Welcome back to DANCE! 1/4/19

Happy New Year!

The dance room is in full swing! The kindergarten classes have started to think about direction and how we use this idea in dance. Yesterday, they did partner work called magnets guiding each other through the general space while using the different directions learned. First graders are exploring the concept of focus and how movement might be affected when adding this element. Next week they will play some movement games including – Hocus, Pocus, Focus.  The second grade will begin a new investigation on Monday studying World Cultural Celebrations. These dancers continue to look for movement in their surrounding environments and notice where choreographers might get their ideas for creating original works.

In third grade, the dancers have started a new unit examining the parts and functions of a plant. Next week, they will use this scientific knowledge of plants to create a dance. Perhaps movement can deepen our understanding of various concepts across the disciplines. Fourth graders are beginning their World Cultural Folk Dance unit exploring Latin, Indian and Israeli Folk dances. In their first class, they will be learning the Bachata. Our fifth grade students are thinking about what movement tools are used to create dances from words. These students are using poems as starting points for dance composition.

The fifth grade dance elective students are in their final improvisational project. These students are working in small groups to create a two-minute dance meeting specific movement criteria. They will collaborate and plan this structured improvisation for six classes followed by a class dance share. And finally, our middle school dancers began a new unit about space. They are creating original works utilizing loco-motor and axial movements.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Diane