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Dance: A Mini Unit
Dancing comes naturally to most people. Young babies will bounce or wiggle to a beat that they find appealing. All cultures seem to have some form of dance. Even people with 'two left feet' still enjoy tapping a foot or nodding along to a favorite song. This unit helps to explore and participate in the art of dance.
1. Select a piece of music and move your body to this music, using at last half of these suggested movements: swing, bend, turn, stretch, pull, push, twist, strike, dodge, shake, bounce, hop, skip, walk, gallop, jump, or run.
2. Demonstrate in body movements the following:
-- The feelings that a particular piece of music brings out in you
-- The ways people move (athletes, waiters, young people, older people, conductors, cooks, traffic directors, etc.)
-- An expression of nature, such as trees moving in the wind; a story; movements of machines; a dramatic situation, such as missing a train, saying goodbye to someone, or meeting old friends.
3. Attend a dance concert or dance class. After the performance, try and talk to the performers or teachers about their work.
4. Attend a movie musical (or watch one on television) and watch the dancing sequences. How does the dancing add to the performance?
5. Learn about three different types of social dancing and demonstrate how to do them. Consider the polka, waltz, tango, fox trot, lindy, Charleston, jitterbug, jazz, disco, or current dance steps.
6. Explore the dance of three countries other than your own. Choose at least one other continent. Investigate what the dance means in that culture, and something about the costumes, seasons, or festivities that might be associated with it. Demonstrate the dance(s).
7. Explore the dance of your own country in three different areas of the country and two different periods of time. Create costumes appropriate for these and put on a demonstration.
8. Listen to several recordings of dance music -- folk, ethnic, theater, ballet, or music hall.
Bonus: Visit the websites of youth ballet companies around the world! Here is a good one to start with:
The Young People's Ballet Theatre of Flint, Michigan
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