Grade 10 - Creation and Composition

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• create movement to respond to or represent abstract ideas
• demonstrate use of choreographic forms
• transform a dance sequence
• use technical elements of stagecraft to create desired effects in dance
• create and demonstrate a dance sequence in a chosen genre or style and for a given purpose

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Creation and Composition in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Use forms of language to motivate dance. Students can :
  • begin with words, add movement to support the words, then continue in movement alone
  • select word cards describing actions or dynamics and create a sequence
  • create a sequence based on the rhythm of their name or address
  • use movement to interpret a haiku or cinquain
• Analyse examples of visual art or music to determine the use of line (melody). Use this line as a pathway for a movement sequence.
• Improvise movement by exploring use of props and accessories (e.g., chairs, masks, tunnels, streamers). Explore the potential and the restrictions created by the props.
• Ask students to transform a short movement sequence based on an element of everyday life (e.g., sports, getting ready for school) by repeating, distorting, or eliminating sections.
• Select a feeling or attitude (e.g., conflict, pity, peer pressure), then examine possible motivations for it. Create a short movement study to express this mood, feeling, or attitude.
• Canon: using a movement sequence of 16 counts, and with the class divided into four groups, each group begins the sequence four counts after the preceding group.
• Arrange for students to view a dance or sequence. Discuss choreographic principles and structures. Discuss how the choreographer manipulated and developed the elements of movement.
• Create a dance or sequence and revise it over time. Identify and record what was changed each time and give reasons for each.
• Have students research a formal system of dance notation (e.g., Labanotation, Benesh, computer notation). Discuss how words, symbols, and numbers can be used to notate a dance. Students create their own system of dance notation (e.g., using symbols, colours, textures), then select or create a dance to notate using this system.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

In small groups, ask students to identify a variety of movement interpretations of a given idea or emotion. Observe and note evidence that students are able to:

• clearly define an emotion or idea
• be sensitive and open to other interpretations
• identify a number of perspectives
• take risks in offering or demonstrating divergent interpretations
• use movement to communicate their ideas

Students work with a partner or small group to create and perform a dance sequence that conveys an idea or concept they have chosen. Their presentation should include use of stagecraft. Each group is required to:

• develop a feedback or audience response form that emphasizes composition and staging (but also addresses performance)
• create a written or visual representation of the sequence
• record stagecraft instructions
• summarize the strengths and weaknesses of their project and identify the two or three most important things they learned about creation and composition

Question

After students have created and performed a dance sequence, pose questions such as the following to encourage reflection and gain insight into the creative processes students are using:

• What possibilities did you explore?
• What criteria did you use to select, combine, and refine your sequence?
• What role did stagecraft play in the creation of your work?
• How do you feel about the final result?

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

• Creative Dance for All Ages
• Form Without Formula: A Concise Guide to the Choreographic Process
• Movement Improvisation: In the Words of a Teacher and Her Students
• The Young Dancer

• Dance at Court
• The Making of a Dancer
• The Power of Dance

• Dance Education Initiative
• Teaching Beginning Dance Improvisation

• Contrast and Continuum: Music for Creative Dance, Volume I
• Contrast and Continuum: Music for Creative Dance, Volume II

Table of Contents

Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Education
Curriculum Branch © 1995 Copyright

Maintained by: Fine Arts Coordinator - Dance

Revised: January 25, 1999

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