This sub-organizer contains the following sections:

It is expected that students will:

• analyse cultural and historical influences on their choreography
• evaluate the influences of technology on choreography
• assess the function of dance in Canadian society
• evaluate career opportunities in choreography
  

• Present a scenario such as the following: The government has announced that the Canadian economy can no longer support the arts; as of next year, dance will be outlawed. Have students compose letters to the government defending the function of dance in Canada's economic and social fabric.
• Suggest that students work individually to research the requirements for various choreographic careers. Ensure that they include research on working conditions, salary expectations, and so on, in addition to educational and skill requirements. Provide opportunities for students to share their information at a school or district career fair.
• Encourage students to keep logs to record cultural and historical influences on their own choreography (e.g., influences of various artists; of technology; within specific political, cultural, or geographical context s). Students could present this information in the form of pictorial autobiographies.
• Challenge students to create a dance based on a current community issue or crisis. Have them list aspects they should consider in preparing for specific audiences. (e.g., If the audience represents one side of a contentious issue, do they want to present a balanced picture or a bias toward that side?) As a class, discuss the purpose of dance in society and the ways in which choreographers and performers can address societal needs. Is this purpose different for the various cultural groups represented in Canada? In other countries?
• Ask students, individually or in groups, to create dances specifically for video. Discuss the requirements of dance for video and have students compare them with the requirements for live dances. Invite community resource people or technology students to collaborate in incorporating technology into the choreography.
  

• Have students work individually or in groups to research the purpose of dance in chosen cultural context s and to create dances that reflect those context s. Invite students to organize a Multicultural Carousel, incorporating elements of dance from a range of cultures within a single dance composition. Co-ordinate with music composition students to integrate music from the various cultures. Collect students' research and observe their dances, noting the extent to which students are able to:
  
  • analyse cultural and historical influences on their own choreography
  • identify key social and political representations and historical perspectives
  • identify social influences on costumes and roles
  • make personal connections between their own cultural backgrounds and the role of dance in another cultural context
• Ask students to work in groups to assess career opportunities in choreography and present their research to the class. Have students include summaries and visual aids (e.g., taped interviews, charts, slide shows, dramatizations, visual displays) in their presentations. During presentations, observe the extent to which students:
  
  • include complete, accurate, and engaging information about career opportunities in choreography
  • have collected and assessed relevant information from a variety of resources
  • clearly present their findings
• Over time, prompt students to reflect on and assess choreography within personal, historical, and cultural context s by having them compile responses to questions such as:
  
  • What opportunities can you identify to participate in choreography or dance-related activities throughout your life?
  • What career opportunities in choreography or related areas interest you?
  • What stands out in your mind about the purposes of choreography in different cultures?
  • How can technology influence and support your work as a choreographer?
  
  

Print Materials

• Ballet & Modern Dance
• Dance Composition & Production
• Form Without Formula
• Moon Magic
• The Young Dancer
  

Video

• Ballet Class Intermediate-Advanced
• Carmen
• Dance at Court
• Dance Centerstage
• Dance to Remember
• Dancing in One World
• Denishawn
• Dido and Aeneas
• Giselle
• Hoop Dancing
• The Individual and Tradition
• Karen Kain
• The Making of a Dancer
• Martha Graham
• New Worlds, New Forms
• Points In Space
• The Power of Dance
• Romeo and Juliet
• Sex and Social Dance
• La Sylphide
• W5: The Boom in Ballroom Dancing
  

Multimedia

• Teaching Beginning Dance Improvisation

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