BLOG POST #3 - What are the key components of dance and their role in the curriculum?

Responding Statement

Referring to ACARA's Creative Arts: Dance curriculum documents, key components of dance include: 
>>> The elements of dance: body, energy, action, space, and time, to exercise and perform fundamental movement and technical skills in dance sequences and choreography. 

>>> Exploring styles or types of dance strengthens student ability to improvise and structure dance movements that communicate and express ideas, including cultural, religious or community stories and meaning.

Understanding, implementing and appreciating dance knowledge and skills, supports student learning in dance, developing body control, accuracy, alignment, strength, balance, and coordination.

(ACARA, 2019; Page, 2019)

Learning in Dance

Students must explore and experience key components of dance in order to express effective creative movement. 

TYPES of DANCE

As per the Australian curriculum of The Arts: Dance, students must experience a variety of dance types or styles, some inclusions could be:

• Contemporary
• Ballet
• Modern
• Jazz
• Tap
• Lyrical
• Ballroom
• Hip-hop

While these dance genres provide an overview of the possibilities in the classroom, dance type or style is no subjected to dance genres, rather it further includes religious and cultural dance, including dance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. 

DANCE FORMS

A further component of dance is the form or pattern of choreography. Form or pattern is the structure and sequence of dance movements or motifs. Form compositions can vary to support student abilities or purpose. As supported in Figure 10, forms include:

• Binary - a split AB structure.
• Ternary - an ABA sequence, a development from this form is, the arch, an ABCBA composition.
• Rondo - an ABACADA pattern, where the A segment could align with the chorus of a song and other segments signify the verses.
• Theme and Variation - an A, A1, A2, A3 progression, a basic movement that increasingly alters and modifies. 

Figure 10: Form composition (Stantonbury Campus Dance)

ELEMENTS of DANCE

The elements of dance outline the fundamental movement possibilities of dance. The acronym BEAST is an effective technique in memorising the elements of dance, summarising the points of: 

• Body - the mobile shape or figure.
• Energy - the movement flow - force, tension, weight.
• Action - any movement.
• Space - the use of levels, size, and travel.
• Time - the rhythmic pattern.

(ACARA, 2019; Page, 2019)

Making in Dance

WARM-UP
To begin making in dance, a warm-up is essential to provide safe movement in the dance classroom. Warm-up's not only physically prepare the muscles of the body, but also the creative and expressive mind. A warm-up example to use in the classroom could be Mr. Sun (Figure 11).

Figure 11: Mr. Sun warm-up dance with scarves (Macaroni Soup, 2009)

MAKING
Integrating student learning over the KLA's, the dance stimuli is the recently explored science content of the stage 2 living world curriculum; the life cycle of a butterfly (ACARA, 2019). In this activity, students must apply their dance skills and knowledge to express an interpretation of the scientific process. The focus of the task lies in communicating the journey throughout the life cycle, applying a narrative dance form. Figure 12, presents an example of the activity in a group.

Figure 12: The life cycle of a butterfly (Atkins, Williams-Butler, Best, Henderson, 2019)

Content descriptors, over multiple KLA's, that support this learning activity could include:

DANCE
> ACADAM005 Improvise and structure movement ideas for dance sequences using the elements of dance and choreographic device.
      - Elaboration: using contrast and repetition to explore and generate new movement in response to stimuli such as stories, memories, and the environment. 
> ACADAM006 Practise technical skills safely in fundamental movements.
      - Elaboration: practicing combinations of fundamental locomotor and non-locomotor movements to a range of musical accompaniment, for example, running and sliding; bending and stretching; running, swing, walking and stretching
> ACADAM007 Perform dances using expressive skills to communicate ideas, including telling cultural or community stories. 

SCIENCE
> ACSSU072 Living things have life cycles.

(ACARA, 2019)

Responding in Dance

Viewing and watching the choreography and performance of peer groups and professionals, students should be identifying and critically analysing the use of dance knowledge and skills - particularly a select few of the elements of dance. To appreciate and support peers in their learning, the feedback system of 'clicks' was introduced when students identified an idea or concept that they liked within the dance. A 'Dance Assessment for Responding' rubric [completed in Figure 13], a learning resource, encouraged students to apply dance knowledge and terminology in appreciating and responding to the viewed dance performance.

Figure 13: Dance Assessment for Responding rubric (Page, T., 2019)

References  

ACARA. (2019). Retrieved from Australian Curriculum: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Macaroni Soup, (2009). Song of the Month. Retrived from Macaroni Soup! : https://www.macaronisoup.com/songs/dancing-scarf-blues.htm

Page, (2019). What are the key components of DANCE and where does it fit in the curriculum? Creative Arts 2: Dance Session 3 - Week 4. EDUC24112 Curriculum Studies: Teaching Creative Arts II, Avondale College of Higher Education.

Page, T., (2019). Dance Primary Creative Arts booklet. EDUC24112 Curriculum Studies: Teaching Creative Arts II, Avondale College of Higher Education.