Dance Room Update – Week of 9/28/18

This week in dance, our youngest dancers worked both individually and with partners to define the personal and general spaces we use when moving in the dance room.  They learned a new routine called the “kicking dance”. The first graders continue to explore and physicalize the different ways we can move our bodies in these spaces including the use of locomotor and non-locomotor actions.

In second grade, dancers moved forward with their exploration of building shapes and are now working in partners and small groups to connect their ideas and create a skyline. Third graders have been working with the letters and syllables in their names. These students have been working first individually and then with partners, to create new dances combining their ideas.

In fourth grade, students began learning a new warm-up with several isolated foot and arm sequences involving rhythm. They are exploring “writing about dance” in journals and next week will begin to work in small groups defining collaboration and personal goals.

Fifth graders have been working in pairs to create a coin dance following a discussion about probability. After assigning heads and tails a certain movement, students were asked to toss the coin four times and document the sequence. How many partners will have the same coin dance sequence in our class?

Fifth grade dance elective students have established an isolations warm-up involving forward and backward sequences and continue to practice movement skills across the floor emphasizing rhythm and stage direction protocol. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade dance elective students finished exploring the body alignment and awareness lesson. After establishing the initial five minute warm-up, they worked on isolations, turns and a 4/8 sequence including both. Then students worked in small groups to  create  and share a machine dance using muscles, body parts and joints. Our oldest dancers will continue their body investigation by exploring the numerous unique and individual shapes our bodies can make while learning and practicing more technical skills.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Diane