Week 8 Thursday 30th
August 2012
Jacqui Dreesens
Workshop 4 began with a discussion about African and Aboriginal dance,
discussing the style and the history behind the dances. This was the theme of
the lesson, with Jacqui teaching us movements from these styles of dance,
focusing on a more of an instruction base
dance rather than creativity and improvisation like the previous workshops.
For the first
activity, we dressed up in blue and
green material, making wings and tails to create a Kingfisher bird.
Once dressed up, Jacqui taught us the Kingfisher Boogie. This boogie included movements such as vibrations with our hands (representing
wings), balancing on perches,
cleaning beaks, swooping, swaying,
stomping, shaking. We pretended we were the Kingfisher birds, on branches
of a tree, acting out the movements the bird would do in their daily routine.
After we had learnt the Kingfisher Boogie, we formed groups of 5 and created a nest that you thought would belong to a
Kingfisher, keeping in mind that they live in hollow trees.
Once these were created, in two groups we performed the Kingfisher Boogie, ending
in our nests.
We then stretched,
following Jacqui’s movements. Keeping within the Kingfisher theme, our stretches
were based around what birds do, such as, stretching forward over our legs
looking out over the branch.
We packed up our Kingfisher costumes, and in small groups
held a piece of chiffon material,
for the second activity.
We experimented
with the material to begin with, shaking
it up, running underneath, making it flow and seeing what we could get children
to do with the piece of material. We then lined up with our material on our
left shoulders. We started to walk around the room, with each group connecting
to another group until we formed a ‘snake’.
We experimented with speed
in the line, and then created spiral shape with our material, by walking in
circles and placing the materials down.
After
commenting on the shape, we formed another line with each person touching the
person in front’s elbows; ready to be taught a female African dance representing fertility.
We followed the leader, walking in the line, changing levels, moving ftA;i˔4 eU
moving arms up and down, with each movement being as a result of the leader. It
looked like a canon, as you could
not do the movement until the person in front had done the movement.
We used the spiral shape as a guide for the dance.
The
dance, also involved us sitting down and lying in the line. As this dance was
all about connecting, looking out for each other.
The next dance we learnt was the elephant marching dance. We
formed two lines facing each other, linking arms.
Then we bent our legs, lent forward and stomped like elephants,
swaying side to side. We experimented walking forward, backwards and around in
circles.
We then broke up into small groups and nominated a leader to
lead our group into ‘war’. The dance was
improvised by the group leader, using movements
taught previously by Jacqui.
After these groups, we then stretched again. Some of the stretches included animal poses such
as the downward dog, star fish and happy/angry/disco cat.
Keeping in the theme with animals, Jacqui taught us dances
portraying the way animals move. We did a crocodile dance clapping our hands together,
and an emu dance being up on our toes, quickly
moving through the space.
To finish off the lesson, we all dressed up in animal print
and followed single file behind Jacqui. We walked in this line, rolling our shoulders,
puffing our chests, stepping, jumping and moving our heads.
We continued these movements forming a circle, and completed
a movement pattern with the above movements, adding in kicks.
We then stretches to warm-down,
and finished the class.
Motif:
The motif throughout the lesson was Aboriginal and African dance.
We learnt many different styles of these dances, using different
movements and props to display the culture.
Adaptation for
different VELS levels:
VELS
Level:
|
Adaptation
of lesson:
|
Level
1
|
For VELS level 1, I would get students
to explore with movements of a kingfisher bird. Allowing them to feel their
body moving in a particular way.
|
Level
2
|
For level 2, I would get students to
explore with movements of a kingfisher bird and then teach them the
Kingfisher boogie, as at this level students start to structure their dance.
|
Level
3
|
As VELS states for level 3, ‘students
create a movement sequence’ (VCAA, 2009). For this lesson, I would present students with
many types of animal movements and get them to create a movement sequence
using the movements taught or by creating new patterns.
|
Level
4
|
For level 4, VELS states they ‘learn
about ways to design, improvise, represent, interpret, make and present arts
works that communicate feelings and their interests’ (VCAA, 2009). For this theme,
students could think of an emotion they have, and then portray this emotion
through animal themed dance movements. For example, the emotion angry, they
could become an elephant rampaging through the jungle, creating movements to
display this emotion. Keeping in mind the Aboriginal and African style of
dance.
|
Integration with other subjects:
- English – Students could write a story or an informative piece about a particular animal, then dance out the story using movements to portray the particular animal.
- Humanities – Students could study the history of a particular African or aboriginal dance, and then from this information, create their own dance carrying a particular story throughout.
- Visual Arts – Students could draw an animal, and create a movement to display the animal.
Main arts learning processes:
- Improvisation
- Creativity/Imagination
- Design
- Representation
- Interpretation
Personal Reflection:
This lesson was very interesting. It was different to the
previous lessons, as it was more structured in terms of the dance moves, as
they were taught to us. I enjoyed being taught movements and putting them into
mini routines.
It was a fun lesson, and was very engaging. It again allowed
me to come out of my comfort zone, and experience something I hadn’t before.
The class was very inclusive and again supported each other and their
individual abilities.
I am able to take many things out of this lesson to bring to
my future classroom.
References:
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