Well, duh. In some styles of dance, of course, boys & girls, men & women learn the same moves — contemporary, modern, tap. But in most cultures, as well as ballet & jazz, boys & girls, men & women have distinctly different styles.
Coming from a modern background, when I first started teaching in the public [...]
Entries Tagged as 'performance'
Note to self: boys & girls dance differently
June 27th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized
Post-performance reflection: 1st grade
June 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized
The 1st grade dance was based on number sense, in 3 parts:
I. Groups of students grew from low to high, counting from 1-10 in various languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Somali, Cambodian, Arabic, Laotian, Tagalog, Cham, Korean, and English. It was usually their home language, but a few had a language from martial arts, [...]
Post-performance reflection: kindergarten
June 9th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
First, a rush of relief — the performances came off fantastically!
Then, the rush of all the “to-do’s” that have been piling up… scheduling for next year, plans for end-of-year activities & events, grades for report cards, & post-performance reflections.
Here are some of kindergarten responses after watching a video of their work (the writing is [...]
Count-down to performance
May 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Performance is one Tuesday-full of rehearsals away now. This week my feedback turned from critical eye ["there's noise onstage!," "the glaciers need to be slower & stronger!," "watch each other!," "don't play tag on stage!"] to enthusiastic cheerleader ["fabulous job!," "your timing was perfect!," "yes!," "I'm really noticing fantastic shapes!"]. The only way for them [...]
Tags:performance
Turning corners
May 18th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
It’s the end of the year. Although I’m too busy to be blogging about it, we’re turning a lot of corners!
“Can we practice our part of the dance during recess?” Corner turned: kids are taking ownership in their upcoming performance.
“What are we going to wear?” Corner turned: they’re starting to think like an ensemble.*
“I know [...]
Keeping the Faith — The Prison Project
May 9th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Last night I saw this year’s final performance of “Keeping the Faith,” a stunning performance by 21 women using dance, spoken word & visual art to shed light on their lives and selves. One of the most moving performances I’ve ever attended, it was well worth a 3-hour commute to the rural setting of Mission [...]
Tags:achievement gap·advocacy·obstacles·performance·why dance matters
Why Dance Matters: it’s a respite for body & mind
April 21st, 2010 · No Comments · why dance matters
Third graders are learning dances about clapping for their end-of-year performance now. Their first dance is d’hammerschmiedsgselln (that’s duh-ham-mair-shmeets-guh-seln, I’m told), which has a great clapping pattern for a quartet. I dragged them through learning it last week, and now that they finally have it, they love it. The second is the Virginia Reel, which [...]
Transition back from vacation…
April 4th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
A good vacation is when you have no one but yourself to manage. It’s been a good vacation!
As I brought up my lesson plan template for planning this coming week’s classes, I realized why the coming weeks (and months) have been looming large in my mind. Starting Tuesday (tomorrow I’ll be teaching a day of [...]
Tags:choreography·culture·curriculum integration·lesson plans·performance·teaching
Preparation…
March 31st, 2010 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
Next Monday, the day after spring vacation, we’ll start choreographing & rehearsing pieces for the End-of-Year Performance. So by then, I’ll need a pretty good idea of what everyone’s going to do!
The kids rehearse in two-class groups (~50 kids onstage) because attendance at the evening performance for parents is variable (parents have second jobs or [...]
Tags:performance
Dancing for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 16th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Lesson Plans
Context: I taught this series of lessons this week in response to a late request for some dances for the school’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly (scheduled for & completed this past Thursday). My initial response was “no can do!” because I’d already planned my classes — focused on introducing the choreographic devices of [...]
Tags:African American·choreography·curriculum integration·intermediate·lesson plans·performance·teaching