Lessons · Teaching · the elements of dance, and movement as a subject

Movement as a subject, with words for it

Dance is described by action, space, dynamics and relationships: what the body does, where it goes, how it moves, and with whom. Those four headings are the vocabulary that makes movement teachable and assessable rather than a free-for-all with music.

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In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a state certification officer. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.

What it is for

Without a vocabulary a dance lesson becomes children moving to a song, which is enjoyable and teaches nothing anybody could name. With it, a class can be asked to change one thing, which is a real compositional task a seven-year-old can meet.

How to think about it

Give one heading at a time. Change the level: high, medium, low. Change the pathway: straight, curved, zigzag. Change the dynamic: sharp or smooth, sudden or sustained. Change the relationship: alone, mirroring, in canon. One change at a time is a lesson.

Worked example

Action, space, dynamics, relationships: the four headings behind every task

Any instruction you can give belongs to one of them, which makes planning quick.

Levels and pathways are the two easiest entry points and they are visible from the door

You can see whether a class has understood without asking anybody.

Canon means the same movement started at different times, like a round in music

One idea taught in two subjects, which is how the arts connect honestly.

Assess the movement against the task, not against how good it looked

'Did they change level three times' is markable. 'Was it graceful' is not.

Your turn

Name the heading that covers high, medium and low.

High, medium and low are levels, which belong to

The trap

Judging a child's dance by how it looked. The task is what is assessed. A child who met a compositional instruction precisely has done the work, whatever their coordination.

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