DANCE UNITS - LEVELS 6-8 home > Global dance - level 6: Curriculum links & resources | Intro lessons | Choreographic Task 1

Introductory lessons

Duration: 5 lessons/periods (of 50 minutes each)

The following are teaching and learning activities that introduce students to the unit.

Activities

Teacher guides students through the following activities.

1. Look at, analyse, and discuss a variety of still and/or moving images of different ethnic dance traditions in which specific objects are used. For example:
   • Hawaiian dance - gourd used for movement and sound making:
   • Māori dance - taiaha used as a weapon
   • Spanish dance - castanets used for movement and sound making
   • Philippino dance - with bamboo poles used for movement and sound
   • Japanese dance - fan used as an extension of the movement
   • Korean dance - scarves used as an extension of the movement
2. Consider the following questions:
   • How does the object affect the nature and quality of the movement?
   • What is the main purpose of the object in the dance?
   • Does the object have a special symbolic significance?
   • Is the use of the object restricted to men or women?
   • What parts of the body are used primarily to manipulate the object?
   • Is the object decorated in any specific way?
   • Is the object used primarily as an extension of the body movement or for gestural patterns?
   • If the object is used for sound making, how is this done?
   • How does the object dictate the spatial patterning or formations used in the dance?
   • How does use of the object relate to the dancer's body shape?

Recording

Ask students to record their answers to the above questions in their journals.

NCEA link

• AS 90005 Dance 1.5 Demonstrate knowledge of a dance genre or style

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