Week 10 ~ Dance ~ Dynamics

This week we explored dynamics through a range sequenced activities to create an effective and engaging performance piece. This lesson emulated the making process through all the aspects including improvising, choreographing, comparing and contrasting, refining, interpreting, practising, rehearsing and performing (ACARA, 2012). Each activity as the curriculum recommends, built upon the last and involved regular sharing and responding to each other's work. Lessons such as these involve choreography, including vocabulary building, exploring and improvising movements. We also performed our pieces, including rehearsing, practising and developing technique. And lastly appreciating by evaluating and reviewing our work through out the process as well as at the end.  

This structure of dance lessons, which could combine to create a unit of work has obvious benefits. It allows for breaking down a focus or a number of focuses into sequential activities so students can grasp these concepts that may otherwise feel arbitrary and detached. For example follow the leader with stimulus words provided a sense of what dynamics entails which could be translated into our composition tasks. Combining these into an engaging performance involves creativity and vision from the teacher, something I now feel is not beyond my capacity so long as there is a clear focus, a stimulus and a sequence of activities that build upon themselves.

Follow the leader stimulus
Travel
Turn
Balance

Jump

Video of the group performance (Holt, 2014)-  Combining individual, paired and small group compositions into a whole class production.

References

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority. (2012). The arts: Dance. Retrieved (27/05/2014) from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/TheArts/Curriculum/F-10

Holt, E. (2014, May 17). Revolting Children [Video file]. Retrieved (30/05/2014) from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fueeu0Qvhvw&feature=youtu.be