Skill Themes in Dance

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Skill Themes in Dance

• Charles Silvan
• HPE-480
• Independent Study

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What should dance in the elementary school
provide for children?

• The ability to use their bodies to express
  feelings and attitudes about themselves and
  others.
• A sense of self-satisfaction that can be derived
  from effectively using ones body as an
  instrument of expression.
• Enjoyment and appreciation of dance as a
  worth-while experience for all, not for just a
  few.
• An appreciation of dance as an art medium that
  can have value for both the participant and the
  spectator.
• The ability to interpret and move to different
  rhythms.

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Three Dance Forms

• Folk, Ethnic Dances
• Square Dances
• Creative Dances

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How do these forms of dance fit into a curriculum?

• Dance can be coordinated with American History
  (pioneer period), ancient Greek culture. This
  includes Ethnic and Folk dance.
• Creative dance allows for individual creativity
  and there are no right and wrong answers. This
  allows for individual self-expression.
• Traditional Folk dances and group rhythmic
  experiences call for a correct response.

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Skill Theme Concepts In Dance

• Locomotor Skills walking, running, hopping,
  skipping, and galloping
• Nonmanipulative Skills turning, twisting,
  rolling, balancing, transferring weight, jumping,
  landing, stretching, and curling
• Movement concepts are used to heighten a childs
  ability to express feelings and emotion through
  movement.

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What is the focus of expressive dance?

• The focus in expressive dance is not simply on
  executing a particular movement, a turn, or
  balance, but on performing the movement so that
  it communicates the message the child intends it
  to.
• Once children are able to perform turns
  efficiently, they can begin to experiment with
  different qualities of turning.

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What is sequencing?

• Children can begin to structure their
  communicative movements into organized forms.
  (utilization level)

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Dance Making-structuring several sequences or
phrases into a whole, is the focus at the
proficiency level.

• Procedures For Dance Making
• Selection of the purpose, idea, or theme of a
  dance.
• Identification of appropriate movements and
  movement concepts to express the intended idea,
  attitude, feeling, or theme.
• Design of a powerful opening statement for the
  dance.
• Design of a series of actions rising to a climax.
• Design of the portion of the dance that is to be
  the climax or peak of the action.
• Design of the resolution or concluding statement
  of the dance.

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Evaluating dance making examines all movement
skills and concepts the teacher and children have
incorporated into the dance.

• Beginning location and pathway of each
  youngster-how the children choose to locate
  themselves at the beginning of the dance and
  pathway.
• Selection of travel skills, (leaping, skipping)
  and the quality with which theyre performed
  whether the children are using a variety of
  travel skills and executing them clearly and
  precisely as intended.
• Flow of the dance and how the parts of the dance
  are connected to give a unity of expression.
• Relationship of the children to one another and
  whether the children are reacting to one another
  with sensitivity and whether the timing,
  strength, and speed of the responses are
  appropriate.

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The Role Of Imagery

• Imagery is the use of creative catalyst for
  movement.
• The content of expressive dance is movement,
  imagery a helper.
• Children must be provided with the tools of
  dance, the ability to use a variety of movements
  effectively. Only when children have developed
  these skills can they successfully combine the
  movements into dances that express what they want
  to communication.

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Reference

• Graham,George. Hale,Ann Holt,Shirley. Parker,
  Melissa. (2004).
• Children Moving.(6), 610-626