Dance: Choreography

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

Elements and Principles
Creating/Performing/Communicating

• create/perform a work of art demonstrating an awareness and experience of several of the basic elements and principles of the discipline used
• create/perform a work of art demonstrating the use of the basic elements and principles of the discipline to communicate specific ideas, moods, or feelings
• create/perform a work of art demonstrating the use of strategies for developing an artistic image or idea

• develop the vocabulary for the discipline studied
• identify, describe, analyse, interpret, and make judgements about the basic elements and principles as used in a variety of art works

• create/perform a work of art that reflects an understanding of the impact of social/cultural/historical contexts
• create/perform a work of art that communicates specific beliefs/traditions in response to historical/contemporary issues

• identify, describe, and analyse cultural or historical styles as represented in a variety of art works
• critique a work of art relating its content to the context in which it was created
• describe or demonstrate how a specific work of art supports/challenges specific beliefs/traditions, or responds to historical/contemporary issues

• create/perform a work of art expressing the students' own ideas, thoughts, or feelings
• create or perform a work of art for a specific public need (e.g., advertising, public ceremony, or social cause)

• identify, describe, analyse, interpret, and make judgements about how ideas, thoughts, feelings, or messages are communicated in a variety of others' art works
• examine the tensions between public acceptance and personal expression in the art discipline being studied

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• explore a variety of movements (e.g., skip, gallop, twist)
• use the visual pathwaysfrom a work of visual art to create a sequence of movements
• chart a dance for eight people that records the pathways made by the dancers
• represent the elements of time and space in brief movement sequences
• alter the dynamics of a movement sequence
• describe how dynamics differ between different styles of dance (e.g., ballet, highland, hip-hop, First Nations dances)
• explore relationships between themselves and other dancers or props (e.g., mirroring, shadowing, following)
• improve movements using a specific focus
• identify strong and weak transitions in videos (see glossary) or reviews of live professional productions
• use a double-entry journal to record before and after thoughts about projects
• explore some choreographic techniques used in dance
  • distinguish among choreographic forms (e.g., ABA, rondo, high point, canon, narrative)
  • transform a given sequence (e.g., changing floor design, sequence, relationships, dynamics)
  • choreograph dance sequences for a variety of environments
  • translate themes into short movement studies that may express a personal attitude
  • analyse videos of historically significant dance works for techniques used
• choreograph a piece
  • explore the use of theme in dance
  • explore sounds, props, roles, improvisation as focus for dance
  • document the process through a journal or video
• have students identify influential and important choreographers and trends in choreography studied.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Set objectives and assessment criteria in consultation with students at appropriate stages.
• Evaluate students' double-entry journals (see Glossary).
• Compare present assignments to past assignments (which use the same criteria) to assess growth.
• Keep a performance evaluation log for the class (see Appendix C for example).
• Observe students' ability to apply previous learning to present dance assignments.
• Evaluate the goals students set for what they want to accomplish. Criteria may include:
  • areas of weakness in performance and choreography to be overcome
  • understanding of technical items
  • collaboration/co-operation
  • strengths to enhance or teach to others
• Develop criteria, in collaboration with the class, for what makes a dance powerful. View professional works to identify some of these criteria.
• Have students assess their process and their final product (orally, in writing, or on video).
• Assess students' progress by regularly videotaphng their work (students can also assess their own progress through the use of video).
• Evaluate students' journals and videos. The criteria may include whether the student:
  • identifies when he/she is at a certain stage of the creative processcreative process
  • refers to the theme at various times in the development of the piece
  • identifies weaknesses and strengths in their choreography
  • uses and identifies cultural influences represented in their own and others' choreography
• Observe the attention students give to all of the stages of the creative process.
• Develop criteria in collaboration with each student for judging the results of his/her work.
• Have students evaluate the works in progress and final products of their peers.

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

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Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Education
Curriculum Branch

© 1995 Copyright

Maintained by: Fine Arts Coordinator

Revised: April 1995

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