Dance 2 to 3
Presentation and Performance

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

demonstrate a willingness to rehearse and perform dance
demonstrate respect for the contributions of others
demonstrate an awareness of appropriate performance skills and audience etiquette

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

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Have each student create a movement pattern and then work with a partner to combine both movement patterns into a sequence, revising and refining as necessary. Ask the pairs to form groups of four and decide how to combine their movements for a performance. In their journals, have students reflect on the decision-making process and self-assess their abilities to respect the contributions of others.

Videotape students as they engage in a variety of performance and audience situations (e.g., their own and peers' dances, professional and community performances). Replay the videos and ask students to identify the performance skills and audience etiquette evident. Discuss as a class ways in which students could improve their skills. Ask students to describe other situations in which they would use audience skills (e.g., seeing a play, attending a music concert, listening to a guest speaker in class).

Use a language process to teach a set dance that students will perform for another class. List performance skills, props, and costumes that could enhance the presentation. Provide opportunities for students to rehearse, revise, and refine the dance. As they work, remind students to use dance performance skills that they have seen in live or video dance performances. (e.g., How did the dancers come on stage? What kind of facial expressions did they have?) As an extension, have students design scenery for the dance performance. Before they begin, ask: What do you know about this type of dance that would help you design appropriate scenery? How can scenery enhance the performance?

Suggested Assessment Strategies

Videotape students as they demonstrate a dance learned in class. Then have them observe evidence of performance skills as they watch the video. Ask them to record their responses on Dance Data sheets, using sentences such as:
- Three people I saw moving expressively to the music were ---------- .
- I noticed that they ---------- .
- One thing I noticed about my performance was ---------- .
- It is easy (hard) for me to perform when ---------- .
- One thing I could do to improve my performance is ---------- .
After small groups of students have practised and refined their dance sequences, ask them to perform them for younger students. Videotape the student performers and audience. Replay the video and have students identify appropriate audience skills and two ways to enhance audience behaviour. Conference with the performance groups, asking questions such as:
- What did you like best about your dance?
- What part did each of you make up?
- What parts did you change as you were practising your dance? Why?
- Now that you have performed your dance, is there anything you would revise? Why?
Develop class criteria for appropriate audience behaviour by asking students: What does audience behaviour appropriate to a dance performance look like and sound like? Record their responses on a chart and display the chart in the classroom for student reference. As small groups perform their dance sequences, have students collect evidence of appropriate audience behaviour and record it beside the criteria on the chart. Note the extent to which students are able to recognize appropriate audience behaviour and practise it themselves.