a performance art.

Student responses to dance expressions are varied and diverse. At the Elementary Level, it is important that students view different styles of dances, and begin to talk about and try to interpret the meaning of what students see.

Sometimes students may respond through the other arts to a dance students have seen. They might write a response to a dance or create their own interpretation by drawing, painting, or creating musical soundscapes or dance compositions.

When students view a dance, the teacher is to guide the students through one of the approaches described in Responding to Arts Expressions on page 45.

8. Become aware of the dance and dancers in the daily life of their community.

Dance plays a role in many people’s lives whether it is social, cultural, recreational, or professional. Students may discover dancers and dance events in their own neighbourhood and communities. The teacher’s role is to encourage students to recognize the presence of dance and to develop an understanding of the role dance plays in their lives.

Kindergarten to Grade 5 Developmental Continuum

The chart on the following pages displays the scope and sequence of learning from Kindergarten to Grade 5. It includes broad foundational objectives for the Elementary Level and grade-specific learning objectives. This chart represents the required content for the dance strand.

Instructional Guidelines for Teaching Dance at the Elementary Level

The following guidelines are general instructions to the teacher for dance instruction throughout the year.

1. Encourage students’ awareness of their kinesthetic sensations whenever they are engaged in moving.

Kinesthetic sensations are the feelings of the body’s muscles, joints, and tendons while in motion or in stillness. The kinesthetic sense is of primary importance to movement and dance. Perceptions of the body’s movements are gathered through receptors in the tendons, muscles, and joints and relayed to the brain. By becoming aware of their own kinesthetic sensations, students can more accurately direct and control their movements as well as copy movements demonstrated. This results in students increasing their dance techniques.

To encourage students to become aware of their kinesthetic sensations, teachers:

• provide students with a variety of movement activities where the students can experience the feelings of their bodies in motion and in stillness
• coach students to notice their kinesthetic sensations where major differences in body shapes or dynamic qualities occur
• provide students with opportunities to copy demonstrated movements; for example, cultural dances or a set movement sequence.

2. Encourage students to develop their dance techniques.

Here, technique refers to the ability of students to use their bodies as they wish in a safe, efficient manner with little threat of injury. The dance program does not recommend any one dance technique be taught to students at this level (e.g., ballet, Graham).

Acquiring technique is a long process of training the body to respond as desired. Teachers need to play an active role in developing students’ dance techniques by acting as the students’ mirror and coaching where appropriate. This is an important function of the dance teacher, for the students cannot see themselves as they move and they must rely on an observer for feedback.

Changes in technique do not occur quickly. Teachers may find they are repeating themselves. This is fine. It takes time for students to develop the capacity to concentrate on body alignment and at the same time to actively participate in dancing activities. Constant reminders help the students become aware of what their bodies are doing.

To develop the students’ dance techniques, the teacher:

• plans dance activities that develop strength, balance, co-ordination, and flexibility
• plans dance activities that challenge the students both mentally and physically
• coaches students for correct body alignment at all times.

Some alignment principles to look for are:

• the centre of the knee over the middle toes at all times, especially in jumping actions
• when standing, a long back with the chest and hips in alignment (i.e., no ribs or bottoms sticking out)
• when standing, a long, relaxed spine, head, neck, and shoulders with minimum tension in the body while the movement is being done.

3. Use a process to guide the students in their dance making.

The process of creating is often misunderstood. Teachers may be afraid to guide the students too much in fear of stifling creativity. The creative process, however, is really a problem-solving process. Teachers need to guide students through steps of creative problem solving in the dance-making process. (See page 72.) As students become used to using this process, the sophistication of their reflections on what students are doing will grow. Students can be encouraged to learn to use Labanotation or descriptive writing as a means for recording their dance composition ideas and explorations. See Motif Symbols on page 77.

 4. Use a process to guide students in responding to dance presentations.

Viewing dance presentations is a matter of being actively engaged in watching the dance and later, of responding to what was seen. Teachers should use a viewing process that encourages students to delve into the context and meaning of the dances, selecting approaches such as those described in Responding to Arts Expressions on page 45 of this curriculum guide. In this way, students make sense of their viewing experiences and gain deeper understanding of dance presentations. In addition to responding to the work of professional choreographers and dancers, students benefit from opportunities to view videos and live performances of children and youth dancing.

Planning from the Dance Section of the Curriculum Guide

The Curriculum Structure

The dance section of the curriculum encourages teachers to plan their dance programs in units – that is, in a series of connected lessons.

The curriculum outlines four required units. Each unit is presented in two mini-units, which are simply shorter units. The mini-unit themes are required. The sample topics and activities are suggestions. Refer to Dance Unit Overviews and Sample Topics on page 59 of this curriculum guide. The required mini-unit themes and sample topics have been designed so that, during the Elementary Level, students experience a varied range of contexts for learning in dance.

The time allotment for dance is 50 minutes per week. It follows then, that roughly three to five weeks could be spent on each mini-unit. It is not required, however, that the two mini-units be given equal time.

The activities provided for each mini-unit are intended to be a starter list only. As teachers become more experienced in teaching dance, they will certainly want to add other activities or adapt the ones provided for different topics. The activities are listed in three categories: introductory, main, and concluding activities. These three categories have the following purposes:

Introductory Activities

Main Activities

Concluding Activities

Planning Lessons and Units

Step One

Step Two

Teacher Note:
• You may wish to begin by using the sample unit for your grade as it includes detailed lesson plans.

Step Three

Step Four
Plan the lessons in detail. The following are important aspects of lesson planning:

Step Five
Refer to the Sample Checklist for Planning a Dance Mini-unit (page 85). This checklist is a means of ensuring that Core Curriculum Components and Initiatives are included in every unit. It also acts as a reminder of the importance of including a variety of teaching strategies in the dance strand.

Planning for Students’ Dance Making

Dance-making activities develop students’ abilities to express themselves in the language of dance. Meaningful dance expressions will result when specific purposes for students’ dance explorations are planned. Throughout the dance-making process, students need to be encouraged to consider what they want to say through their dances and to reflect on what the dances are about.

Involve students in planning as appropriate, and keep the specific learning objectives in mind. The key is for the teacher and students to be familiar with the dance elements, which are the language of dance, and to ask questions that encourage full exploration of dance concepts. See page 75 for the Elements of Dance.

Encourage students to use their own ideas and experiences as starting points. Anticipate that students will need support in developing their ideas so that students go beyond literal representation or mimicry to address the objective of personal expression through dance.

Usually, dance making activities span several lessons. The following five steps outline ways in which teachers can plan lessons and assist students in dance making. These five steps allow for the incorporation of a variety of instructional methods (e.g., brainstorming, discussion, co-operative learning groups, problem solving, demonstration, concept mapping, reflective discussion, synectics, focused imaging).

Steps one to four focus on planning for dance making. Step five is included to help teachers structure each individual dance-making lesson. Teachers new to teaching dance may use the steps as presented and, when feeling more confident, may explore variations of this or other planning processes.

The Dance-making Process at a Glance

Step One: Starting Points

• Select a theme or topic or main movement idea as the starting point for the dance.
• Explore ideas for dances from poems, pictures, personal experiences, events, imagination, the other arts, or other sources.

Step Two: Brainstorming

• Discuss the starting point and brainstorm a list of related words to generate ideas that have the potential to inspire movement.
• List these ideas on the board or on chart paper, and keep in view.
• Brainstorming is a recursive process when planning dance. Students may come back to brainstorm movement ideas many times throughout the process.

Step Three: Finding the Movements for Exploration

• Create concept maps or webs with students. These visual organizers will be used to inspire movement explorations over the next few lessons.
• First, choose a word or topic from the brainstormed list to place on the map.
• Then, select two or more dance elements and begin listing under each element some characteristics related to the starting point in order to focus movement exploration.
• Starting point - weather
• Brainstormed list word - storm
• Element: Actions - run, swirl, dart, fall
• Element: Dynamics - sudden, strong
• Refer to page 74 for an example of a dance concept web.
• Use a variety of images to encourage students to explore several possibilities. Remember that imagery can also limit students if used incorrectly. Do not ask students to “be” something or you will get mimicry rather than movement exploration.
• Over the next few lessons, students improvise, explore, develop, and refine their movements, working from their lists of words on the concept webs.

Step Four: Taking Stock

• At this point, students and teachers might need to focus on small parts of the concept webs from Step Three for further exploration.
• Learning objectives, particularly those related to the elements of dance and principles of composition, are addressed here.
• Questioning techniques are important at this point to focus students’ movement exploration, development of phrases, sequencing, and expressive dance ideas.

Step Five: Structuring the Dance-making Lessons

• Dance-making lessons should allow for:
• warm-up
• exploration and development
• sequencing the dance phrases
• cool-down
• reflection.

The Dance-making Process in Detail

Step One: Starting Points

Starting with a Theme or Idea

Ideas to inspire dance making can come from many sources: poems, stories, pictures, personal experiences and feelings, the environment, observation, the imagination, memories, events, the other arts, and so on.

When starting from a theme or idea, teachers and students together look for themes with images that suggest movement such as “superheroes” or “fabulous creatures”. Note that some themes might not seem to have potential for movement at first glance, but may prove stimulating upon reflection and discussion.

Ideas for dances need not begin with an external idea or theme. Some choreographers approach dance in a more formal way by beginning with movement itself.

If starting from movement concepts rather than a theme, the teacher’s and students’ focus will be on the elements and structures of dance. For example, instead of creating a dance using a theme such as “wishes and dreams”, the choreographer might begin by exploring a concept directly related to the elements of dance. Students might decide to create a “Wiggle, Jiggle, Stomp” dance and might begin by exploring the dance elements of actions and space.

Step Two: Brainstorming

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

Brainstorming on a Theme or Idea

If the teacher and students select the starting point of wishes and dreams, for example, the teacher might ask questions such as, “What are some people’s dreams like? When do you daydream? If you could have three wishes come true what would they be?” Use only one or two words to describe these ideas. Students would begin by listing words that come to mind when thinking about wishes and dreams.

Sample Starting Point Theme: Wishes and Dreams

When Starting with Movement

When starting with movement rather than a theme, the brainstorming step is usually omitted and planning begins with Step Three. The teacher and students can still begin, however, with a discussion about the movement-inspired starting point. For example, if the teacher and students decide to create a “Wiggle, Jiggle, Stomp” dance, they might begin with a discussion of various things the students have seen that either wiggle, jiggle, or stomp.

Step Three: Finding the Movements for Exploration

When Starting with a Theme or Idea

Having decided on the theme or idea, the teacher and students can make concept maps or webs of possible movements for further exploration over the next few dance-making lessons.

When creating the concept maps or webs, the teacher’s role is to prompt students to associate core characteristics of the chosen theme or idea with concepts related to the dance elements: actions, body, dynamics, relationships, and space. The association of theme characteristics and dance elements encourages students to go beyond mimicry in their movement explorations. For example, if using the theme of animals, students should not be imitating the animals’ exact movements but rather could explore the range of actions, pathways, and shapes suggested by the animals’ movements. This helps students learn how to “abstract” the movements as students become more experienced.

In the following example, using the theme wishes and dreams as a starting point, the teacher and students select “superpowers” from their brainstormed list. They then list words on the concept map that describe the elements of action, body, dynamics, relationships, and space for movement exploration.

When creating the map, students respond to questions, such as “What actions do you think about when you hear the word superpowers? How do you think you would do the actions (dynamics)?”

Teachers should note that students might not associate an idea or theme with every element. Although all elements are present, some elements may predominate for some themes. A sample concept web follows.

Sample Concept Web

When Starting with Movement

When using movement as inspiration for dance making, teachers and students can also make concept maps or webs of possible movements to explore over the next few lessons. For example, if the teacher and students selected “Wiggle, Jiggle, Stomp” as the starting point, they brainstorm movement ideas related to that concept. A sample concept web follows.

Over the next few dance-making lessons, students go on to improvise, explore, develop, and further refine their movements, working from the suggestions on the concept webs.

Step Four: Taking Stock

At this point, the teacher and students might need to focus on small parts of the concept webs of Step Three for further exploration in dance. This is necessary if the concept webs have too many ideas with which to work in a single lesson. The teacher also needs to determine learning objectives appropriate for the concept webs. Some learning objectives may have been determined previously. Other learning objectives, particularly those related to the elements of dance, may be more easily determined at this point. After the learning objectives have been selected, the teacher can design tasks specific to the objectives. The teacher might want to involve the students in this task.

Planning from a Theme or Idea

Learning objectives related to the elements of actions and space might be particularly appropriate for the concept map of “Superpowers”. Teachers may find other elements that work just as well and would then select other learning objectives.

Planning from Movement

Learning objectives focusing on the elements of body and dynamics might be an appropriate place to start with the concept map of “Wiggle, Jiggle, Stomp”. Teachers may find other elements that work just as well and would then select other learning objectives.

Step Five: Structuring the Lesson

The teacher now uses the information from the concept webs to plan the following essential parts of the dance lesson. These five segments apply to all dance making, whether the students are planning from a theme or idea or from movements.

 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 that will 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.

Exploration and Development

In this part of the lesson, the students explore their starting points by referring to the concept webs. Students need encouragement to improvise, experiment with, and create their own movements in response to the tasks set by the teacher and students. The teacher acts as a guide and observer. He or she encourages the students’ development of the movements, ensures that a movement is fully experienced, makes suggestions, and responds to what the students do.

Sequencing

The movements that the students explored and developed will now be ordered and refined to create dance phrases and compositions. Not all the movements will be used, just the ones that convey the students’ intentions best. Students consider each movement and ensure that it contributes to the whole dance composition.

When sequencing movements and dance phrases, the teacher’s role is to encourage students to explore principles of composition such as repetition and contrast. (See foundational objective #1 on page 60.) 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 need to 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.

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.

Reflection

Reflection is planned for throughout the lesson. Students need time to think about their own work, clarify their intentions, refine the work, and decide if they are satisfied with their work. Do they still have a clear idea of what their dance is about? Do they find that what they are doing is interesting to them? Do they think their expressions are clear to others? If not, how could students make their dance expressions more interesting for themselves or clearer to others?

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

The Elements of Dance

The elements of dance are the ingredients of dance. Often one or two elements predominate but all the elements are present. This is the nature of dance.

The different ways of combining and using the elements determine the expression of the dance, just as reordering words in a sentence can change the meaning of the sentence.

The elements of dance identified in the dance strand are based on the movement theories of Laban (1975), and the later work of Preston-Dunlop (1980a, 1980b), and Boorman (1969).

In this section of the curriculum guide, each element is organized into the following four parts.

Actions

Definition
Actions are what the body is doing. A rich vocabulary of actions increases the capacity to express through dance.

Note: Action words fall into categories. This list is by no means complete.

Ways to Describe Actions

Action words can also be divided into locomotor (movements that travel from one location to another) and non-locomotor (movements that do not travel).

Questions to Guide Exploration

The following is a short list of questions that teachers can use to stimulate student ideas about actions:

• Can you run and shiver at the same time?
• Can you inflate as much as possible and then deflate? Slowly? Quickly?
• What is the difference between a twist and a spin?
• Can you twist your arm/leg/torso?
• Can you do one locomotor action followed by one non-locomotor action?
• Can you string three non-locomotor actions together?
• Can you put together a sequence of one travelling action, one percussive action, one expanding action, and one vibratory action?

 Ask students to brainstorm a list of action words. Have students categorize the words into actions that suggest turning, travelling, jumping, falling, expanding, contracting, stopping, and so on. Display.

Select words from different categories to explore through movement. Have students order the words to create a dance phrase; for example:

• roll, scrunch, explode, run
• skitter, drop, twirl, shake.

Motif Symbols

Motif writing is a system for recording the general sequence of movements on paper. It was developed by Preston-Dunlop (1980a) from the dance notation system invented by Rudolf Laban called “Labanotation”. Motif writing is written in vertical columns. It is read from the bottom of the page upwards, left to right. Motif at a Glance compiled by The Language of Dance Centre can be used as a reference. Consult Arts Education: A Bibliography for the Elementary Level (2003) for ordering information.

Sample Motif Symbols

Following is an example of a dance phrase written in motif description. The phrase reads (from the bottom up) as: travel, fall, twist left, jump, pause/stillness.

Review motif symbols with the students. Choose three or four symbols to explore; for example:

• turn, fall, expand, travel
• stillness, travel, stillness, contract, jump.

Encourage students to explore the symbols using different body parts, body bases, space pathways, and movement qualities.

Read poems that have action words. Write a classroom “action poem”. Have the students explore the action words through movement. Encourage the students to explore the action words using different body parts, body bases, pathways, and movement qualities. (Possible resource: Adventures in Creative Movement Activities by Marcia L. Lloyd.)

Have students practise different ways of being airborne in different shapes (e.g., legs bent behind them, curled over, legs and arms stretched out). Have students contrast the airborne actions with other actions.

Review the Red River Jig (Métis). Note that students create and combine their own jigging steps in this dance. (See Métis Dances Kit , Saskatchewan Education.)

Body

Definition
The body is the instrument in dance. Just as a painter paints with a brush, in dance it is through the body that movements appear.

Ways to Describe Body

Questions to Guide Exploration

The following is a short list of questions that teachers can use to stimulate student ideas about body:

• Can you connect an upper body part with a lower body part? Or a left body part with a right body part?
• Can you make an expanding action with two body parts?
• Can you move your head, arms, and legs in a rhythmic pattern?
• Can you support your body with a different body base?
• How can you shift your balance from one body part to another?
• Can you make a shape that draws attention to your upper half/left side/back of your body?
• How many different shapes can you make with your arm, leg, or other body part?
• Can you move both arms/legs/elbows in the same/opposite direction?

Activities to Explore Body

 Review with students the definition of kinesthetic sensations. Kinesthetic sensations are the sensations students feel when moving. Explain to students that dancers remember their kinesthetic sensations in order to become more skilful. Dancers remember how their muscles feel when doing something successfully in order to do it in the same way again. (See Adventures in Creative Movement Activities by Marcia L. Lloyd.)

Discuss with students the importance of correct body alignment in dance. Explain to students that correct body alignment helps prevent injuries to the body. Have students practise walking, bending, and jumping with an awareness of correct alignment. Coach students to have relaxed shoulders, stretched waists, lifted heads, ribs over the pelvis (not in front or behind), and knees over the middle toes.

Have students do exercises to increase body strength and flexibility. For example, practise stretches such as touching the toes and reaching toward the ceiling. As well, students can do simple technique exercises such as pli é (bending of the knees) and tondue (extension of the leg in front, behind, and to the side of the body).

Explore “mixing up” the body zones. For example, reach the right shoulder across to the left side or reach the left leg across to the right side. Explore with different ways of balancing and travelling; for example:

• twist, unwind, explode, balance while reaching body parts across the body
• walk with the legs crossing over, fall backwards, roll, freeze in a twisted shape
• reach a hand across the body to lunge, repeat several times, tilt the body to the side, balance on one foot.

Dynamics

Definition
Dynamics is how the body moves. Dynamics give dance its expressiveness.

Ways to Describe Dynamics

* Effort is one section of Laban’s Movement Analysis. It is developmentally appropriate to have young students work on only one aspect at a time. Gradually, students will be able to incorporate two or three of the sections. For example, students could create a movement that is sudden, free, and light. Effort is relative and is on a continuum. One movement may seem strong; however, when it is compared to another stronger movement, it will seem lighter.

Questions to Guide Exploration

The following is a short list of questions that teachers can use to stimulate student ideas about dynamics:

• Can you move as slowly/quickly as possible?
• Can you demonstrate an uneven travelling step?
• Can you move as if you are floating on a cloud? (light)
• Can you walk as if you are travelling through molasses or fresh cement? (strong)
• Can you jab in various directions suddenly/ sustained?
• Can you turn that movement into a sudden/ sustained movement?
• Can you stand up as slowly/quickly as possible?

Activities to Explore Dynamics

Explain to students that duration is on a continuum of long to short, and that speed is on a continuum of slow to fast. Have students try sensing various durations of time while moving with various speeds. Ask, for example, “Can you move very quickly and stop when you think half a minute has gone by?” Vary the duration and speed; move slowly for half a minute, quickly for ten seconds, slowly for ten seconds, and so on. Discuss. (Students may have difficulty determining durations. Do not worry. The purpose here is to increase students’ sense and awareness of the duration.)

Have students record a collage of long and short sounds heard in their classroom or outside (e.g., a ticking clock, murmur of talking, a loud bang, a car horn). So that the students become familiar with it, listen to the sound collage several times. Explore movements of various durations and speeds to accompany the sound collage.

Have students move “as if”. For example, to explore “light” movement, ask students to move as if they are on a cloud or as if they are a leaf floating in the wind. To explore “sudden” movement, ask students to move across the floor as if they are trying to keep off bugs that seem to be everywhere.

Relationships

Definition
Relationships describe where a person is positioned compared to where other people or things are in the space.

Ways to Describe Relationships

Questions to Guide Exploration

The following is a short list of questions that teachers can use to stimulate student ideas about relationships:

• In partners, how many different relationships can you identify?
• How do relationships change when you add a third person?
• What ideas come to mind when you see two people facing each other, with one standing and one kneeling?
• Can you show “through” in partners? Now try in groups.
• What does two people standing at opposite ends of the room show?
• Can you find as many ways to pass by your partner as possible?
• Can you tell a story using relationships?
• Can you make a dance using near, between, against, and through?

Activities to Explore Relationships

Explore relationships in groups of three or four students. Explore a few relationship ideas at a time; for example:

• stalk to meet, slowly pass by, quickly connect, stalk away with one student leading, the others following
• starting near, slowly surround an arm, leg, or some other body part without touching, carefully move together to a new space, and whirl apart.

In partners or trios, have students explore moving in unison and canon. Have students do a favorite dance phrase in these two ways. (Unison is doing the same movement at the same time. Canon is doing the same movement at different times, like a round in music.)

Review “La Danse du Crochet” (Métis). Have students identify the different relationships in the dance. (See Métis Dances Kit, Saskatchewan Education.)

Learn dances such as the “Hora” (Israeli) or “Alunilul” (Romanian). Have students identify the different relationships in the dance. (See Children’s Folk Dances by Georgiana Stewart, audio recording; A Multicultural Folk Dance Treasure Chest, kit by Christy Lane.)

Space

Definition
Space is where the body moves. As dancers move through space, their bodies create patterns on the floor and in the air. These spatial designs are an integral part of dance, giving dancers a purposeful reason for moving.

Ways to describe Space

Questions to Guide Exploration

Teacher note: It is important that students explore movement without being told exactly what to do. They do, however, need guidance to focus their creativity. The following is a short list of questions that teachers can use to stimulate student ideas about space:

• In how many different ways can you get from one end of the space to the other?
• Can you reach the ends of your personal space?
• Can you move throughout the room while maintaining a bubble of empty space around you?
• Can you take up as little/much space as possible?
• Can you take up a lot of space at a high or low level?
• Can you travel using only straight/curved lines?
• Can you travel through space while keeping the same focus?
• Can you take up a lot/little space while travelling?
• How do running, jumping, and stretching movements use space differently?

Activities to Explore Space

Directions and Levels

Review with students the concepts of directions and levels. Usually people move in the same directions and at the same levels. To create excitement in dance choreographers try to do the unexpected: to move in unusual directions and at different levels. Then dance becomes interesting for the dancers and the audience.

Explore action words that suggest different levels (e.g., slither, hover, plunge, toss). Have the students explore the words using different directions, travelling and on the spot.

Have the students imagine a wind is blowing against them. The students indicate