Unit Two: What's It All About?

Unit Two focuses on individuals expressing themselves through dance. In this unit, students will begin to discover why choreographers create. They will examine dances of various choreographers to discover individual approaches to the craft of choreography. Students' dance-making abilities will continue to be developed as they find their own reasons for creating dances.

Suggested Activities	Possible Resources
Choreographers Use Dance for Personal Expression The students will: recognize that choreographers create dances for a variety of reasons increase their awareness and understanding of dances and dance artists, male and female, in Saskatchewan, Canada and beyond demonstrate respect for the diversity of choreographers' ideas and dance styles. Ask the students why they think choreographers create. Discuss with students that dance is a form of communication and many choreographers and dancers use dance for expression. Make connections to the students' own lives. Can students think of times they have used dance for expression outside of their classroom experiences? For example, many cultural dances are expressions of peoples.	Note: All resources listed in this column appear in Arts Education: A Bibliography for Grades 6 to 8, 1994. Citations appear in full in the bibliography, alphabetized by title.
Have individual or small groups of students do a research project investigating a choreographer and her or his work. Include in the investigation answers to questions such as, "Why did the choreographer choose dance as his or her means of expression and what ideas are explored through the work?" Set up a display on the bulletin board highlighting the choreographers and their work.	Dance Alive: Wisdom Keepers (video) Resource books on choreographers and their dances, such as People Who Dance, Dance Classics, Ballet and Modern Dance, First Remy Charlip Reader Videos about choreographers and their dances, such as Dancemakers Series
The students will: develop the ability to freely engage themselves when viewing dances perceive, describe, analyse, interpret and make informed judgments about dance presentations, using an increasingly appropriate vocabulary use factual information about choreographers and their work to increase understanding of the work begin to recognize that their background and experiences affect their response to a dance and understanding of meaning and symbol in the work respect informed opinions that differ from their own.
Select a choreographer and look closely at his or her work. Use a process such as "Responding to Dance Presentations" to guide students. Discuss with students why they think the choreographer created the dance. Examine the form of the dance and the way the choreographer used the dance elements and principles of composition. Was the choreographer successful in conveying his or her ideas for the dance? Discuss. Have students record some of their observations about the dance in their portfolios.	Dance presentations, such as Dancemakers Series, Blue Snake, Totem, Four Pioneers, Behind the Scenes with David Parsons
The students will: make connections between their own work and the work of various choreographers attempt to identify the inspirations or starting-points for various choreographers' work apply knowledge of the elements of dance in all their dance experiences become familiar with the principles of composition and begin to apply their knowledge of the principles in all their dance experiences reflect on and discuss their own and their peers' work while valuing the work as expressions of unique experiences. Note: For the following suggested activities, teachers will need to derive further learning objectives specific to the principles of compositions and dance elements. The choice will depend on the movement explorations in which the students are engaged. More specific learning objectives are stated for each principle of composition in Foundational Objective #2. For information on the elements and middle years students, please see Appendix A.
Have students create a dance composition using the same ideas that inspired a choreographer; for example, the choreographer in the above suggested activity. See "Planning the Dance-making Lesson", included in this curriculum guide. Students can refer to their portfolios if necessary. In Totem, for example, Nikolais is concerned with combining dance movements, light and sound to create theatrical effect. Nikolais is acclaimed for his innovative use of technology in his dances. By using overhead projectors and coloured gels, students could work in a similar way to create their own total theatrical effect.	Students' dance portfolios Totem (video) Overhead projectors, coloured gels
Remy Charlip's Instructions From Paris was inspired by French postcards and sign language. Charlip mailed instructions for the dance to the dancer. The instructions included drawings taken from French postcards and drawings of sign language movements. Sometimes he would give movement directions, such as "turn", between the drawing positions. From these instructions, the dancer created the dance. In his later series, Air Mail Dances, Charlip worked in a similar way. He would draw a series of positions on paper and mail it to the dancers. The dancers were left to complete the dance.	First Remy Charlip Reader
Show the dance studies, or record them on video for later viewing. Describe, discuss and analyse the studies. See "Adapting Responding to Dance Presentations for the Discussion of Student Work" , included in this curriculum guide. Have students reflect on the connections between their studies and the dance of the choreographer. What did students learn about choreographing dances in this activity? Discuss.	Video recording equipment
Students Creating for Personal Expression Teacher Information This next suggested activity is similar for grades six to eight. The learning objectives and the students' ideas will differ at each grade level. The purpose of this activity is to give students an opportunity to express their own ideas in dance. The students will: express themselves through their dance compositions use starting-points as inspiration for improvisation and movement exploration use ongoing reflection, decision- making and movement problem-solving to develop, sequence and refine their dance compositions throughout their dance-making process become familiar with ways the elements can be used to affect expression begin to gain understanding about the discovery, improvisation, exploration and development of movements become familiar with the principles of composition and begin to apply their knowledge of the principles in all their dance experiences begin to record their dance compositions with invented and/or traditional notation symbols, when appropriate begin to recall and reconstruct their dance compositions. Note: For the following suggested activities, teachers will need to derive further learning objectives specific to the principles of composition and dance elements. The choice will depend on the movement explorations in which the students are engaged. More specific learning objectives are stated for each principle of composition in Foundational Objective #2. For information on the elements and middle years students, please see Appendix A. Remind students that choreographers have many reasons for creating dances. For example, they might want to comment on society, convey an idea, tell a story, explore movement ideas, etc.
Have students work in groups of three to five on a dance project. Ask each group to use dance to express something that is important to its members. Have students begin with a source of inspiration, agreed on as a group. Students could refer to their dance portfolios for ideas. Assist students in planning their projects. Encourage them to do research, if needed. Have students develop, refine and sequence their movements into dance compositions. There may be times when students will be working individually rather than in their groups as they do this. Throughout the process, encourage students to document the progress of their project in their portfolios, including documentation of movements and movement sequences with traditional or invented notation. Have students select or create their own accompaniment for their dance compositions. See "Creating Sound Compositions in the Classroom", included in the Music section of this curriculum guide.	References on choreography, such as The Intimate Act of Choreography, Choreography: A Basic Approach, Modern Dance: Building and Teaching Lessons, Form Without Formula, The Art of Making Dances, Handbook for Dance in Education Students' dance portfolios Accompaniment, such as audio recordings, found and home-made musical instruments, environmental sounds, etc.
When their dances are partially completed, have students show them to their peers as works-in-progress. Some students might wish to record their compositions on video in order to see their own work. Analyse and discuss the compositions. Ask for suggestions on how the work might be improved. Workshop the suggestions; that is, have students try the suggestions to see if they work while their peers continue to watch and give further feedback. Give students time to revise and refine their work before final presentation.	Video recording equipment
The students will: reflect on and discuss their own and their peers' work while valuing the work as expressions of their unique experiences reflect on how the elements of dance and principles of composition are used in their own dance compositions and in the dances of others make connections between their own work and the work of various choreographers.
Have students show their final dance compositions or record the compositions on video for later viewing. Describe, discuss, analyse and interpret the dance compositions. Have students reflect on the connections between their own dance compositions and their initial ideas. Do they see any connections between a choreographer's dance or another group's dance composition and their own? Discuss.	Video recording equipment
Critics Talk About Dance The students will: demonstrate increasing comprehension of dance concepts and other aspects of dance by supporting their opinions of dance presentations. Discuss the purpose of dance reviews with students. Remind students that critics should provide an objective, well-informed evaluation outlining strengths and weaknesses of the performance. Read examples of dance reviews. Analyse what kind of information is included in the reviews. Make a list on the blackboard. Have students imagine themselves as critics and write a review of the dance composition they just created.	Examples of reviews found in newspapers and in magazines such as Footnotes, Dance Connection, Dance Magazine