Time: 6-8 weeks
Ideas for dance expressions come from many different sources – the imagination, the environment, other dances, and personal experiences. This unit focuses student attention on sources of inspiration for dance.
Sample Topic: "Powwow"
Suggested Resources:
Starter List of Activities
1. Introductory Activities
Discuss the powwow tradition and its importance as an opportunity for families and friends to come together to visit and celebrate the past and future. Read stories about how some of the traditional powwow dances originated.
Learn about powwow traditions, etiquette, and protocols such as the Grand Entry, the Eagle Staff, and Honour songs. It is important to note that powwow traditions vary from region to region. It is advisable to invite an Elder or other knowledgeable powwow dancer to serve as a resource person when discussing these topics.
Learn about the different dance regalia for dances such as Traditional (men and women), Fancy (men and women), Jingle (women), Hoop and Grass (men). Discuss the significance of the different parts of each dancer's regalia, such as the bustles, breastplates, roaches, bells, leggings, fans, shawls, and beadwork.
Put pictures of different pieces of regalia on separate pieces of paper. Build the regalia while showing the students each piece. Address meaning that may be represented by each piece.
Learn about the significance of the circle and the clockwise movement in powwow celebrations and traditional Indian spirituality.
Learn about the meaning of the drum (i.e., the heartbeat of Mother Earth) and its care.
Learn about different types of powwow songs, their meanings, and how they are learned. Discuss the role of the lead singer who starts the song off with the “lead” or “push up”. The other singers repeat that lead with what is called a “second”. Then, all the singers join together to repeat the first and second parts. An entire section of a song can also be called a push up. In that case, if the singers were asked to play four push ups, they would sing the lead, second, first part, and second part four times.
Listen to powwow music live or on video. Have students note the drum beat and see if they can detect where the emphasis falls.
2. Main Activities
Watch powwow dances live or on video. Ask students what elements of movement are seen in the dancing. For example, have students compare and contrast a Fancy Dance with a Traditional Dance.
Invite a First Nations dancer from the community. Arrange for him or her to answer questions about the dances, regalia, traditions, protocols, and the importance of dance and dancers in the First Nations culture and identity.
Invite a female and male powwow dancer from the community to teach one or more dances to the class. For some dances, the class will need to be divided into gender specific groups, as male steps are different than female steps.
Teach some of the basic rhythms of the drum. Ask students to listen for the following: are there variations in the rhythms of various songs or are the rhythms the same? How does the dance change depending on the drumbeat? Students will discover, for example, a Sneak-up dance has a different kind of drum beat than a Fancy dance.
Learn a traditional song from a guest First Nations singer.
Study the different regalia for different nations. Teach students the difference between organic (i.e., free flowing shapes) and geometric (e.g., circles, triangles, squares) patterns. Have students make a pattern that represents different styles of regalia with beaded decorations. Ask the students to explain the connections between the regalia designs and the patterns chosen to represent them. The students could then make a creative dance to represent their patterns. For example, a dance might incorporate geometric triangular pathways and circular movements, in response to a beaded design. Note: In order to maintain respect for First Nations dance, this dance cannot loosely imitate a real dance. It must be purely creative, in response to the geometric and organic pattern the students have created.
Divide the class into groups to do a research project on a topic drawn from the powwow. Note that while Grand Entry, concessions, social, and contest dances occur at most powwows, parades, rodeo, gambling, athletic events, and feasts can also happen at large powwows.
Using the Internet and any books available, have groups of students research the different kinds of powwow dances. Students should try to find out the basic origin, characteristics, meaning, and regalia of each dance. Present the research to the class on a poster with words and pictures, or in a simple PowerPoint presentation.
Learn the drumbeat of the “Round Dance” and clap along, noting the accented beats. Refer to the audio tape in Let's Dance: Indian Social and Cultural Dances kit.
Teach the basic step of the “Round Dance”. Refer to Let's Dance: Indian Social and Cultural Dances . Practise it slowly and then add the music. Practise the variations, as there are different kinds and speeds of round dancing. Note how the dancers fall onto the right foot as they bend the knee. Add the arm movements once the feet are mastered.
Participate in a Round Dance as a class. The circle always travels clockwise. The class may want to try variations such as the Friendship Dance which involves two people, male or female.
Invite someone to come in and teach the “Oklahoma Two Step”. Refer to Let's Dance: Indian Social and Cultural Dances kit.
3. Concluding Activities
Read a quote or story from a First Nations dancer that tells how dancing makes him/her feel or why he/she dances. For those students who attend powwows, ask students how it feels when they are dancing together with their friends and families.
Show the dances to another class or parents. Invite them to join in the round dance.
If possible, invite the powwow dancer back and perform for him/her.
Have a discussion about the skills and physical endurance that are necessary to be a competitive powwow dancer.
Display pictures of different regalia on a bulletin board.
Have students write about their powwow experiences, possibly relating to their own cultural traditions, if applicable.
Host a Round Dance to celebrate student accomplishments or to celebrate other special events.
Read more stories about various First Nations cultures and traditions.
Study contemporary First Nations dancers.
Display pictures and profiles of successful First Nations contemporary dancers.
Sample Topic: "Cartoon Characters"
Suggested Resources:
Starter List of Activities
1. Introductory Activities
Draw a few stick men in different positions on pieces of paper. Let students choose randomly three different stick men shapes to copy with their bodies. Once students have mastered the three shapes, ask students to put the shapes in an order students like and to create a transition, or short movement, to link the shapes together.
Ask students to bring in and read their favourite comic strips. Draw attention to how the characters are drawn to imply certain situations.
Have students find a few one-picture cartoons to create imaginary “before and after” pictures through tableau or by creating still pictures with their bodies. The original cartoon could represent either the before or the after positions. Be sure to have the students focus on levels and use of the space.
2. Main Activities
Ask students to pick a comic strip that they like to read. They can work in pairs or groups according to the number of characters in the strip. Have the students recreate the shapes of the bodies in each picture of the strip while one or two students recite the words that appear in the balloons. Next, have students incorporate movement so that the pictures begin to move and flow together. Point out to students that it will be very important to focus on the transitions in this exercise.
Have students pick a cartoon character from a comic strip and explore the way they think it might move. Take evidence from the pictures and the words. Form groups with other students who will represent each character in the strip. Perform the strip using movement without sound. See if the class can guess which strips the groups are representing.
Discuss cartoons that students have seen on television. Pick one or two examples and brainstorm characteristics of the characters in the cartoon. Encourage students to generate a list of descriptive words for the movement elements (i.e., actions, body, dynamics, space, and relationships) to describe each character. Choose three of the elements that are most important for each character and use them as the basis for a “Cartoon Character Dance”. Students may want to include actual things that the character does. Encourage students to explore these literal movements but eventually to make the movements abstract, or less real, by using the elements of dance. Refer to Grade 4 Appendix: Introducing the Dance Elements for assistance.
Invite students to use a scene from a cartoon as inspiration for a dance. First, have them practise the movements quite literally. Then, have the students turn these literal movements and gestures into dance moves. Students can do this by examining the quality of the movement (e.g., quick, strong, big, or sudden). They may keep the quality of the movement but change the body part they are moving, or they may adjust the dynamics or level, and so on.
As a class, brainstorm the content frequently found in cartoons. Then, write a short cartoon story as a class. Encourage students to come up with interesting characters and situations rather than to rely on standard cartoon formats. Divide the students into groups to create a dance to accompany the story, using the Planning for Students' Dance Making process.
3. Concluding Activities
Show students how to make a cartoon flip book of a dancer by drawing the same character in a slightly different position on each page. When the students flip through the book quickly, the character will appear to be dancing.