Dance 5
Creation and Composition

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:

interpret and move in response to a variety of sounds, images, feelings, and music
create movement sequences based on choreographic forms
apply the creative process to revise dance compositions

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

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Set up a gallery walk of four artists with contrasting styles. Divide the class into four groups and have each group brainstorm terms for one style, creating a web chart of the terms. Then each group selects music and creates a movement sequence or tableau to represent the style.
Play music selections from a variety of dance styles and ask students to improvise movement sequences inspired by one of the music selections. Show videos of the dance styles and ask students to identify how their movements were similar to and different from the video dances. Provide opportunities for students to reflect on and refine their sequences.
Play a piece of music with a defined form. Ask students to suggest cue words to describe the form (e.g., ABA = pepperoni-cheese-pepperoni). Students then work in groups, using percussion instruments or body percussion to create rhythmic ostinati and movement sequences based on the music's form.
Select a theme being studied in another subject area (e.g., the environment, west coast Aboriginal cultures, media stereotyping). Brainstorm and discuss the various issues associated with the theme and the feelings that are evoked. Students working in groups then create dance sequences to portray the theme and reflect the feelings.
Play a segment from a dance video. Use the pause or frame-advance button to advance the picture frame by frame while students mirror the actions.
Have each student select a character from a novel or TV program and select and combine movements to create a slow-motion sequence for that character. Ask students to work in pairs and take turns leading their sequences while their partners mirror the actions.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

Based on a classroom theme, have students work with partners and create dance sequences set to music selected by the teacher. Develop criteria for the dance creations with the class. As they compose their sequences, conference with students and note if they have:
- made logical connections between the music and the movements
- applied the elements of the creative process effectively
- used the elements of movement appropriately
- used space effectively
- related their choices of movement to the theme
Ask students working in pairs to create dance compositions based on images from the work of artists. Have each pair describe the image in a short paragraph, poem, or visual. Ask students to identify the elements of movement used in their compositions and to refine their dances through practice. Note the extent to which they:
- use elements of movement appropriately
- apply the creative process effectively
- make logical connections between the artists' work and their dance compositions
- express themselves in response to images
Have students choose their own music from a given selection and create dance sequences that reflect the sounds, images, and feelings. Invite students to self-assess their work using prompts such as:
- When you look at my work, I want you to notice that ---------- .
- I interpreted the music through my movements by ---------- .
- I revised my dance sequence when ---------- .
- The most challenging part for me was ---------- .
- The advice I would give someone else is ---------- .