Lets dance

Hi Bethany,

Wow what a fantastic experience you had learning about Antarctica - Painting the windows - perfect.  Just shows how much great lessons stick with students.

Dance was an interesting workshop, but I thought there would be more grooving.  Although Sinclair, Jeanneret and O’Toole (2010) state that the aim of dance is to provide students with a range of occasions to explore their bodily movements in a positive atmosphere, teachers inspiring moving to be imaginative, meaningful and visual.

I enjoyed the first activity Fiona did with us, making shapes with our bodies: short, tall, high, low, wide and tight, I can see this being used as a warm up or daily sport activity.  

I loved watching my peers undertaking various fishy roles, the music that Fiona had for each fish was fantastic.  I found comfort in performing together, feeling safe in the power of numbers.

I enjoyed the connection of dance within drama.  The class dance we all performed at the end, with each group contributing was fantastic.  I would use this activity, everyone helping create the dance by participating and being audience members.  I could use a different time of day, or even special occasions, for example, Christmas morning.

I have discovered a few movie soundtracks that are solely pieces of instrumental music, How to train your dragon and UP.  I am gathering pieces of music to use in my classroom.  I also believe that one piece of music could accompany several dances, depending on what mood you set, for example, the piece of music used for fish moving about the sea could be used as birds flying. 

Dance could be used, by relating to a book.  Split the class into groups and give them a scenario from the book and when performed as a class would tell the whole story. 

This video is discussing the various forms of dance within the stage production of The Lion King.

AMY

Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N., & O'Toole, J. (Eds.). (2009). Education in the arts: teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum. South Melbourne, Victoria. Australia: Oxford University Press.