Education in dance is fundamental to the education of all students. Dance is a significant way of knowing, with a distinctive body of knowledge to be experienced, investigated, valued, and shared. Students become increasingly literate in dance as they engage in practical and theoretical investigations and explore dance forms, develop dance ideas, and articulate artistic and aesthetic understandings about dance works in various contexts.
Students learn in dance as they use its vocabularies and practices to interpret, communicate with, and respond to the world in their own ways. In learning about dance, students investigate the forms and purposes and significance of dance in past and present times. Learning through dance enables them to appreciate that dance is a holistic experience that links the mind, body, and emotions.
Dance in the New Zealand Curriculum promotes the dance heritages of the diverse cultures within New Zealand's schools, communities, and multicultural society. In particular, all students should have opportunities to learn about the sources and vocabularies of contemporary and traditional Māori dance forms.
Education in dance promotes personal and social well-being by developing students' self-esteem, social interactions, and confidence in physical expression. It aims to foster their enthusiasm as participants, creators, viewers, and critical inquirers and to develop their lifelong interest in and appreciation of dance.
The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 19
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/arts/curriculum/statement/pg19_e.php
Dance in the New Zealand curriculum
The dance exemplars are indicative of key aspects of learning in dance. They illustrate current student learning and achievement in relation to the curriculum levels described in the dance statement of The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum. The arts strands, as expressed in the dance curriculum, are interrelated in practice; the dance exemplars reflect this. Each exemplar focuses on one key aspect of learning and illustrates other key aspects.
The nine dance exemplars have been chosen as a representative sample of classroom practice in dance. They reflect a small range of the many teaching and learning contexts and approaches that could be included in individual school dance programmes.
The dance exemplars illustrate both process and product outcomes. While a few show the students in final performance mode, for example, Junior Sāsā, Senior Sāsā, and Lindis, the majority demonstrate key learning towards work-in-process outcomes.
Collectively, the dance exemplars are intended to:
- support teaching
- indicate progression
- provide a framework for ongoing formative practices.
They are not offered as a programme of learning in their own right.
Teachers are encouraged to relate these exemplars directly to The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum and to the Ministry of Education's resource materials in print, electronic format, and online.
See
References
Resources
The dance exemplars can also be viewed on the double CD-ROM The New Zealand Curriculum Exemplars: The Arts on CD-ROM (item 30154) that was distributed to New Zealand schools with the print versions of the exemplars.
Introducing the dance exemplars
Dance exemplars with a Māori context
These three exemplars have been chosen to illustrate the development of skills and contextual knowledge in relation to Māori movement. This development is achieved through learning structured traditional dances and exploring contemporary Māori movement.
Dance exemplars with a Pasifika context
These exemplars have been chosen to illustrate student progression in relation to the performance of one Sāmoan dance.
Dance exemplars with a contemporary context
These exemplars have been chosen to illustrate the development of skills and understanding in relation to creative and contemporary dance genres.
Level 1
Kei Raro i te Moana
The teacher introduces his students to some features of te reo Māori and movement by teaching them to perform a simple waiata-a-ringa, "Kei Raro i te Moana". The students respond to and use te reo Māori in relation to the dance elements of space (direction), time (beat and rhythm), and relationship (working in unison). (Print, CD-ROM, online)
Level 2
Shapes and Pathways
The dance work illustrated here formed part of a series of four lessons from a larger unit of work culminating in a syndicate production. The students explore body shapes (body awareness) and floor pathways (space) and link these elements to create a simple dance sequence. (CD-ROM, online)
Junior Sāsā
The students in this exemplar spent a term learning and rehearsing a Samoan Sāsā to perform at the school's multicultural festival evening. (See also Senior Sāsā, level 4.) Their dance work focuses on the element of time through the practice of rhythms. The students also explore the elements of space (including direction and place) and relationships (working in unison). (Print, CD-ROM, online)
Level 3
Korikori Tinana
This exemplar focuses on stylised Māori movement patterns derived from nature. The students explore making their own movement patterns to Māori music and sequence and perform these movements to contemporary Māori music. (CD-ROM, online)
Volcanic Energy
In conjunction with a science unit on volcanoes, the teacher asked the class to explore different energies, encouraging them to move to a variety of percussion sounds. Working in groups, the students use their picture sequences of a volcanic eruption to develop a movement sequence to show the stages of an eruption. The group sequences are then structured into a whole-class dance. (Print, CD-ROM, online)
Level 4
Haka: Ka Mate!
The students in this exemplar learn about and perform Te Rauparaha's haka "Ka Mate". They are familiar with Māori tikanga (customs) and previously learned waiata and explored Māori movement actions and patterns. (CD-ROM, online)
Senior Sāsā
The students in this exemplar spent a term learning and rehearsing a Samoan Sāsā to perform at the school's multicultural festival evening. (See also Junior Sāsā, level 2.) Their learning is focused on movement vocabulary, the dance element of time (complex rhythms), and performance. (CD-ROM, online)
Contrasting Chaos and Order
These students create individual, pair, and group dance works that explore contrast as a choreographic device to convey the ideas of chaos and order. Viewing each other's work and responding constructively to the dance work in progress are important aspects of their learning. (Print, CD-ROM, online)
Level 5
Lindis
The teacher in this exemplar choreographed the dance work Lindis to express her impressions of the alpine Lindis Pass in the South Island. The students work collaboratively with her to realise her choreographic intent, interpret the themes, and perform the work. (Print, CD-ROM, online)
Reference
Ministry of Education (2001). The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Print version of dance teachers' notes (PDF, 64kb)
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