People do the basics of dance all the time, every day - walking, sitting, standing, bending, all those kinds of things. To me, that's dance. I just look at it and give it a different name.
Neil Ieremia
Here are some activities to help you learn more about what dance is. Before you start moving and dancing, you will need to warm up. This is really important because it loosens up your body and helps prevent injuries. When you have finished dancing, you need to warm down. This lowers your heart rate and helps stop you feeling stiff and sore the next day.
Collecting visual images of dance
On the CD-ROM, you have seen images of Neil Ieremia dancing. What other images of dancing can you find? Look for pictures in newspapers and magazines. What different styles of dance do you see in the pictures you find? Try using one of the images you find as the starting point for your own dance. Dances happen in all sorts of places. We can dance on stage, in the classroom, outside, in the playground. Think of all the different places that you could create a dance. Maybe you could create a dance in the playground, or about the playground, using that environment to inspire and/or present your dance.
Dance in a chair
On the CD-ROM, you will have seen a dance that Neil Ieremia created where the dancers sit in chairs. You might like to go back and have a look at this dance again. (You can find a segment of it in Neil's dance activity.) Can you create a dance that can be performed sitting in a chair? What about a dance that can be performed using a different prop?
Creating a dance with everyday actions
Create a dance using an everyday movement. Slow it down, speed it up, repeat it, reverse it, and do it on the floor or in the air - anything that you can think of. You will need to think about how the dance will start and finish and how you will get from one action to the next - will you go straight from a slow movement to a fast one, or will you speed it up gradually? You may have seen a movement or action that you really liked that would make a good starting point for a dance. Some dances are totally made up of shapes and movements. This means that you don't have to worry about trying to "understand" them; you just sit back and enjoy the images you see.
Moving symbols
On the Creative Explorer dance activity, you could choose symbols that represent movement. Choose four symbols from the computer activity. Decide on a movement for each of the symbols you have chosen from the computer. Find a space in the room where you can move around freely without banging into things or knocking them over. Create a movement for each of the symbols you have chosen. For example, if you choose a spiral-shaped symbol, you might create a movement where you turn around in a circle, curl yourself up and unravel yourself, or twist your body. It's up to you! The symbols are just a way of recording your movements. When you have made up your four movements, combine them to make a dance. Try arranging the same four movements in a number of different ways.
Dance and music
The dance activity on Creative Explorer shows some of Neil Ieremia's dances. One of Neil's pieces is danced in silence. One dance is performed to the sound of body percussion (slapping, clapping, stamping, and clicking). Some pieces are danced to music written especially to go with the dance, and some to classical music. Try creating a dance where you keep the rhythm in your head, one where you dance and create music using only your body (this might include using your voice as well), and one using a piece of modern music and a piece of classical music. Maybe you could work together with some friends to create a completely original dance-and-music piece.
