TEACHERS RESOURCE GUIDE

THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION, INC.

CHANGE YEAR DANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM

Needs new
cover photo

Photo: Parsons Dance by Lois Greenfield

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This resource guide was first written and compiled for the 19901991 Joyce Theater
Foundation Dance Education Program by Kate Ramsey. It was revised in each subsequent year
and has been updated for the 20172018 season. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance
of the following people in the preparation of the original Teachers Resource: Elton Warren,
Program Director, Arts in General Education (AGE) Network; Michelle Audet, Director,
Education Department, New York City Ballet; Jannas Zalesky, Outreach/Education Director,
City Center; Barbara Feldman, Lynne Anne Bloom, and L. Tarin Chaplin for their guide to dance
composition, The Intimate Act of Choreography; the revisions made from 1996 to 2014 by
Joanne Robinson Hill and each dance company, teacher, principal, and parent participating in
this years program. This recent iteration includes contributions from Joyce teaching artists: Amy
Kail, and Cary McWilliam; and dance specialist Jan Ford of I.S.228K/
David A. Boody School.

The Joyces School and Family Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and made possible
by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the
New York State Legislature. Key support has been provided by The Hearst Foundations.
Special support has been provided by Con Edison, The Walt Disney Company, and May and
Samuel Rudin Family Foundation. Additional support has been provided by The Charles E.
Culpeper Endowment Fund, The William Randolph Hearst Foundations, and the Constance
Sanders Fund for Dance Education. The Joyces Family Matinee series is sponsored by Stanton
Public Relations and Marketing. *Logos: DCA, NYSCA, Hearst

Revised and edited by Heather McCartney

Copyright 2017
The Joyce Theater Foundation
175 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Page 2
October 20, 2017

add new Joyce logo and Heather photo see sample page

Dear Friends,

Thank you for being a partner with The Joyce Theater Dance Education Program for Schools!
We have eight companies presenting Performances for Study this year, and a host of other
companies available for Family Matinees and your personal enjoyment this season.

This year I am reflecting on the words of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, Through discipline
is freedom, echoed Jamaica-born choreographer Garth Fagan, and how that ideas manifests
through his work, Prelude: Discipline is Freedom among other Fagan works.

The other artists presented this season use their ideas of freedom through discipline in
individual ways giving us a healthy dose of examples to explore from the avant-garde to
the zany! I challenge you to reflect on how discipline is freedom"manifests in your pedagogy.
Our professional development workshops will help with that.

My second challenge to you focuses on the articulation of movement qualities in works

students will produce in your studios/classrooms, and see on stage. Whether you are a long-
time partner or new to our residency program, getting students to concentrate on that dynamic
of energy is a way to increase dynamic student dance and responses.

In this revised issue of the Teachers Resource Guide the, What is Dance? chapter has been
revamped and include new explorations and resources. The Steps to Creating a Study Unit
have been tweaked, and Ive included the newly released New York State Standards on the
Arts along with the Blueprint for Learning through the Arts and Laban Movement Analysis
Chart for your reference. I am looking forward to greeting you at The Joyce!

Best always,

Heather McCartney
Director of School & Family Programs

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 PART I:
THE 2017-18 PROGRAM
14 GETTING STARTED
17 PART II:
BEFORE YOUR CLASS ATTENDS A PERFORMANCE
23 PART III:
WHAT IS DANCE
34 PART IV:
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
48 PART V:
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
52 RESOURCES

62 APPENDIX
BLUEPRINT FOR DANCE
FORMS
Photos by Travis Magee, unless otherwise noted.

Change PHOTO

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PART ONE:
THE 2017-2018 PROGRAM

The Joyce Theater Foundation has had a

strong commitment to education through
the art of dance since its founding in
1982. The Joyce Theater Education
Program is a unique collaboration
among dance companies from around change photo
the world, schools, and the Theater.
The program is specifically designed to
foster an understanding of dance among
students K12th grade, to encourage the
development of students perceptions and
imaginations, and to integrate the arts into
classroom learning.

Linda Shelton
Executive Director

Heather McCartney,
Director of School & Family Programs

Page 5
THE 2016-2017 PROGRAM
This document should be considered no more than a framework for your own ideas and
initiatives. Please feel free to modify, combine, simplify, or extend any proposed activity so that
what is explored in your classroom will reflect your individual approach to this material. Look
through the resources and become familiar with its contents so that you can use it effectively.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The Program consists of a series of interrelated activities bringing students, Joyce artists,
teachers, and administrators together to gain an understanding of dance through the study of
specific presentations from The Joyce stage. Full participation in all aspects of the program
and your commitment to work with young people in the schools will make for a successful and
rewarding experience for all participants. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the
following explanations of Professional Development Workshops, Performances for Study, and
Teaching Artist services that make up our year.

Professional Development Workshops:

This year we have revamped the Professional Development sessions in
response to teacher feedback regarding availability and efficacy. In fall
2016 there will be one all-day sessions and in January 2018 we will
once again use an online platform to report outcomes and reflections.
Be sure to wear or bring clothes to move in.

Session I & II: Welcome Orientation and Workshops

Participating teachers are expected to attend the all-day Professional Development workshops
designed to support the dance education program. The workshops introduce the programs
instructional model and provides a foundation for the academic year. The program philosophy,
structure, and strategies for working in the classroom are presented through hands-on
participation, discussion, and observation. Participants continue their own investigations into
dance and dance aesthetics by engaging in movement exploration, problem solving and by
reflecting upon and valuing their experiences. Dance professionals will work with teachers
on topics ranging from dance composition and creative problem solving; to effective ways of
bringing movement into the classroom; to approaches for encouraging the development of
students perceptions and imaginations. Live or DVD performance provides a focus for study.

Workshops:

Workshops are an opportunity to realize the art in teaching and provide continuing arts
education for teachers. Workshops are designed to assist you in preparing your students to
attend a specific dance work and/or highlight broader concepts and suggest ways to use them
in your classroom. Workshops provide participants with a sequential learning experience
in the language of dance and an understanding of the particular movement vocabulary,
philosophy, and style of each company. The workshops are conducted by dance professionals
familiar with a companys repertoire (artistic directors, company members, TAs, or dance
scholars) and include presentation and participation.
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Virtual Professional Development and more:

In July 2016 we experimented with the online platform Prezi as a way to reflect and connect
via the internet. The extensive presentation of student work, videos and teacher comments
offered the opportunity for our partners to see examples across grade levels and disciplines and
leave feedback. We will try the next iteration of a virtual professional development in 2018
and anticipate greater success. We know getting away from school at the end of the academic
year is difficult; let us know what you think of this solution.

Throughout the year there will be opportunities to attend our Educators' Night Out to allow for
better understanding of dance companies work and without the responsibility of looking after
students. We have a pre-performance reception and do grown-up stuff!

Performances for Study: The Joyce Theater as an extension of the classroom

Students attend matinee Performances for Study after classroom study. These hour-long
performances, programmed by each company and Joyce School and Family Programs (S&FP)
especially for young audiences, provide a focus for work in the classroom. All performances
for students take place at The Joyce Theater from 12 noon to 1pm. The format for each
presentation includes an introduction and performance of dance works in the companys
repertoire. This format allows audience members to have the fullest opportunity to experience a
live dance performance.

Teachers bring their class(es) to a series of either two or four of these performances per year.
Classroom teachers, in collaboration with Teaching Artists (TAs), and the S&FP director,
plan, implement, and evaluate study units. Each unit is designed for specific classrooms
and students to explore key concepts in the dance work being studied and the art of dance
in general. In class, students do movement explorations and problem-solve using movement
and other mediums, discuss the dances and the companies that are the focus of study, and
review and evaluate their own experiences following the performances. Teachers are also
provided resource materials for those performances that do not have the services of a TA and
are encouraged to conduct their own study units with their students. Resource and Reference
Guides to each performances will aid you in creating your own units and in continuing
explorations with your students throughout the year.

Teaching Artists and Study Units:

Teaching artists are both artists and teachers who, in collaboration with classroom teachers,
develop and conduct activities designed to unlock the meanings in dance works, to increase
participants perceptiveness and use of imagination, and to encourage learning in and through
the art of dance. The collaboration between classroom teachers and TAs with students
provides a unique opportunity for participants to renew and reconnect to the vital art of
teaching.

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The study units provide insight into performances and serve to deepen the students
understanding of dance, its relation to other areas in the curriculum, and its connection to other
elements of their own lives. Classroom activities, in the form of study units around specific
dances presented at Performances for Study, may be conducted by classroom teachers acting
alone or by classroom teachers working alongside TAs. A typical study unit is composed of
four 45 60 minutes teacher-led and four artist-led classroom sessions. A planning session
precedes the unit and an evaluation session concludes it. Sessions are sequenced to create
the best possible learning impact and to meet the needs of individual classrooms and schools.
Classroom sessions might, for example, be divided so that half precede and half follow the
Performance for Study, providing pre-performance and post-performance study of dance works.
Another scenario might sequence the majority of sessions before the actual Performance for
Study. The organization of a study unit serves the overall goals of providing possibilities for
intense experience of works in performance and creates opportunities to reflect upon and value
those experiences.

Parents and Guardians:

We welcome and extend a warm greeting to parents and guardians. Family engagement is
crucial to a childs experience in the arts. Encourage the parents to join in as chaperones for
the matinee Performances for Study or to attend the Family Matinees with their children. We
want them to become involved.

Digital Media:
While there is no replacement for live performance, digital documentation may be the next best
thing. Excerpts of performances by company are given to schools participating in the Dance
Education Program via a video link or flash drive. Every effort is made to provide an excerpt
from the dance work to be presented as a Performance for Study but is not always possible.
Teachers can use the clips in many different ways. They can preview a dance company
before attending a workshop, or show the clip in the classroom in connection with pre- or post-
performance activities.

Resource and Reference Guides:

Guides prepared around specific Performances for Study are provided throughout the year.
We invite you to add your own ideas and share them with your colleagues in the program.

E-Newsletter:
E-news keeps participants informed about happenings at workshops and provides classroom
ideas and updates on arts education.

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 INSERT NEW LOGO

Dance Education Program for Schools

Classroom Teacher Expectations and Responsibilities

Dear Teachers:

For over thirty years The Joyce Dance Education Program for Schools has provided high-quality arts
engagement with experienced teaching artists (TA's) that specialize in dance and collaborate with classroom
teachers to introduce to young people the to opportunity discover dance on our stage and within
themselves. With a successful partnership as the common goal, the expectations and responsibilities listed
below are key reminders for before, during and after the residency that will help us keep the lines of
communication open and ongoing. Partner teachers are expected to:

Planning the residency:

Allow adequate time (7 5 minutes minimum) to participate in a planning meeting with all involved teachers
and TA's to preview the dance work;
Thoughtfully discern where students will be in their curriculum and learning process at the beginning of
the residency;
Make arrangements for adequate space for residency activities;
Send home a letter to families explaining the value of this opportunity for their child;
Secure transportation arrangements to The Joyce (if necessary);

Preparing students for the residency:

Prepare students for the dance content by "hooking" into prior knowledge and discussing big ideas/inquiry
questions to determine what the students think and know prior to the experience;
Discuss classroom expectations around welcoming a guest teaching artist;

During the residency:

Participate (dance) in the sessions and be present in the room at all times. Lead by example and show
students how much you value the residency with your involvement. Classroom management is primarily
your responsibility;
Maintain an ongoing dialogue with the TA and Joyce staff to see if plans need modification;
Commit to doing your four (4) co-lessons for the unit. Keep the residency material and key ideas alive
outside of time with the TA by tying the experience into other class work;
Examine and assess student work during each day of the residency; make adjustments to upcoming
learning activities when necessary;

After the residency:

Discover ways to build on this experience in your ongoing class work;
Process the experience with your students by reflecting on its impact; share any documentation and
reflection of the residency with The Joyce staff; and submit the School Team Evaluation form to the TA at
your final evaluation meeting.
Meet The Joyce Teaching Artists
INSERT NEW
HEATHER PHOTO
The Joyce School and Family
Programs has a roster of
teaching artists that are
professional dancers and have
extensive dance education
training including a minimum of
ten years of teaching experience
each. They represent both the
core and the backbone of our
residency program, and exude
an incomparable love for
children of all ages and abilities.
They are an extraordinary group
of professionals that have my
heart and will win yours.
Heather McCartney,
Director of School & Family Programs
Heather McCartney started her career in the arts as a
young dancer at the infamous 92Y in New York City before
devoting nineteen years to teaching dance in Manhattan
public schools, and was a dance specialist for the New
York City Department of Education for most of those years.
Among the first to be licensed in dance education by the city
and state, she helped establish dance education programs
in small alternative/magnet schools and was one of the
founding teachers at Manhattan East and the Professional
Performing Arts School. In 2001 Ms. McCartney concluded
her teaching at the Beacon School, where one of many
highlights was chaperoning two dozen students to Cuba
as part of a charitable mission. During her career she has
worked as a teaching artist and consultant to The Joyce
Theater, a researcher for ArtsConnection, Co-Director of
Arts in Education & Community Programs for Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater, and Director of Public Programs
for Community Works. Ms. McCartney continues to consult
on small-scale arts education projects for choreographer
Camille A. Brown, and serves on the committees for the NYC
Arts in Education Roundtable and the NYC Department of
Education, where she is part of the DELTA team as a
facilitator for dance professional development days.
As the Director of School & Family Programs for The Joyce
Theater Foundation since 2014, she brings her experiences
as a dance educator, teaching artist and administrator to the
organization that has over three decades of education and
community engagement; and works to uphold the high-quality
dance residencies established by her predecessors. Heather
McCartney holds a B.S. degree in dance education from
New York University and a M.S. Ed. in the education of the
gifted and talented from the College of New Rochelle.
Page 9
 Susan Thomasson, dancer/choreographer, holds a BFA
degree from the University of Utah, where she served an
apprenticeship with Repertory Dance Theatre. She has
performed a wide variety of modern dance styles, dancing
and touring with the companies of Kathryn Posin, Raymond
Johnson, Bill T. Jones, Bill Evans, and Rosalind Newman. She
was a soloist with Anna Sokolows Players Project, performing
nationally and internationally with the company, and assisting
in reconstruction of Ms. Sokolows repertory. Susan also
tours a solo/duet concert of Pilobolus Dance Theatres work,
originally created for Lincoln Center Institute. In addition to
her own work, she performs with Claire Porter, Elissaveta
Iordanova and Mark DeGarmo.
Susan was among a group of artists who pioneered aesthetic education at Lincoln Center
Institute (now Lincoln Center Education), and has been involved in the development of many
of the Institutes national affiliates as a performer, teaching artist, and consultant. She has
been a faculty member of Brooklyn College, the Rutgers University system, Hofstra University,
Manhattanville College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Northern Iowa and
Brooklyns Berkeley Carroll School. In addition to Lincoln Center and many independent
teaching residencies, she is a teaching artist and master teacher for the 92nd St. Y, NY City
Center, The Joyce Theater, the NY and NJ State Councils on the Arts, and Theater Development
Fund. Susan has served as a mentor for Arts Achieve, a federal arts innovation research project
for the NYC DOE, and mentors Lincoln Center Scholars at Hunter College. Ms. Thomasson is
also the education director for Mark DeGarmo Dance. Susan is a faculty member of the Dance
Conservatory at Purchase College and the Hunter College graduate program in dance education
(Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program).

She was a contributing writer to a biography of Ms. Sokolow, which won the 1992 Torre del
Bueno literature prize. A frequent master teacher and panelist, she writes arts and arts education
materials for Lincoln Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and music publisher Silver
Burdett. In 2006 Susan received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of
Teaching Artists and the New York State Council on the Arts and a Governors Award in the Arts
from the State of New Jersey.

Susan Thomasson is the lead teaching artist and facilitator for The Joyce Dance Education
Program for Schools and has been with The Joyce for twenty years!

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 Change to Amy Kail Pic
Amy Kail has been working as a Teaching Artist with The
Joyce Theater Education Program for the past nine years. She
has also worked as a Teaching Artist with Lincoln Center
Institute/Education, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Dynamic Forms
Inc. and City Opera. Prior to her career as a Teaching Artist,
Amy was on the staff of The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance
Center where she directed the Fridays at Noon program and
founded and taught a workshop series for students in
5th-12th grades. Amy has also been a regular facilitator for
The Field leading workshops for artists to receive feedback on
their work throughout their artistic process.

Fix the formatting

Amy recently spoke and showed her dance "Query" at The 92nd Street Harkness Dance
Center. Her dance "ChangeScape" was shown in a festival of dances at The United Palace
of Cultural Arts and her dance Arches was included in Northern Manhattan Arts Alliances
ClosingCeremony.ShesharedaneveningofworkwithchoreographerLesyaPopilatthe
92ndStreetYHarknessDanceCenter;andherchoreographicwork"BarrierReef"was
performedatThe92ndStreetYHarknessDanceCenteraspartoftheWomeninDance
Festival.HerdanceshavealsobeenshownmultipletimesatDixonPlace,JoyceSoHo,The
Kitchen,AliceTullyHall,MusicUnderConstruction,theGreenSpace,theBrooklynArts
Exchange,andHereArtsCenter.AmyhaspublishedarticlesinDanceTeacherMagazine
and Dance Spirit Magazine.

Amy Kail received a BFA in dance from the Julliard School. She earned a certificate from the
92nd Street Y - Dance Education Laboratory Program (DEL), a two year program specializing in
dance for students K-12. In 2012, she completed her MFA from The University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee.

Page 11
 Cary McWilliam has been a dance teaching artist for more
than twenty years. She began teaching with The Joyce Theater
Dance Education Program for Schools in 2014, and has
previously taught with Center for Arts Education, Lincoln Center
Institute, ArtsConnection, Music for Many, and the Daniel
Gwirtzman Dance Company. At DGDC, Ms. McWilliam
was responsible for training incoming teachers and coaching
throughout their residencies. Cary has also been a guest
teacher at University Settlements Beacon Camp, Eastern
Michigan University, and at The Yard in Marthas Vineyard.

Cary McWilliam has led professional development workshops

for dance educators in Queens, NY, and in both the north and
and south regions of the Bronx. Additionally, she conducted a series of Parents As Arts Partners
workshops and has been a guest instructor for the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive. Cary has
performed with Artichoke Dance Company since its inception in 1995, where she actively
assisted in creating new work, developing partnering techniques and teaching outreach
programs. Lastly, she has also performed with the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Melissa
Rikers Kinesis Dance Theater Project, Noemie LaFrance, Racoco Productions and Anita Cheng
Dance.

Lisa Green has over ten years of experience working with

both in-school and out-of-school time programs in New York
public schools. She enjoys working closely with teachers
to collaborate and integrate dance and other arts to the
curriculum. Ms. Green has extensive experience as a citywide
training facilitator, where she has conducted several workshops
on literacy through arts as well as topics that focus on youth
and community development.

Lisa earned her B.A. Degree as a Child and Youth Counselor,

and has worked with a number of at-risk children and their
families at the beginning of her career. However, Lisa Green
is also an accomplished performing artist, skilled in several
dance forms and has traveled and performed with many dance companies locally and
internationally. She credits the skills she acquired in her field as a counselor to informing her
work as a dance educator and performing artist. These experiences led her to develop and
implement dance programming for children, focusing on their social and emotional growth
through movement. To add to her long list of credits, Lisa Green also specializes in many
fitness modalities; she is certified in Pilates, Yoga and Zumba instruction. In 2017 Lisa
Green completed ayurvedic training and is now a certified Ayurvedic Practitioner.

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 NEW TEXT AND PHOTOS - REFORMAT
Kadeem Alston-Romn, a choreographer and dance educator, hails from
Brooklyn, New York, was recently added as an apprentice teaching artist
in 2017. He attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music, Art
and the Performing Arts in New York City. He has choreographed over
55 dance pieces in a variety of dance genres that include: modern/
contemporary, neo-classical ballet, street-jazz, Broadway jazz, tap, West
African and liturgical dance.
He has showcased his work at venues that include Madison Square
Garden, The Prudential Center, American College Dance Festival, Harlem
Summer Stage and the Harkness Dance Center. He was considered one of
the "Top Seven Emerging Choreographers in New York City" by the
latter. Mr. Alston-Romns choreography has been featured Off-
Broadway in Play the Music Softly, and Alive 55+ and Kickin, in
which he received an AUDELCO Award nomination for Best
Choreography; a work that was also featured on CBS 60 Minutes.
Kadeem has served as a faculty member in the dance department for Brooklyn Friends School, and was a
dance teaching artist for Lincoln Center's Boro-Linc.
He is currently a dance teaching artist for Bailey's Cafe Organization and is the co-director of Full Force
Wellness & Dance Repertory, a holistic wellness and dance organization based in midtown Manhattan.

Rachel Thorne Germond, is the department assistant for School

& Family Programs. She has been teaching, performing, and
choreographing for over twenty years and is based in Brooklyn,
NY. After graduating from Cornell University with dual degrees
in Fine Arts and Comparative Literature, Rachel continued her
professional studies and danced, choreographed and presented
work in New York City as an independent choreographer for
twelve years.

She left New York in 1998 to achieve an MFA in Dance and

Choreography at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
and From 2001- 2010 she was based in Chicago, IL where she
continued to perform and choreograph.
From 2010-2014 she taught Dance History and Appreciation, Modern, Ballet, and Jazz at Old Dominion
University (ODU) and Christopher Newport University in Virginia, created works for the students at ODU,
and presented work in the community with the collaborative group ArtPile and choreographed her first
musical with the Virginia Stage Company. After a long hiatus, Rachel returned to New York full-time in
2014. She maintains her choreographic and performing career and writes the Resource and Reference
Guides for the Joyce dance education program.

Page 13
 Paul Thompson, Choreographer and teaching artist, was
a member of the David Gordon Pick Up Company and
performed in the world premiere of Philip Glass and Robert
Wilsons Monsters of Grace, and in the American premiere of
Glass The Photographer.

Thompsons own company, Troop Three, premiered Frantic

Romanticism, Terminal Triptych and Dances for Deposed
Dictators, in NYC. He earned a BFA from Purchase College,
where he received the Presidents Award for his dance-
theater productions of Faust & Moby Dick. The U.S. Dept.
of Education and the White House Presidential Scholars
program honored Paul Thompson as a Distinguished Teacher
in 1989. In 2012 he performed in Clare Porters At The Gate, and in Sylvain Emards Les Grand
Continental (which was co-produced by The Joyce). Mr. Thompson is currently a graduate
student in the Arnhold Masters in Dance Education program at Hunter College. He recently
created a duet for Tamar Rogoffs Cerebral Posse at Hunter.

Paul Thompson is proud to have been a teaching artist for The Joyce for ten years!
Additionally, he is a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Education and The Center for Arts
Education.

Ms. Iordanova has been teaching artist for The Joyce for twelve
years, and is a Fulbright scholar. She was on the faculty of the
Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Austria and The
National School for DanceArts, Academy for Music and Dance
Arts, The National Academy for Theater and Film Arts, and the
American College in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her academic teaching/
lecturing at Bard College, Sarah Lawrence College, Purchase
College, NYU's Gallatin School NYU, and ADTA introduced
Bulgarian folk dance and creative healing process.

Today, she is an Artistic Director of Elea Gorana Dance Collective, where both contemporary and folk
dancers find a platform for expression. Her choreography in performance has been presented at Danspace
at St. Mark's Church; Movement Research at Judson Church; NY City Center/Ballet Arts showcases;
International Fringe Festival, NY, French Festival in NYC, Green Space Blooms, Green Space Fertile
Ground series among many others. Elissaveta's interest in Dance/Movement Therapy gave her new
opportunities for advancement and led to a Master of Science degree in Dance/Movement Therapy from
Sarah Lawrence College in 2015. Ms. Iordanova is on staff of Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn
where she is a NYS licensed Dance/Movement Therapist.

NEW PHOTO AND TEXT ABOVE NEED FORMATIING

GETTING STARTED
INSERT NEW COMPANY PHOTO

Photo: Lois Greenfield

Page 14
4 STEPS TO PLANNING A STUDY UNIT
FAQS
Q: Who can work with
the Teaching Artists?
A: TAs work only with the
teachers and students partici-
pating in The Joyce Theater
Dance Education Program
during 2017-2017.

Q: Can the TA be left alone in

the classroom with students?
ASSESS A: No. The classroom
teacher must be present and
PERFORMANCE participating.

Q: Can we create the les-

LESSONS
son plan over the phone?
A: You may wish do some
PLANNING of the logistical planning by
telephone however examining
the work under study is done
1. PLANNING needs: 3. PERFORMANCE in person.
Prior to the planning session Arrange for transport
Q: How many classes can
contact your TA Thursday at noon the TA teach at my school?
A convenient time and place The Joyce Theater A: The TA is assigned to your
school team for a day and
to meet
can teach up to 3 classes (45-
Dedicate 75-90 min of 4. ASSESS/EVALUATE 60 min) that are participating
uninterrupted time Reflect with the TA in the program (attending the
Performance for Study).
Laptop/computer to view Complete the evaluation
video clips form w/TA Q: How do the Profes-
sional Development
Class schedules & calendars Sign and return form Workshops relate to the
on hand in order to facilitate TA Performance for Study?
Study unit outline form A: The workshops are inten-
payment sive participatory sessions
2. LESSONS/STUDY UNITS are that focus on a specific dance
4 led by the TA work and the concepts and
ideas central to its under-
4 led by the teacher standing. Theyre designed to
45-60 min long help you broaden the experi-
ence for you and your stu-
Need more help? dents and are conducted by
Contact Heather McCartney at hmccartney@joyce.org dance professionals.
or call 212-727-0169
Page 15
THE STUDY UNIT
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Teaching artists (TAs) are assigned to
your school for a half-day a maximum
of 3 (45-60 min) classes or a full day a
maximum of 6 classes. It is best to select
a class(es) that can be arranged to meet
back-to-back. Study units are made up of
eight lessons four led by the TA and four
led by you.
Let us read, and let us dance; these two
amusements will never do any harm to
the world.
Voltaire
It is best to select a class(es) that can meet
with both the Joyce TA and you each
week. So dont select a class that meets
with you only once a week. Attending
Professional Development Workshops aid
in modeling process and techniques you
ca explore with your students. Resource
and Reference Guides will be provided
throughout the year and can aid you in
planning and conducting lessons.
The Planning Session: Ten Important Steps
to Success
Your assigned TA serves as a guide
and collaborator for you/your school
team, helping to investigate a work and
implement a study unit.
1. Use a desktop or laptop computer to view
the dance work.
I feel that the essence of dance is the expression
of man--the landscape of his soul. I hope that
every dance I do reveals something of myself or
some wonderful thing a human can be.
Martha Graham, Blood Memory
Page 16
2. Select one dance and create a list of what
you noticed about that dance.
3. Create a list of the questions you have
about the choreography.
4. Discuss contextual information about the
dance, the company and dance style
you selected. What surrounds this work
socially, culturally and historically?
5. Chart the personal and curricular
connections that can be found in the work.
Discuss your students interest, strengths
and areas of learning.
Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are
the stuff of which it is made.
Ted Shawn
6. Consider how the dance elements are
featured (body, time, space, energy, intent).
7. Choose the main ideas that you want to
focus on in the study unit.
8. Formulate a guiding question for the study
unit.
9. List potential activities the TA and teacher
can lead. Select activities and put them
into an order.
10.Determine what students will be able to do
as a result of this study unit.
PART TWO:
BEFORE YOUR CLASS ATTENDS A PERFORMANCE

THE JOYCE THEATER: A BRIEF HISTORY

THEATER ETIQUETTE
SPOTLIGHT ON A SPECIAL CONCERN

INSERT NEW PFS COMPANY PHOTO

Photo: Wendy Whelan by Erin Baiano

Page 17
THE JOYCE THEATER: A BRIEF HISTORY
Saved from a shabby fate by an aroused com-
munity, this transformation of a 1942 movie
house into a 472-seat theater for dance manifests
the effectiveness of mingled public and private
effort. The Joyce Theater enhances its community
with the grace of a fine dancer.
Municipal Art Society of New York
The experience of going to The Joyce is not likely to be forgotten the space itself is one of the stars of
the show.
Page 18
Located on the corner of Eighth Avenue
and 19th Street in the heart of Chelsea, The
Joyce Theater is an internationally prominent
cultural institution acknowledged to be one
of the foremost venues for American and
international dance.
In its first life, The Joyce was the Elgin, a
fashionable cinema built in the early 1940s
for the screening of experimental and
foreign films. Coffee and tea were served
in its elegant lobby, and the Elgin became a
popular mecca for art film enthusiasts.
The New York Times
As time passed, however, its following fell off, and the theater declined. Finally, it was
abandoned and boarded up seemingly for good.

The Elgin was rescued from a fate of likely demolition by several members of New Yorks
dance community who recognized a desperate need for a new home for dance in New York:
a home which would provide an alternative to Broadway theaters or opera houses where the
costs of production are so intimidating and the financial risks so great. Under the leadership of
Eliot Feld and Cora Cahan, respectively Artistic Director and former Executive Director of Feld
Ballets/NY, the Elgin was transformed into The Joyce, a theater designed specifically for dance.

Ms. Cahan describes the challenges of the Elgins renovation: Eliot and I flew to New York,
and made one visit to the Elgin with a builder and architect and were shocked by the condition
of the house. It was decrepit. None of it was salvageable. As we walked around the theater,
our feet stuck to the floor, which was sticky from years of spilled soda pop and discarded
chewing gum. It had been empty for three or four years. What we basically did was to look
at the four outside walls and to ask the builder and architect if they thought we could make
a decent theater with 500 seats out of this wreck. They said we could, and we put a bid on
it. The fundraising and renovation were to take nearly four years, but The Joyce opened in its
present glory in the spring of 1982, its art deco exterior intact, and its gracious interior entirely
rebuilt and refurbished.

The Joyce was so-named for a very special reason. As Ms. Cahan explains, A wondrous
patron of the arts named LuEsther T. Mertz supplied an essential part of our funding. She took
great pleasure in supporting people and their ideas in the arts that she believed in, and she
asked nothing in return. She embraced the idea of the dance theater and encouraged us to
go forward with it by providing us with a very generous grant. One day, she was speaking
very fondly of her deceased daughter, Joyce, who enjoyed dance very much, and it occurred
to us that it might please her if we named the new theater after her daughter. She was very
surprised and touched that we should suggest it. But she said she would need some time
to think about it. A month later, she notified us that she would be very happy to have her
daughters name on the marquee.

To date, The Joyce has achieved an annual performance season of more than 48 weeks,
serving a large community of performing artists and an audience of over 150,000 people.
In 1991, having received a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a
major contribution from the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Fund, The Joyce expanded its dance
programming activities beyond the traditional September to May season into the summer
months. The Joyces diverse programming and very presence has had a profound impact on
its neighborhood. So many businesses have opened around the theater since its renovation;
Travel and Leisure magazine now refers to the entire area as Joyceland.

Page 19
THEATER ETIQUETTE

A visit to The Joyce Theater is an excellent opportunity for your students to learn and practice
theater etiquette. Our Teachers Advisory Committee has made several tactical suggestions to
help you negotiate many successful trips to The Joyce.
Good theater manners are different from appropriate behavior at other events, such as base-
ball games, movies, or rock concerts and that distinction should be clearly drawn for students.
Discussions concerning theater etiquette should emphasize the reasons why a behavior code
is essential. You might emphasize to your students that they are not by any means required to
like every dance and every company they see during the year. A major step towards dance
literacy is being able to recapture and describe what was seen.

REMINDERS FOR TEACHERS REMINDERS FOR STUDENTS

Make certain to recruit enough chaperones. 1:10 ratio is Stay with your classmates at all times.
preferred.
The house opens at 11:30am. Arrive early enough to be Walk to your assigned seat and stay there until the
seated and still have time to use the restrooms, drink water, etc. performance ends.
Wait to be led into the theater. The House Manager will Remove your coats and place them on the back of your
seat your class (es). seat.
Sit among your students. Disperse chaperones within the Quiet talking with your neighbor is fine before and after a
group and on aisle seats. performance but never during.
Never leave your class unattended No food or drink is allowed in the theater.
Pay attention to the performance and your students. Turn off Cell phones and other electronic devices cannot be used in
your cell phone, you can check your email later. the theater. Flash cameras are dangerous and distracting to
performers.
Students should not be taking notes, rough-housing or Applaud after each piece is over. If you enjoyed it clap
engaging in any disruptive or discourteous behavior. Noise loudly. If you didnt, clap softly or not at all. Boo-ing is not
from the audience interferes with dancers concentration. appropriate. If invited by the performers you may clap to
the music.
Take your time exiting the theater. Let the rows in front or Take mental notes by focusing your attention to the dance.
behind you empty out first. Taking written notes distracts those around you.

Page 20
SPOTLIGHT ON A SPECIAL CONCERN

Students will probably be best behaved if they are drawn in by what is taking place on stage;
we work with companies to ensure that their programs will be personable and engaging to
young audiences. The more you are able to work with dance studies in your classroom before
Joyce performances and throughout the year, the more students will likely look forward to and
appreciate the events themselves.

Depending on the age and maturity of your students, the physicality (for lack of a better
word) of some of the dances presented may provoke their response. While it seems next
to impossible, in the age of contemporary music videos, that the either implicit or explicit
sensuality of a live dance performance would be titillating to children, a number of teachers
have experienced this and suggested ways to handle it:
1. Discuss these ideas with students: Dance can be about nothing more (and nothing less!) than
the relationship of one body to another in space. Different dance forms involve different
relationships between and amongst bodies in space. For example, in classical ballet, when a
woman and a man dance together, the man often lifts or otherwise supports (partners) the
woman. In modern dance this is sometimes the case as well; but just as one often finds that
women partner men, women partner one another, and men partner one another. You might
explain to your students that, while these combinations may seem unfamiliar and strange at first,
they make possible new ways of dancing and suggest alternatives to the traditional relationships
between dancers (and people in general) that classical ballet, for example, most often depicts.
2. Remind students of their own experiences moving and dancing in their own classrooms
and how it felt to move in relationship to each other. The more frequently you do movement
and dance-related activities with your class, the more comfortable they will become with
viewing dance.
3. Teachers might discuss with their students the reasons why dancers dont usually perform
in street clothes. The modern dance revolution during the early 1900s was led by such
reformers as Isadora Duncan, who rebelled against, among other things, the constraining
costumes female ballet dancers were expected to wear in performance: tight corsets, toe
shoes, and tulle skirts (tutus) designed to make them seem otherworldly. Duncan abandoned
Page 21
 this outfit for long flowing robes and bare feet. Her respect for the unencumbered or
natural human form has been inherited by many choreographers and dancers today and
is why they often choose to wear clothes that will enhance, facilitate, and not interfere with,
natural movement. Children will discover, however, that the companies performing at The
Joyce this school year will wear everything from pointe shoes and tutus, sneakers and pants,
to briefs and bare feet. There is no mandatory dance uniform these days, and students
should be encouraged to consider why companies choose to dress (be costumed) the way
they do for each dance.
4. Another way to troubleshoot may be to show a companys video excerpt before the class
attends the live performance. Familiarity with the companys style might make children more
comfortable with the dance content of the performance itself.

Page 22
 PART THREE: WHAT IS DANCE?

New photo: what is dance

http://natinalartsstandards.org

Page 23
 Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at
once in time and space.
Curt Sachs, World History of Dance (translated by Bessie Schnberg)

Dance is a basic and universal means of human expression. It has existed, in some form, in
every culture as a way for people to communicate with one another and with the forces of their
world. People have danced and continue to dance for both sacred and secular purposes
among them to observe the cycles of the year and cycles of life, to invoke and communicate
with their divinity(ies) and ancestral spirits, to demonstrate personal identity and community
affiliation, to subvert or protest authority, and, of course, to entertain themselves and one
another. Dance is dynamic knowledge passed from one generation or culture to another and
transformed through the process.

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCAS) in Dance are rooted in a creative
approach to teaching and learning. They describe expectations for learning in dance
regardless of culture, style or genre and impart the breadth and depth of the dance experience
through the art-making processes. NCAS states:

The four overlapping artistic processes are Creating, Performing, Responding and
Connecting to dance. The dancer imagines, envisions, or improvises movements (creating)
executes the movements (performing), reflects on them (responding), and connects the
experience to all other contexts of meaning or knowledge (connecting). As a result, one
lesson can address many standards at the same time. In a single class, students can learn by
solving movement problems, showing their ideas through movement, thinking critically about
them and relating them to other ideas, experiences, contexts, and meanings.

There are many ways to define, think about, and work with dance. As you consider those in
the coming pages, please keep in mind the forms fundamental flexibility. Whether it be sacred
or secular, participatory or performative, ritualistic or purely entertaining, or some combination
thereof, all dance shares certain basic elements. We will introduce and explore each of these
in turn so that when your students come to re-synthesize them in dancing, making their own
dance, or responding to those of others, they will better understand dance concepts and pro-
cesses.

Page 24
This may sound like a lofty distinction, but it does highlight what makes dance unique among
all other art forms. While dance has been described in as many ways as it has been manifest-
ed, a widely accepted definition explains it as:

The body moving in time through space with energy.

While no one of these components (body, time, space, or energy) exists independently of the
others in dance, it is possible and profitable to study each separately to investigate its nature
and the relationships among the three. These are the raw materials of dance, and the
manner in which they are interpreted and put together largely determines the type of dance
created (ballet, modern, post-modern, ethnic, jazz, tap, social). Choreographed dances then
can be described as:

The body moving in time through space with energy, and shaped with intent by
the choreographer.

In this section we will briefly analyze each of the basic dance elements and follow-up with
explorations designed to further clarify each concept for your students. A number of these
explorations will involve improvisation, one of the best means of discovery available to students
of dance and choreographynot to mention dancers and choreographers themselves. A useful
and interesting way to perceive dance is to isolate and look at a particular dance through the
lens of one of the basic elements.

If you try any of the improvisations in your classroom, make clear to students that while an
element of play is essential to the activity, it takes place within a structured framework which
should be taken seriously. Again, feel free to modify the explorations in any way you consider
appropriate. As you will see, most of these exercises involve several steps; depending on
your time and the level of your students, you may wish only to try the first two or three of these.
Many of the exercises can be approached sitting down as well as standing up. In addition to
the suggested activities, we encourage you to explore movement with your students on a more
informal basis, e.g., as a transitional mechanism to get from one physical place to another or
from one course of study to another. Please keep track of all the ways you work with movement
and dance in your classroom so that you will be able to share them with us and your colleagues
throughout the year.

Page 25
 THE BODY [add NEWcallout]

The body is the instrument of danceandwe includeit among space, time, and energy as a
basic element of dance. It is a logical point of entry into these studiessinceitistantamountto
theartofdance.Thestudyofthebodycanbebrokendowninto:bodypartsandbody
shapes.Bodypartsaretheuseofthearms,legs,torso,fingers,andeveneyes,forexample.
Bodyshapescanbecurved,straight,symmetrical,twisted,etcetera.Theexplorationfothe
bodyindancecanbeaxial(stationary)movement,orlocomotor(traveling)movement.There
areinfinitewaystheseideascanbecombinedtocreateanequallyinfinitenumberoreffects. Fix formatting

EXPLORATION A

Objective: To explore wholebodyshape,andexperimentwithcreatingshapeonthebody,

andusingthree-dimensionaltools.

1. Offer students manipulative items like: pipe cleaners, a string of beads or Play Doh, to
explore shape-making. Have them spend time devising many different shapes. To get things
started you can demonstrate or suggest round shapes, then straight, then allow students to
add or change your design.

2. Next, they will create a final sculpture with their manipulative. Have them talk about what
they noticed each other has made with a partner or group. Encourage descriptive language,
pointing out straight, curved, crunched up shapes.

3. Now they are ready to embody their own sculpture. A partner or group can help suggest
ideas to make the human body reflect the created sculpture.

4. Each person in the group can learn the other's body shape. When you string them together
in a sequence - Voila - they just created a short movement phrase.

EXPLORATION B

Objective: To explore body shape using one body part at a time and experimenting with
conscious, intentional shape-making on another person; then reflecting kinesthetically on
those decisions.

We will call this exploration: The Creator and The Clay, or Hold the Mold!

1. Pair up students and designate one partner the creator and the other as the clay.
Then,when standing and facing each other, they wait for you to call out a body part and
the creator takes a moment to move her partners body and mold it into a shape.
Emphasize that everyone should be gentle and slow when moving their partner's body.

Page 26
1. The student should hold that shape until the creator moves it again. Teacher then calls out a
different body part and the creator will shape that part. Mix it up, go from large parts to
smaller ones. Once the shape is complete then the creator tries to embody that shape.

2. Switcheroo - the creator becomes the clay, the clay becomes the creator, and everyone get
a chance to, "hold the mold." Divide the class in half and call out a succession of shapes s
that peers can observe and discuss the choices made by creators and clay. Encourage
descriptive language.

EXPLORATION C for pre-professional and high school learners

Objective: To allow dancers to explore new ways to verbally and physically articulate and
describe body shape, grow vocabulary and communicate ideas.

First pair up students and have them stand back to back and decide who will be #1 and who
will be #2. Instruct #1's to make a simple/complex shape and remember it. Then both students
return to neutral position facing each other.

Next, #1, by using only words, tries to get their partner into the same shape #1 created
without demonstrating what it is. When sufficiently satisfied, #1 can reveal the original shape.

Have students discuss different ways they could have describe the shapes. Infuse imagery? Use
metaphor or simile? Then, Switcheroo - now it's #2's turn.

Other options to try are:

To use emotions to elicit a shape>
To use another language.
To use anatomical language. (bones, muscles, proximal, distal)
To use math concepts. (angles, levels, lines, percentages)

Page 27
 SPACE

Space is the three dimensional field in which dance takes place. Choreographer Murray
Louis in his film series Dance as an Art Form describes empty space as a voidsilent, sterile,
innocentbefore consciousness, before life. Dance fills space, gives it form, and makes it
dynamic.

A dancers relationship to space involves a number of different but intersecting components

including: level, direction, dimension, focus, design, shape, and floor pattern. Spatial affinities
are highly personal and also often culturally influenced. World travelers are often disconcerted
by the proximity at which peoples of other cultures interact. We all unconsciously structure our
personal space according to how large or small we want the immediate bubble surrounding
us to be. The bubble can expand or contract depending on the nature of ones relationship to
those nearby: a parent and a young child might feel comfortable occupying the same space,
while that proximity would seem invasive for two people who barely knew each other. Students
can become more highly attuned to this element in dance by exploring their own relationship to
space. Have them look for the various ways choreographers use space. Garth Fagan Dance,
which will perform at The Joyce this year, will differ from, for example, Cincinnati Ballet in their
use of space.

EXPLORATION D

Objective: To introduce students to the concept of space in dance by exploring their everyday
experiences.

1. Divide the class into two equal lines. Have these lines face each other on either side of
a fairly large space. The students across from one another will focus on each other as
partners. Now have the two lines walk towards each other. Instruct children to notice how
this feels while it is happening: When is it comfortable? When does it feel strange? What
does it remind them of? Now have them return to their original positions and have the
other side undertake the same slow approach towards their partners. Once each of these
variations has taken place, discuss with your students how it felt to be approached and to
approach in that manner. Have them think of words to describe the two positions: When
did they feel powerful? Threatened? Comfortable? Uncomfortable? What else?

2. Assign this experiment overnight: Have students engage a parent, friend, or anyone at all in
conversation. Instruct students to make a mental note of the distance that is naturally arrived
at during the course of the conversation between themselves and their unwitting partner.
Instruct the student to move away from the other a little at some point after the comfortable
proximity is established. Notice if the other person compensates by moving forward a
bit. If the original spacing is reestablished, move forward a little. Does the other person
back up? If possible, try this experiment again with someone with whom they have a very
different relationshipa store clerk rather than a relative, for example. Are the results
different? Have the students write a brief synopsis of what happened in each case. What
conclusions can they draw from this?
Page 28
The spatial considerations involved in choreography are many, but the principal components
are level, shape, and design. Levels in dance range from low, grounded positions, which
acknowledge the pull of gravity, to high or elevated positions, which seem to defy gravity. Shape
refers to the line(s) of bodieswhether they are curved and circular or straight and angular;
whether they are symmetrical (a position that is exactly the same on both sides of a center axis) or
asymmetrical (a position that is decidedly different on each side of a center axis). Design is the
shape of one or more bodies moving in space and the patterns of their motion. Spatial designs
can be curved and circular, straight and angular, and symmetrical and asymmetrical, just like
individual bodies can be. They are the geometric floor plans that map the course of a dance.

EXPLORATION E

Objective: To introduce students to the basic spatial concepts of level and shape and explore
how these operate in dance.

1. Have students lie on the floor (if this is not appropriate, have them sit). Instruct them to feel
themselves becoming one with the ground, growing roots, feeling the full force of gravity.
Once they have firmly attached themselves to the floor, instruct them to break their roots
and pull themselves to a sitting position (if they are not already in one). Now have them
explore movement on this level, still feeling the earths magnetism. Slowly they come to a
standing position, their weight heavy and earthbound. Gradually they begin to feel lighter
as they explore movement from a vertical position. Suddenly gravity releases them and they
bounce, jump, float, and fly. Discuss this progression with the class upon its completion.
How would they describe how they felt at each level? What images came to mind in each
case? Which level did they enjoy exploring the most? Why?

2. Announce to students that they are images on a computer screen programmed for curved
shapes, straight or angular shapes, symmetrical shapes, and asymmetrical shapes at all
different levels. When you call out a particular shape or combination of shapes, they must
assume such positions. For example, symmetrical, or angular high-level, symmetrical
curved low-level. You might also specify which part or region of the body is to be
used, such as curved arms or symmetrical, angular legs. After the students become
comfortable with this exercise, have them begin paying attention to transitions between
these shapes. Dance is not only concerned with the characteristics and qualities of specific
shapes in space but also with the transitional movements that connect them.

In a theater, space is defined not only by the parameters of a stages size and shape but also
by the zones which identify its various areas. These stage areas are always determined
from the performers point of view (not the spectators) and are referred to as follows: upstage,
downstage, stage right, stage left, center stage, and many combinations thereof (upstage right,
downstage center, etc.). These distinctions are essential to describe a dances design in space.

Page 29
EXPLORATION F

Objective: To introduce students to floor patterns and stage directions so that they will be
aware of the effect of these elements in dance works.

1. Have students draw in pencil a rough map of any route that is familiar to thembetween
home and school, between home and a friends apartment buildingon a standard 8- x
11 sheet of paper turned on its side. If students do not know a particular route by heart,
have them make up one or refer to a street map for ideas.

2. Tell students that the sheet of paper is actually a model of the stage at The Joyce Theater.
Their map is the floor design of a dance they have choreographed for a company
performing at The Joyce later this year. In order to teach the choreography to the dancers
who will be performing it, students must provide them with entrance and exit cues and stage
directions. Remind students that this information is always given from the performers point
of view. Downstage is towards the audience, upstage is away from the audience, stage
right is toward the performers right when facing the audience, stage left is toward the
performers left, and center stage is the center of the stage.

3. Now have students write out directions for the dancers on another sheet of paper. For
example: Enter through the upstage right wing (if this is where a map seems to begin), travel
to center stage, then downstage center, left wing. Depending on a students original map,
the directions might be more complex or simple. Allow students to adjust their maps to make
their floor designs more interesting or successful.

4. Now, use your schools stage (if one is available), or clear the classroom space to represent
a stage. Determine where the audience sits, where each wing is, and designate each stage
zone. Have students walk their floor designs one by one. Then have them choose some
other simple movement (skipping, crawling) to travel through their design. Finally, have two
or more students use the movements they just composed to travel through their floor designs
simultaneously. What adjustments have to be made? Alleviate any traffic problems
that arise. Use correct stage directions in making recommendations. Have the rest of the
class discuss how these simple traveling compositions look. What feelings or ideas are
communicated?

Page 30
 TIME

Just as time orders our everyday lives, so time orders dance. As it pertains to motion, time
involves tempo, the speed of a movement; momentum, the steady quickening or slowing down
of tempo; duration, the length of time in which movement takes place; and rhythm, the quality
of the beat of a movementregular or irregular, its accent, and its meter. Sometimes music
governs the time of a dance; in other cases, dance contains its own temporal structure. Dance
can follow music, music can follow dance, dance and music can take place in the same space
but have no influence or dependence on one another, dance can take place without music
either in silence or with sound created by the movement itself, and certainly music can take
place without dance. The following exercises will explore the complex role time plays in dance
as both an intrinsic and extrinsic ordering force.

EXPLORATION G

Objective: To introduce students to the nuances of time in dance.

1. Have students recall a series of movements they have already put together (perhaps
the original phrase they composed emphasizing one body part over all others) or have
them make up a simple movement phrase (no longer than 20 seconds) using the dance
components (shape, level, line, direction, etc.) they have been exploring. Have them show
their phrases to their classmates as they are accustomed to dancing them.

2. Now have students experiment with the tempo of their phrase. Have them think of the
possible connotations of slowleisure, indulgence, carefulness, languor, sorrow, fatigue,
heaviness, etc.and choose one of these qualities to concentrate on as they perform their
phrases very slowly. After they have explored the realm of slow and showed one another their
interpretations (can classmates guess what feeling inspired the slowness?), have them explore
a fast tempopossibly reflecting exuberance, eagerness, anxiousness, hurry, fear, etc. Have
students perform their phrases several times at a quickened tempo with one of these impulses
in mind. During both of these variations, remind students to stay consistent in their tempo,
whether slow or fast. How are the phrases transformed through this variation in tempo? Does
having a motivation for the two speeds assist in the success of the exercise?

3. Now have students begin their phrases slowly and then steadily accelerate. This is an
example of building momentum. Now try the reverse: instruct students to begin their phrases
very quickly and gradually slow down to their close. Which variation is easier? Why
do students think this is the case? Divide the class in half and have one half of the class
perform the first variation while the other watches. Allow time for the second half of the
class to perform the second variation. Discuss the differences in the two performances with
the class. What feelings did they get from the first variation? The second?

Page 31
4. To work with the concept of duration, ask students if they know how long a minute is. If
possible, remove all clocks from visibility and have students pocket their watches. You are
the timekeeper. Instruct students that, when you say so, they are to move very slowly for
their individual perceptions of one minute. Take note of when each student stops moving,
considering the minute to be up and, after the last person is still, compare their many senses
of how long one minute lasts. Now have them move very quickly for their perception of
a minute. Compare these results. In which of the two experiments were most students
overall closer to 60 seconds? Why do they think this was the case? If there is time, these
experiments might be tried again. Discuss with students how moving quickly or slowly
influenced their senses of the length of a minute.

5. After attending a performance at The Joyce, notice with the class how ones sense of time
and awareness of time can change depending upon the choices a choreographer makes.
Have students describe, compare, and contrast the various ways time is manipulated
in different dances by the same choreographer. What are some of the effects of the
choreographers choices?

Page 32
 ENERGY[add NEW callout]

The American modern dance pioneer Martha Graham said, There is a vitality, a life force, a
quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in
all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other
medium."

Energy is the power behind dance. It is what enables dancers to perform full-length ballets,
to leap through the air, or to express emotions and ideas. Energy is the ability to do work. It
can exist in a variety of forms, such as heat, light, mechanical, electrical, chemical and can be
used to transform from one form to another. There are two types of energy, stored or stillness
(potential) energy and working and moving (kinetic) energy. In motion, a force can be applied
against gravity, an object, or another person. Dancers also use effort and motion to create the
quality and texture of movement. Effort is 'how' the body moves. Movement qualities make up
the dynamics of movement, and the range of their possibilities is probably endless Movement
qualities are the dynamics of movement, and the range of their possibilities is probably
endless.

EXPLORATION G [add TRY THIS NOW callout]

Remember the game Red Light, Green Light, 1,2,3 from back in the day?
Who knew it we were demonstrating Stillness vs. Movement / Potential vs. Kinetic Energy in the
playground of our youth? Below is a reprisal of that fun we will now call the Movement/Stillness
Game. The challenge lets students shift from moving to stillness and potential energy to kinetic
energy. This game increases spontaneity, balance, teamwork and improves skills by reinforcing
dance vocabulary.

First, choose four students to help demonstrate the rule. The teacher/leader faces the back while
students are lined up several feet away in the opposite direction and start to advance towards the
teacher/leader.

The teacher/leader quickly turns around the students become still. The goal of the quartet is to
reach and tap the teacher/leader at the same time. Repeat with four new students. Try the game
using different instructions like the examples listed below. Write the options on the white board
and shout out the variation you them to try. Enlist two students to assist in making sure the
directions are being followed correctly.
Variations:
1. Stand on one leg. That's tricky!
2. Stand on one leg and use arms to make a shape in stillness. This is trickier!
3. Move forward and backwards towards the teacher/leader and hold stillness in a shape.
4. Move sideways, or zig-zag, in curves, or circles. This is the trickiest!
5. Move forward using only symmetrical shapes when still.
6. Move forward using only asymmetrical shapes when still.

Devise your own ways of challenges by making teams that will compete with each other for
points, or classroom rewards. Need more inspiration?

Page 33
 THEATRICAL ELEMENTS

Up until now, we have explored dance formally and as a basic means of human expression.
Grounded by their understanding of the elements examined in the foregoing pages, students
should now be ready to consider dance as a presentation. As a performing art, dance is
theatrical; it can involve lighting, props, sets, backdrops, costumes, make-up, etc. Some dance
productions involve all of these components and may even be inspired by one or more of them;
other dances are staged with only the barest of theatrical accouterments. In either case,
theatrical elements are never added to choreography haphazardly or arbitrarily but, rather, are
integral to the dances total logic. It is important to remember that lighting design, set and
prop design, and costume design are all arts unto themselves. The designers, in each case,
work in close collaboration with a choreographer to create the desired theatrical effect.

The human eye responds first and foremost to motion and light. This means that for dance
performed on a stage, lighting is particularly crucial. Lighting can define and shape a space,
make one area of the stage seem stronger than another, single out one dancer surrounded
by many others, isolate one place from another, and determine the overall tone of a dance
warm, cold, bright, somber, etc. The lighting designers primary tools are intensity (the
brightness of light) color (saturation and hue) and design (placement and focus of lighting
instruments). Sometimes film or slide projections are incorporated into lighting design as well.

Some choreographers consider their sets and props to be integral members of the on-stage
cast. In other cases these elements are purely decorative, intended to provide additional
atmosphere and detail. Whether they are functional or ornamental, sets and props can extend
the dimensions of a dance performance. A few dance productions have featured combination
set-prop-costumes: in his Music for Word Words, post-modern choreographer Steve Paxton
deflated a transparent twelve foot room around him until it fit him as if it were a costume.

Like props and set, costume can define a dance historically, culturally, and/or environmentally.
Costume has the unique ability to extend a dancers movement and/or affect the audiences
perception of it. At the turn of the 20th century, Loie Fuller, a modern dance pioneer,
transformed herself through elaborate costumes into gorgeous illusory birds, butterflies, and
spinning ornaments. Companies such as Nikolais Dance Theater, or shows such as The Lion
King carry on this tradition of expanding the possibilities of human movement, appearance,
and design through inventive costuming.

Make-up can play a major or minor role in the theatricalization of dance for the stage. At the
very least it is used to highlight a dancers own facial features and expressions, which might
otherwise look ill-defined under powerful stage lights or from the distance of the audience.
It can also be used to draw attention to a particular feature, if such distinction is desired.
Occasionally make-up is what creates character, through extension of actual features or full-
body make-overs. Add NEW callout
Martha Graham, Cave of the Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QPC2qJeFg4
Pina Bausch, film by Wim Wenders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RQUAtF6crc
Pina Bausch, Rite of Spring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w8ww_BfQBY
Kurt Joss, The Green Table https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaZQsZUsytc
Eiko and Koma, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDthedy-LzM
Alvin AileyAmerican Dance Theater, Revelations/Wade in the Water - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9uEq9Sjefg

Page 34
PART FOUR: STUDENT ACTIVITIES
& CLASSROOM ENRICHMENT
YOU BECOME THE DANCE CRITIC
WHO AM I? WHAT AM I?
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Change photo

Note to teachers: Students should use the following activities after attending performances as note-taking and com-
pleting worksheets during a performance may interfere with the audiences participation and may disturb others.

Page 35
YOU BECOME THE DANCE CRITIC!
Your Name Grade School

Dance Company Performance Date

Title of Dance Choreographed By

Other Info

Composer Costume Designer

Dancers

Heres your chance to describe one of the

dances you saw at The Joyce. Imagine you
are re-telling the performance to a friend
or family member who did not attend. Use
complete sentences and the dance vocabulary
youve acquired from your teacher and dance
specialist, along with the glossary of dance
terms on pages 48-51. See pages 38-39 for
an example of a review at the Joyce Theater.
Combine your answers below with the
information above on a separate page to write
your full review.

Checklist for the Dance Critic

Did you enjoy this performance? Explain why /why not.

Describe the most memorable moment.

Did the dance remind you of other performances you have seen? Tell us.

What do you think was the motivation of the dance you are critiquing?

What did the dance communicate to you? Did it explore emotions?

How many dancers performed? Did you have a favorite?

How would you classify this dance? (ballet, modern, jazz, tap, social, ethnic, other)
Page 36
 Was the dance representational (realistic and/or having a story line) or abstract?

What was the predominant energy level of the dance?
HIGH ENERGY Medium energy Low energy

What were the spatial characteristics of the movement? Angular, curved, staccato,
legato, light,heavy, symmetrical, asymmetrical, low level, high level, something else.

Include the groupings that you observed during this dance. Solo, duet, trio, quartet,
entire cast.

Was the dance divided into separate sections? If so, how many did you observe?

How would you describe the music?

What was the relationship of the music to the movement? (similar to the dance,
contrasting to the dance, both)

If music wasnt used, was there a different source of sound? Was there silence?

What else did you notice about the performance? Props, backdrop, lighting,
costumes, etc.

What would you do?

If you were the choreographer what would your dance look like? Draw or make a
video of your version and share it with your friends and teacher

Page 37
September 28, 2011

Flamenco Aflame
by Alistair Macaulay

Its easy to overlook the many thrilling features of purely formal beauty in Soledad Barrios
dancing. Though wrist-circlings abound in flamenco, she can accentuate them so that they
become spirals of smoke. Raising both arms with elbows sharply bent, she creates a geometry
thats very satisfying. She can also soften those elbows so that the raised arms become a single
compelling crescent, facing up to the sky or down to the earth. As she stands with legs apart,
the lines of her arms and legs answer each other like the bowl and base of a grand goblet. Her
walk seems not a succession of steps but a single flowing movement.

Its easy to forget the beauty of such moments because her dancing is invariably charged
with intense drama remarkably so, even by the standards of flamenco, itself an inherently
dramatic form. In her stance, her rhythm, the way she addresses the light and the way she
opposes head to shoulders, she goes straight for the expressive tension that seems to be at
flamencos very heart. Mistress of suspense, she demonstrates that tension at the very start of
a dance and never lets it slacken, while changing its nature again and again. She particularly
excels in bringing a solo to a climax, only to show as applause erupts that this is a
transition to some new and further drama.

Ms. Barrio, a New York favorite and one of todays great dancers of any genre, is the star of
the company Noche Flamenca, which was founded 18 years ago. This week the troupe is at
the Joyce Theater. Its good to watch it in one of New Yorks best-known dance homes (though
those of us familiar with the company miss the monthlong seasons, which allowed audiences to
see how a production matured after two weeks or more).

The program at the Joyce presents several faces of flamenco. It features two guitarists, three
singers and three dancers; on Tuesday, Ms. Barrio was the only woman. Eugenio Iglesiass
guitar solo offers us flamenco at its most lightly charming and trouble-free; later, Salva de
Maras playing, often gentle, establishes a more ruminative, brooding mood. The three
singers Emilio Florido, Manuel Gago and (replacing Carmina Cortes) Miguel Rosendo
make a marvelous ensemble, not least in the rhythm with which their clapping and foot-
tapping accompanies both guitar and dance. Mr. Gago has the kind of small, high voice thats
sometimes called a tenorino, but theres nothing diminutive about the cascading fluency of his
coloratura or the expressive vitality of his utterance.

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In Oda al Amor, Ms. Barrio and Antonio Jimnez dance about love and death -- literally,
since a hooded Death figure stalks the stage. Ms. Barrio ends it by accepting Deaths fond
embrace: her face resting tenderly on his shoulder while his black cloak hides the rest of her
body is a superbly eloquent image. Alejandro Granados prances rapidly onstage for a solo
called El Patuka in high good humor: he delivers the solo like a series of rough sketches,
often tipping over into absurdity, but with no end of panache. Mr. Jimnez, who is dancing
with more crispness and upper-body elegance than seen in recent Noche Flamenca New York
seasons, delivers a compelling Caminando solo in which he seems haunted, as much trying
to escape something as to express it.

Ms. Barrios solo bears her own name: Soledad, which also means solitude, loneliness,
grief and remoteness. Its an existential drama, beginning with a circular pool of light
on the floor. She, dressed in black, enters, casting a single shadow sideways as she claims
attention with the meter of her feet; then she holds a long pose. Only now do the musicians
enter and approach the edge of the light. She opens her arms to them, but remains in this
separate zone, cut off from the others. As the dance develops, the light and mood change: its
as if the music were no longer outside her but part of her spiritual isolation.

The many kinds of rhythmic footwork, all glorious, that occur during the solo cascades,
crescendos, accelerations and decelerations are all part of one concentrated stream of
consciousness. She is often still, but her stillness is always a preparation, a display of brimming
intensity. Effects that have been electrifying in the past sudden off-balance pivots on the
spot where she then returns to a point of focus as if to a psychological fixation or freezes in
powerfully back-bent positions still occur brilliantly, but like passing moments amid a larger
and consuming thought.

That thought continually moves on. While framing her face gorgeously with hands and arms
like a wreath, shes never saying Look at me but always Where next? Holding one arm
flexed, she waits as if deciding; then she brings her raised hand softly over her face as if
ruefully; and then pow! Shes off, her whole body driving her forth into the next adventure of
her soul.

Photo: Soledad Barrio by Rachel Roberts

Page 39
WHO AM I? WHAT AM I?
Performances at the Joyce Theater involve more than the dancers on the stage. There are very
important jobs behind the scenes that help make a performance successful. Lets see how well
you know the definitions of the careers and theater terms listed in the box. Choose a word
from the box to complete the sentences listed below.

technical director stage manager stage crew set designer usher artistic director
lighting designer marquee audio technician scrim costume designer
critic marketing director executive director choreographer lobby
dressing rooms box office costume designer backdrop blackout gel
me composer proscenium wings prop

1. This roof-like structure projects over a theaters entrance and announces its name and
information on current performances. It is called the _____________________.

2. 5,6,7,8Im the person who composes dance for performance. Im the _______________.

3. You can purchase or pick up your tickets from this window in the lobby. This is the ______.

4. When all the stage lights are turned off at once this is called a _______________________.

5. This curtain of loosely woven material stretched across the stage during some performances
looks opaque when lit from the front and transparent when lit from behind. The ________.

6. I am the person who works closely with a choreographer to design the set and props for a
dance. I am the __________________________________.

7. This is the person responsible for the overall administration of each department of the
theater. She manages The Joyce staff and reports to a Board of Trustees. She is the
____________________. *Extra credit* Her name is _________________________.

8. A waiting area inside the theater entrance where tickets are bought and audiences linger to
meet with friends before the show begins is called the __________________________.

9. Follow us. We are the people who direct you to your seat and distribute programs. We are
called ______________________.

10. I am the person in charge of publicizing the performances. I am the ________________.

11. This person works closely with the choreographer to design and create the clothes in
which the dancers perform. This is the _______________________________________.

12. I create the music for performance. Just call me the _________________________.

Page 40
13. I write reviews about the dance performance. You can read my words in newspapers,
magazines, journals and blogs. I am known as a ___________________________.

14. Did you hear that? Good, because I am in charge of sound during a performance. I am
the ____________________________.

15. You dont see me but Im in charge of coordinating and supervising all backstage activi-
ties during performances to make certain they run smoothly. I am the ________________.

16. The curtain or fabric hung near the back wall of the stage to provide a background is
known as the ______________________________.

17. When this paper-thin sheet of colored plastic is placed in front of the stage lights, it helps
set the mood and is called a ______________________.

18. Did you enjoy the performance? The one with artistic control over a dance company is
known as the __________________________ and is often the founder of the company.

19. The performers change into and out of costumes and make-up in the _______________.

20. The areas on the right and left sides of the stage that are hidden from the audiences
view are known as __________________. Performers make their entrances and exits from
there.

21. Items that appear and/or are used on stage during shows but which are not sets are
called __________. These articles can include books, chairs, food, newspapers etc.

22. The person in charge of overseeing the technical aspects of the production, includ-
ing the stage crew, carpentry, lighting, electrical work and sound is known as the
____________________________.

23. A wide arch above the front of the stage forms a decorative frame for the curtains.
It is a common type of theater setting that allows the audience to see only part of the stage.
It is called a ______________________________.

24. A person who works closely with a choreographer to design how the stage will be lit for
a given dance is called the __________________________________.

25. The group of people who work backstage during a performance and are responsible for
operating the lights, raising and lowering the curtains, setting up and striking the sets. These
hard workers are known as the ________________________________.

26. The luckiest student in the world who has a teacher who wants her/his students to experi-
ence live dance at the best theater for dance in New York City is __________.

Which behind the scenes career interests you? Can you think of any that are not listed?
19) dressing rooms 20) wings 21) prop 22) technical director 23) proscenium 24) lighting designer 25) stage crew 26) me!
10) marketing director 11) costume designer 12) composer 13) critic 14) audio technician 15) stage manager 16) backdrop 17) gel 18) artistic director Page 41
Answers: 1) marquee 2) choreographer 3) box office 4) blackout 5) scrim 6) set designer 7)executive director + Linda Shelton 8) lobby 9) ushers
CLASSROOM ENRICHMENT

CLASSROOM ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

There are many effective ways to incorporate dance studies into classroom learning. A teacher
can take a critical approach and help students develop an eye for watching and valuing
dance. A cultural approach involves using dance as a point of entry into the study of world
cultures. A movement approach explores dance as a basic skill and form of expression. Of
course, these categories overlap and intersect and are not, in and of themselves, exhaustive.
The following activities, explorations, and exercises are included here for your reference. Feel
free to simplify, extend or adjust any of them. The most successful approaches will be those
which you initiate and implement yourselfthose that reflect your personal teaching style and
take into consideration the preparation and interests of your students.

The activities listed on the next pages are categorized by the three approaches and Blueprint
benchmarks in dance education (see appendix) and grade levels; All Grades (AG), High School
(HS), Middle School (MS) and Elementary (E).

Page 42
 CRITICAL APPROACH

Blueprint Benchmark: Developing Dance Literacy AG

Write a review
Using their responses from the Become the Dance Critic page and have students write dance
reviews following each Performance for Study they attend. This allows students the opportunity
to synthesize and articulate their responses to each performance and is a fine language arts
project. Use the professional review on pages 28-29 as an example of dance criticism. Key
points to consider:

Use accurate factsUse strong vibrant languageDescribe the elements of dance usedDescribe
themes, climaxes, groupings and parts that were particularly interesting or disturbing Revise
the first draft Share and compare with others

Write a letter AG
Student Assignment: Write a letter to the company you have most recently seen perform at The
Joyce thanking them for their performance. Be specific about which piece(s) you found most
interesting or provocative, which dancers you particularly admired, and the other elements
you considered most interesting (music, lighting, costumes, sets, etc.). If there were elements
you didnt understand or didnt like, discuss these as well. Be constructive in your criticisms.
The company will find your response to the performance informative. These letters can be
forwarded to the company through The Joyce Theater Education Department, 175 Eighth
Avenue, New York, NY 10011 or you may e-mail: danceeducation@joyce.org.

MS/HS
Have your students choose an image-rich passage (no longer than two paragraphs) from
a novel or poem which the students have read in class or on their own recently or assign a
passage to them. Have the students select several key images and develop movement that
interprets or responds to the images. Avoid having students act out the text. The movement
they create is a response to the original inspiration and should become increasingly more
abstract as they continue to explore the text. Have the students practice their interpretations
before showing them to the class. They might want a reading of the text to take place as they
dance. Discuss the students dance pieces with the class. Encourage the class to describe the
movement choices made by students in creating their dances.

Page 43
 MOVEMENT APPROACH

Blueprint Benchmark: Dance Making AG

Choreographers discover potential dance movements in the most mundane places. Ordinary
gestures, behavior, and activity can be the seeds of remarkable dances. Student Assignment:
Think of something you do every daybrushing your hair, washing your face, writing in your
journal, talking on the phone, playing your guitar, getting up in the morning, lying down at
night, eating a mealanything that is part of your everyday routine. Try this personal ritual
without any of the equipment it usually requires but as close to the way you normally perform
it as possible. Practice this several times so you will remember it. Now begin to abstract it;
change the original movement slightly by making it larger or smaller, faster or slower, adding
movement in other parts of your body, or evoking a different tone. Practice the series of
movements you develop before you show it to your classmates. Can they recognize the daily
routine which inspired it? How have your ordinary gestures been changed?

E
Have the children practice the alphabet, spelling, number sequence, etc. by making body
shapes. Have students work with partners to form (either by lying down, sitting, or standing)
individual letters or numbers. This exploration will involve problem-solving skills, language arts,
math skills, and a good deal of cooperation. In addition, this activity can demonstrate how the
body can be used as an instrument for communication and expression.

AG
The following is a memory exercise as well as a lesson in dance making. Have the class form
a circle, standing, sitting in chairs, or sitting on the floor. Ask a student to demonstrate a simple
movement using any part of his/her body and to specify how many times it should be done,
how quickly, and how expansively. Have everyone practice this movement several times. Now
ask another student to add on a movement to the first one, again involving any body part and
deciding how many times it should be performed, how fast or slow, large or small. Practice the
two movements in sequence. Continue stringing movement together in this way until the series
is several movements long. Work out any kinks in the transitions between movements and
practice the entire phrase until everyone has memorized it. The next day, rehearse it again and
add one or two more movements on. This can be an ongoing, even daily, activity. Examine
and discuss the movement ideas.

AG
A motif is a single movement or a short movement phrase that is used as the inspiration of
an entire dance. Come up with a simple movement or series of movements to be your motif.
Once you know it well, try these variations: repeat it; perform it backwards (retrograde);
expand it; make it smaller; make it faster; make it slower; change the movement quality (for
example, from neutral to tense); perform it forcefully; perform it gently; perform the movement
(as best you can) with another part of your body; perform the original movement with a
jump, turn, run or any other movement; perform it with someone else; combine any of these
variations.
Page 44
 AG
Choose a site (outdoors or indoors) which is physically interesting or which merely offers a
different landscape from the classroom or gym in which you usually explore movement with
your class. Assign your students an improvisation in which they interact with the features
of the space (size, shape, physical landmarks, etc.) more than they interact with each other
(although all will be exploring the space simultaneously so there will inevitable contact).
This improvisation is the seed of site-specific dance, in which the unique elements of an
alternative performance space shape, and to some extent, inspire the choreography itself.
Although the work that companies perform at The Joyce is generally not site specific (they
can perform it in any proscenium theater), many companies perform with sets, which make
the space unique for those particular pieces. Discuss with your students what they consider
to be unusual or interesting about the space and in what ways the space influenced their
movement explorations.

E
Explore direction and use transportation modes as movement themes with younger grades.
After reviewing directions with the children, have them walk west, fly south, drive north, swim
east, etc.

E
Try a caterpillar improvisation. Have the class form a single, straight line, one student behind
another, so that, except for the person at the head of the line, everyone is facing another
persons back. Instruct the class that they are only allowed to look at the person directly in front
of them and must copy whatever movement person does just after he or she has completed
it. This movement should be echoed down the line, one person after another, to achieve a
caterpillar effect. This activity involves a high level of concentration on everyones part, as
it is all too easy to anticipate a movement before your turn and thereby ruin the sequence.
After one person has led the group in a few movements, have that person go to the back and
the next person in line become the leader. Encourage students to experiment not only with
movement but also with sound, such as hand-clapping, feet-stomping, and vocalization. Have
groups of several students at a time sit down to watch this improvisation. Discuss with the class
the visual effect of this improvisation; it can be quite spectacular! Notice with your students the
many ways choreographers use visual effects in their dances.

Page 45
 CULTURAL APPROACH

Blueprint Benchmark: Making Connections AG

Choose a particular world culture and research the traditional and current place of dance
within it. Traditionally speaking, who dances in this culture and why? When do people
dance? What are traditional dances like? What is the relationship of dance to other
traditional arts in this culture (music, visual art, theater, etc.)? What can you find out about
dance in this culture today? In addition to your school and local libraries, another good source
of information might be the countrys consulate office here in New York.

MS/HS
Choose a form of dance that has developed over the last 100 years modern, jazz, tap, post-
modern, or any number of social dances (the Charleston, merengue, salsa, break dancing, hip-
hop, Harlem Shake, etc.). Conduct a research project investigating the evolution of this dance
form: its origins, its philosophy (if appropriate), its most influential exponents, and its shape today.
Execution of this project will involve creating a bibliography, taking notes from several sources,
synthesizing material, creating an outline, and report your findings. You can also create a time-
line tracing major developments in the history of the dance form.

HS
In the late 18th century, the waltz was just coming into popularity among young people in
Germany. There was considerable public outcry against the dance, as it was considered inde-
cent by the standards of the day, and many thought it should be banned. A number of books
and pamphlets were circulated among parents, warning them of the dance. They had such
titles as: Discussion of the most important causes of the weakness of our generation in regard
to the waltz, and Proof that the waltz is a main source of the weakness of body and mind of
our generation. At the turn of the 20th century, Isadora Duncan, a pioneer of modern dance,
was arrested on stage for her performances in sheer robes and bare feet because local authori-
ties found her dances and her attire offensive. Today, neither the waltz, nor the reconstructed
dances of Isadora Duncan would seem shocking to us. Does modern day society (or segments
of it) feel threatened by certain dance, music, visual art, etc. that is confrontational, rebellious,
or merely different from the norm? Can you think of current examples of this? Do you think that
todays controversial art and artists will eventually gain widespread acceptance? Why or why
not?

Page 46
Blueprint Benchmark: Working with Community Cultural Resources
MS/HS
Research the history of another major New York City theater: New York City Center, Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, The Apollo
Theater, The New Victory, etc. This project could involve doing research online and at the
library and visiting and contacting the theater itself for information.

MS/HS
Log on to The Joyce website for additional information about dance companies. Check the
website, view video clips and read the Joyce blog which features all kinds of dance topics.
www.joyce.org.

AG
Contact your local, borough and out-of-borough cultural institutions and request a behind the
scenes tour of their venue. Some are free and some require a fee.

Blueprint Benchmark: Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning

Graphic Design/Marketing AG
A dance companys brochure is a brief, carefully put together profile (in words and images) of
whom and what the company is. It is specifically designed to introduce potential audiences
and funders to the companys work and must project an accurate and compelling image in a
very limited amount of space.

Student assignment: You have been hired by one of the dance companies you have seen at
The Joyce this year to design its new brochure. Once you have decided on an overall concept
for the brochure, you must determine how to make every element of the brochure contribute to
this theme. You will need to review all the material the company has already created about
itself, such as press releases, biographies, photographs, etc.
Key points to consider:
How might this company appeal to the general public? What is special or unique about
its work? What is the companys greatest strength? Which information and images
should go where? What color(s) do you want to feature? Create a mock-up Share the
final product.

Dance Production MS/HS

Choose a field related to the production of theatrical dance which interests youlighting
design, set design, costume design, etc. Carry out a research project on this discipline. Trace
its history: the innovations in technology, changes in style, etc. which have taken place along
the way. Can you find out who the most famous and influential designers in the field are
today?

Page 47
 PART FIVE: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

New photo: Pt 5 Glossary

Photo: CNDC-Angers?Robert Swinston by

Page 48
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
NOTE: Remember that a number of the words listed below have meanings apart from their
dance definitions.

abstract: a dance that is not realistic or representational.

asymmetrical: the quality of two sides being unbalanced or dissimilar in terms of position, shape,
weight, or design.

archive: an organized body of records pertaining to the history of the theater. It might include
playbills, films and videotapes, photographs, and reviews of past performances among many other
forms of documentation.

balance: a state of stability with equal weight and energy on either side of a dancers center.
Balance can be achieved on one limb and in positions that look unbalanced if a dancer can
always find this center.

ballet: a form of dance which grew out of seventeenth and eighteenth century Italian and
French court dances and has been developed into a classical technique studied and performed
the world over. While ballet today is open to influences from many other types of dance
(particularly jazz and modern dance) it continues to be characterized by grace, precision of
movement, and an elaborate formal technique. Famous American ballet companies include
the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Ballet Tech
formerly called Feld Ballets/NY.

choreography: the art of creating and arranging dances. Can also refer to the dance
composition itself.

corps: a group of dancers who perform together as a unit.

duet: two dancers performing together.

energy: the potential for force in movement.

ethnic dance: a traditional dance form which is associated with a particular cultural,
national, or racial group. Brazilian, Mexican, Haitian, African, Spanish, Irish, Greek,
Sumatran, Cambodian, and Russian dance are all examples of ethnic dance forms. In many
cases (such as that of African dance), these broad categories encompass many different
cultures and, therefore, many different types of dance.

flamenco: a style of dancing, characteristic of the Andalusian Gypsies, that is strongly

rhythmic and involves vigorous actions, as clapping the hands and stamping the feet.

Page 49
floor pattern: the spatial design of a dance on stage.

force: the energy expended in a movement.

improvisation: movement performed spontaneously, extemporaneously, without preparation

or planning.

jazz dance: called the truly American dance idiom, it developed through the influences of
jazz music, African American and Latin dance forms, modern dance, and ballet. One famous
jazz dance company is the Giordano Dance Company. Jazz dance is seen on Broadway
stages and dance companies, such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, maintain jazz
dances in their repertory.

legato: the quality of music or movement being sustained and smooth; the opposite of
staccato.

modern dance: a dance idiom that originated in America and Europe at the turn of the
century as a rebellion against the formalism of classical ballet. Modern dance encompasses
many different forms and techniques, which are united only by the pursuit of individual
expression through movement. While modern dance constantly reinvents itself as young
dancers and choreographers learn from and break away from their predecessors, some
of its traditional hallmarks are: stylized movement vocabularies; clear structures; the use of
theatrical elements such as props, sets, costumes and special lighting; and dramatic, literary,
psychological, and emotional themes. Some famous modern dance companies are: the Martha
Graham Dance Company, the Limn Dance Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and
the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

motif: a single movement or a short movement phrase that is used as a source or spark for the
development of a larger dance. The motif contains the essence of the complete piece.

phrase: the smallest unit of choreography which still has a beginning, middle, and end.

port de bras: movement of the arms in dance. In French, this phrase literally means carriage
of the arms.

post-modern dance: a dance form that has developed since the early 1960s as a response
to institutionalized modern dance. While, as with modern dance, post-modern choreographers
are not necessarily aligned in terms of their aesthetics, some common characteristics include:
the elimination of dramatic, literary, or emotional themes; the use of untrained performers; the
incorporation of tasks, games, sports, play, simple walking and running in the choreography;
the use of text and film during performance; an interest in process over product; un-traditional
relationships between performers and audiences; and the merging of high art with popular
traditions. Some dance companies that are considered post-modern as opposed to modern
are: Trisha Brown Company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and Doug Varone Dance
Company.

quartet: four dancers performing together.

Page 50
repertory: the group of dances that are actively performed by a company.

representational: dance which tends, in some way, to be realistic or which tells a story.

shape: the lines of bodies or patterns in space, whether they are curved and circular or
straight and angular; whether they are symmetrical or asymmetrical; whether they are high or
low.

social dance: a dance performed by groups of people primarily for their own entertainment.
Folk dancing, ballroom dancing, and club dancing all fall into this category. However, many
social dances have become, over time, dance forms that are performed for audiences.

soloist: a dancer who performs alone or set apart from other dancers on stage.

space: the area in which a dancer moves, encompassing level, direction, floor pattern, shape,
and design.

staccato: the quality of movement or music characterized by sudden starts and stops; the
opposite of legato.
support: to bear the weight (or part of the weight) of another dancer.

symmetrical: the quality of being balanced in terms of position, shape, weight, or design on
both sides of a central axis.

tap dance: Tap dance has roots in Irish dancing, English clogging and Juba dance. It is
believed to have begun in the mid-1800s during the rise of minstrel shows. William Henry
Lane aka Master Juba, became one of the few black performers to join an otherwise white
minstrel troupe, and is widely considered to be one of the most famous forebears of tap dance.
Tap dance is characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of
percussion.

technique: a set of skills which dancers develop to perform a certain dance form, such as
ballet or tap dance. Sometimes, particularly in modern dance, choreographers become famous
for their own dance techniques: Martha Graham, Jos Limn, and Merce Cunningham are all
well known for creating and passing on their own movement idioms.

text: words that are spoken during a performance.

theme: the underlying or essential subject of a dance.

time: a basic element of dance, which involves speed, duration, and rhythm.

trio: three dancers performing together on stage.

unity: the ordering of all elements in a dance so that each contributes to a coherent whole.

Page 51
RESOURCES
BOOKS
WEBSITES
MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARIES
TECHNOLOGY

For Elementary Readers

Cooper, Elisha. Dance! New York: Greenwillow Books, 2001.
Gruska, Denise, and Amy Wummer. The only boy in ballet class.
Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2007.
Kane, John and Pilobolus. The human alphabet.
New Milford, Conn.: Roaring Brook Press, 2005.
Milne, Simon, and Chantal Stewart. The dance teacher.
Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2013.
Reich, Susanna, and Ral Coln. Jos!: born to dance: the story of Jos Limn.
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005.
Readers 10-14 years old
Dempsey, Kristy, and Floyd Cooper. A dance like starlight: one ballerinas dream.
New York: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2014.
Gourley, Catherine, and Val Paul Taylor. Who Was Maria Tallchief?
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2002.
Greene, Carol. Katherine Dunham: Black dancer. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1992.
Isadora, Rachel. Isadora dances. New York: Viking, 1998.
Nathan, Amy. Meet the dancers: from ballet, Broadway, and beyond.
New York: Henry Holt, 2008.
Parish, James Robert. Twyla Tharp: dancer and choreographer.
New York: Ferguson, 2005.
Solway, Andrew. African and Asian dance. Chicago, Ill.: Heinemann Library, 2009.
Varriale, Jim. Kids dance: the students of Ballet Tech.
New York: Dutton Childrens Books, 1999.
Young Adult Readers
Copeland, Misty. Life in motion: an unlikely ballerina.
New York: Simon & Shuster: 2014
Dagenais, Mande. Starting your career as a dancer.
New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.
DePrince, Michaela, and Elaine DePrince. Taking Flight: From war orphan to star ballerina.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014
Gogerly, Liz. Street dance. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2012.
Jones, Bill T., and Susan Kuklin. Dance. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998.
Kessel, Kristin. Martha Graham. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2006.
Lefevre, Camille. The Dance Bible: the complete resource for aspiring dancers.
New York: Barrons Educational Series, Incorporated, 2012.

Page 52
Biographies
The Library of American Choreographers offers a series short biography books (48 pages) with
pictures in paperback released in 2005. Grades 5 and up.
Agnes DeMille by Rachel Gaskill
Alvin Ailey by Judy Gitenstein
Bob Fosse by Jenai Cotcher
George Balanchine by Brian Seibert
Jerome Robbins by Brian Seibert
Jos Limn by Jennifer Cady
Martha Graham by Kristin Kessel
Twyla Tharp by Amelia Derezinski

Arts/Dance Education
Carline, Sally. Lesson plans for creative dance: connecting with literature, arts, and music.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2011.
Davis, Jessica Hoffmann. Why our schools need the arts.
New York: Teachers College Press,2008.
Emery, Lynne Fauley. Black dance: from 1619 to today. 2nd rev. ed.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Co., 1988.
Greene, Maxine. Releasing the imagination: essays on education, the arts, and social change.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995.
HDoubler, Margaret Newell. Dance a creative art experience.
Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.
Liu, Eric, and Scott Brandon. Imagination first: Unlocking the power of possibility.
San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2009.
Oliver, Wendy (editor). Dance & Culture: An introductory reader.
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 2009.
Randall, Jill Holman. Dance Education: 55 Objects and ideas for new preschool-12th grade
teaching artists.
Creative Space Publishing, 2014.
Sousa, David A., and Thomas Pilecki. From STEM to STEAM: using brain-compatible strategies
to integrate
the arts. New York: SAGE Publications, 2013.
Strauss, Marc, and Myron Howard Nadel. Looking at contemporary dance: a guide for the
internet age.
Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Co., 2012.

Websites
Dance Media. http://www.dancemedia.com
Dance Magazine Online. http://www.dancemagazine.com
National Dance Educators Organization. http://www.ndeo.org
National Museum of Dance. http://www.dancemuseum.org
New York Arts in Education Roundtable. http://www.nycaieroundable.org
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa

Page 53
Movies and Documentaries Teachers must preview a DVD prior to student viewing.

Beyond the steps. Dir. Phil Bertelsen. Perf. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Docurama
Films: 2007. DVD. Follows Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater during a pivotal time in its
history as the company ventures abroad while establishing new roots in NYC. 86 min NR.

Dancing for Mr. B. Dir. Anne Belle. Perf. six Balanchine Ballerinas / Moylan, Tallchief, Ashley,
Kistler, Hayden, Kent. Kultur, 2008. DVD. Documentary of six Balanchine ballerinas and shows
them keeping alive the ballets and the inspiration they learned from him. 82 min NR.

First position. Dir. Bess Kargman. Perf. Aran Bell, Gaya Bommer Yemini.
Elite Film, 2013. DVD. Documentary follows six young dancers from around the world as they
prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix the most prestigious ballet competition. 95 min NR.

Kumpana. Dir. Katina Dunn. Perf. Antonio De Jerez, Jose Tanaka.

Contemporary Arts Media, 2011. DVD. Flamenco musicians in Los Angeles.61 min NR.
Mad hot ballroom. Dir. Marilyn Agrelo. Perf. Heather Berman, Emma Therese Biegacki.
Paramount Pictures, 2005. DVD. 11yr old NYC public school kids journey into the world of
ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves along the way. 1hr 46min PG.

Maos last dancer. Dir. Bruce Greenwood. Perf. Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood. Twentieth Century
Fox Home Entertainment, 2011. DVD. Fascinating tale of Li Cunxin, a peasant boy from rural
China who beats impossible odds to become world-renowned ballet dancer. 117 min PG.

Merce Cunningham - A lifetime in dance. Dir. Charles Atlas. Perf. John Cage, Merce
Cunningham. Winstar Home Entertainment/Thirteen/WNET/, 2001. DVD. Excellent resource
for the dance teacher at any level. Very broad overview of his work and company. 90 min NR.

Never stand still. Dir. Nan Penman. Perf. Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Suzanne Farrell,
Mark Morris, Judith Jamison. First Run Features, 2012. DVD. Filmed at iconic Jacobs Pillow
Dance Festival, this documentary features performances and interviews by world-renowned
dancers. Rare archival footage included. 74 min NR.

Only when I dance. Dir. Beadie Finzi. Perf. Irlan Santos da Silva. Film Movement, 2010. DVD.
Documentary follows two teenage ballet dancers aspiring to leave their violent favela homes in
Brazil to join a revolutionary dance company. 78 min NR.

Pina. Dir. Wim Wenders. Perf. Pina Bausch. Cineart, 2011. DVD. The boundless imagination
and physical marvels of the works by German modern-dance pioneer Pina Bausch leap off the
screen in this exuberant tribute. 103 min PG.

Rize. Dir. David LaChapelle. Perf. Larry Berry, Tommy the Clown. Lions Gate Home
Entertainment, 2005. DVD. Chronicles a dance movement that rises out of South Central Los
Angeles with roots in clowning and street youth culture. 1hr 26 min PG-13.

Page 54
War dance. Dir. Sean Fine. Perf. Dominic, Nancy, Rose, Jane Adong, Kitara Coldwell.
Thinkfilm, LLC, 2008. DVD. Set in war-ravaged Northern Uganda, the real-life story about a
group of children whose love of music and their historic journey to compete in a prestigious
music festival shows a tale about the power of the human spirit and triumph against tremendous
odds. 107 min PG-13.

Page 55
APPENDIX
BLUEPRINT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN DANCE (Revised 2015)
FORMS

Introduction to the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance

The standards contained in this Blueprint are grounded in the National and New York State
Learning Standards for the Arts, and are addressed in every facet of the document. This
Blueprint is distinguished from the New York State Learning Standards by the way teaching and
learning are extended into the specific circumstances of New York City schoolsmost notably,
the unique collaboration between the schools and the New York cultural community to forge this
plan. New York City arts organizations and their funders play an ongoing role in making the
arts available to schools. The schools have always depended on the values and commitment of
these organizations, and it is only with the collaborative spirit of the entire arts community that
this plan for arts education can succeed.

For Teaching and Learning in

Grades PreK - 12

Page 56 Page 46
Introduction

E very New York City public school is capable of supporting an

excellent arts program in which arts specialists are key players, the
school community is actively involved, and the resources of the citys
Traditionally, arts curricula have been developed either as subject-based
or as outcome-based models. Subject-based curricula define the goals
for the content to be learned. Outcome-based curricula define what the
cultural community are maximized. The recent changes in the New York goals are for the learnerswhat they should know and what skills they
City public schools have afforded an opportunity to make the arts central should possess. The new plan includes both approaches, and will, as it
to the education that all children receive, regardless of the school they evolves, provide clear and rigorous forms of assessment based on the
attend. This Blueprint points the way. best practices offered in the field. It contains strong studio strandsin
which students paint, draw, sing, act, dance and playas well as aesthetic
As the term blueprint suggests, this document is a map that sets a
education experiences that include learning about the art form in its
course for the Department of Educations strategic plan to provide an
context and in the world. Instead of an exclusive ideology, an inclusive
excellent arts education for every child in New York City. The standards
plan allows arts teachers to select the approaches and the content that
contained in this Blueprint are grounded in the National and New York
works best for them.
State Learning Standards for the Arts, and are addressed in every facet of
the document. This Blueprint is distinguished from the New York State
Learning Standards by the way teaching and learning are extended into
the specific circumstances of New York City schoolsmost notably, the
unique collaboration between the schools and the New York cultural
community to forge this plan. New York City arts organizations and their
funders play an ongoing role in making the arts available to schools. The
schools have always depended on the values and commitment of these
organizations, and it is only with the collaborative spirit of the entire arts
community that this plan for arts education can succeed.

1 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

The Five Strands of Learning in Dance
If all children in every school from their entrance until their graduation were given the opportunity to experience dance as a creative
art, and if their dancing kept pace with their developing physical, mental, and spiritual needs, the enrichment of their adult life might reach
beyond the results we can now contemplate.Margaret N. HDoubler

Dance Making Working With Community and Cultural Resources

By exploring, creating, replicating and observing dance, students
build their technical and expressive skills, develop their artistry and a
unique personal voice in dance, and experience the power of dance to
communicate. They understand dance as a universal language and a
legacy of expression in every culture.
Developing Dance Literacy
Students develop a working knowledge of dance language and
aesthetics, and apply it to analyzing, evaluating, documenting, creating
and performing dance. They recognize their role as articulate, literate
dancers in communicating about dance to their families, schools and
communities.
Making Connections
By investigating historical, social and cultural contexts, and by exploring
common themes and principles connecting dance with other disciplines,
students enrich their creative work and understand the significance of
dance in the evolution of human thought and expression.
Students broaden their perspective by working with professional artists
and arts organizations representing diverse cultural and personal
approaches to dance, and by seeing performances of widely varied dance
styles and genres. Active partnerships that combine school and local
community resources with the full range of New York Citys dance and
cultural institutions create a fertile ground for students dance learning
and creativity.
Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning
Students consider the range of dance and dance-related professions as
they think about their goals and aspirations, and understand how the
various professions support and connect with each other. They carry
physical, social and cognitive skills learned in dance, and an ability to
appreciate and enjoy participating in dance, throughout their lives.

2 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

Student Development and Dance
Early Childhood and the Grade 2 Benchmark:
Movement is integral to the learning process of young children.
Inquisitive and active, they are quick to absorb information through their
senses, and eager to engage in physical explorations. Dance gives them an
aesthetic avenue for creatively expressing feelings and imaginative stories
informed by their inner fantasy worlds and their real lives. Children at
this stage are whole-body movers who tend toward perpetual motion;
balancing and holding stillness are major accomplishments. Structured
dance experiences help them to develop the following skills and
understandings:
n Physical: Self-control, refinement of gross motor skills, development of
fine motor skills, and understanding of the relationship between their
bodies and the space around them.
n Social/affective: Listening, responding, taking turns and working
cooperatively in a group.
n Cognitive: Recognizing, recalling, identifying, differentiating, and
sequencing movements.
n Aesthetic: Choosing and expressing preference for dance movements.
n Metacognitive: Reflecting on their own and classmates dancing.
3 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Elementary Students and the Grade 5 Benchmark:
In upper elementary school, children become increasingly keen
observers of their world. Capable of complex patterns of logic, they like
to analyze and define people, activities, situations and events. They enjoy
inventing games, working cooperatively on group projects, and creating
secret codes and personal languages. At this stage they have developed
a more detailed sense of their bodies movement capabilities as regards
effort in space and time, and will challenge themselves to achieve new
skills in dance. Group dance experiences with longer-term resolutions
that incorporate the opportunity to practice independently or in small
groups give students a chance to express themselves in a unique and
self-affirming way. Ongoing participation in dance classes develops the
following skills and understandings:
n Physical: Rhythmic patterning, fine motor control, isolation of body
parts, and transitions between movements.
n Social/affective: Initiating, cooperating, co-planning, and respecting
others opinions.
n Cognitive: Classifying, interpreting, comparing, analyzing and
generating movement.
n Aesthetic: Revising and refining movements, and recognizing varied
notions of beauty in dance.
n Metacognitive: Reflecting on their own dancing in a wider cross-
cultural context.
Continued on next page
2nd Grade

2nd Grade

Dance Making
Develop Skills and
Techniques
Through participation in dance
classes, students achieve the
ability to:
n articulate body parts, shapes
and actions.
n balance on various parts of the
body.
n execute basic locomotor
(traveling) movements.
n control traveling and freezing,
starting and stopping.
n move with a range of dynamics.
n understand personal and
general space.
n move in different levels (low,
middle, high) and directions
(forward, back, side, up,
down).
n move in straight, circular,
curved and zigzag pathways in
the air and through space.
n understand basic forms of
relating to other dancers (e.g.,
toward, away, contact).
n dance on beats, tempi, accents
and simple rhythms.
n replicate and recall movements
and patterns.
n execute simple, basic elements
of various dance forms.
Suggested activities:
n Practice structured warm-ups.
n Explore and repeat movement.
n Learn simple dances.
Continued on following page
10 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Improvise
Students explore dance movement
through improvisation,
demonstrating the ability to:
n work with focus and
concentration.
n invent original body
movements in response to
music, images, words, ideas or
symbols.
n distinguish a range of
movement qualities to express
feelings, characteristics,
sensations and environments.
n vary the size of movements.
n combine levels, directions and
pathways with body actions.
n work alone or with a partner.
n respond to musical mood,
tempo and beat.
Suggested activities:
n Explore original movement
and dance concepts through
activities such as follow-the-
leader, mirroring, shadowing,
partnering.
n Improvise in response to a
stimulus.
n Improvise to solve a movement
problem.
n Improvise with props (e.g., balls,
hoops, scarves).
Continued on following page
Choreograph
Students contribute to a class
dance, demonstrating the ability
to:
n begin and end a dance in
stillness.
n choose and order the
movements in a sequence with
a beginning, middle and end.
n vary the sequence through
reordering and use of dance
elements.
n recall, repeat and practice the
sequence.
n use tools such as invented
pictures and motif symbols
to represent, manipulate and
remember dance experiences.
n cooperate with a partner or
small group.
n understand the concepts of
solo, duet and group.
n understand the concepts of
unison and counterpoint.
Suggested activities:
n Explore images that suggest
a beginning, middle and
end; compose a short dance
phrasea movement
sentencewith a beginning,
middle and end.
n Learn another childs
movement sentence; vary its
dynamics, timing and spacing.
n Participate in group decisions
about class choreography.
Continued on following page
Perform
Students perform, demonstrating
the ability to:
n recall, repeat and refine
movement sequences.
n dance with fullness of
movement.
n dance with expressiveness.
n dance in coordination with a
musical beat and mood.
n understand entering and
leaving the performance
space.
n explain the meanings within
the dances performed.
n understand appropriate
performer and audience
behavior.
Suggested activities:
n Perform for peers in dance
class.
n Perform for students and
family at school assemblies and
celebrations.
Continued on following page
Dance
Grade 2
Benchmarks
Through movement ex-
ploration, observation,
replication and recall,
students develop kines-
thetic and self-aware-
ness; understand dance
concepts; and build
fine and large motor
skills. They invent dance
Entry points for teaching:
n an element of dance such
movements to create
as Body Shapes and Body their own short dances;
Actions
learn basic vocabulary
n a theme from students lives
such as My Family or My Pet of various dance forms
n a theme related to social and simple dances;
studies such as Native
American Myths or My reflect upon their own
Community and others work; and
n a traditional cultural dance
such as Kou Kou (West
understand the purpose,
Africa), Ribbon Dance routine and behavior of
(China,) Bon (Japan) or
Native American Friendship
a dance class.
Dance
n a poem or narrative such as
those by Shel Silverstein (A
Light in the Attic) or
Ezra Jack Keats (Pet Show!)
Dance Making
n a visual art work such as
those by Van Gogh (Starry
Night) or Calder (mobiles)
n an environmental theme
such as The Seasons or The
Ocean
n a musical element or quality
such as Legato/Staccato or
Tempo

Dance Making
Develop Skills and
Techniques
continued
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Evaluate and revise dance skills
by observing other students,
engaging in class discussion,
following simple class-created
rubrics, and responding to
teacher guidance. Consider
questions such as: In what ways
can my body move? different movements? and in what ways, might a dance
11 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
continued
Improvise
continued
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Evaluate and revise improvisation
by observing other students, and
applying ideas generated through
reflection and class discussion to
further movement explorations.
Consider questions such as: Why
do different individuals create
Choreograph
continued
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Evaluate and revise dance
composition using observation,
discussion, drawings, video, and
simple rubrics designed by the
class. Consider questions such as:
In what ways might we improve
our dance? Consider questions such as: Why,
Dance
Perform
continued
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Evaluate informal in-class
performances and video evidence
of student performances,
using observation, discussion,
drawings, video, and simple
rubrics designed by the class.
look different to an audience from
the way it feels to a performer?
Dance Making
continued

Developing Dance Literacy
Understand Dance as a
Means of Expression and
Communication Dance Major Works and Artists
Students understand that dance
is a special way of expressing and
communicating, demonstrating
the ability to:
n describe how dance
communicates and expresses
feelings, a story or an idea.
n speculate on why music makes
people want to dance.
n use descriptive language
to distinguish between
contrasting movements, both
as performer and observer.
n recognize the ways that dance
can celebrate or mark an
important event.
Suggested activities:
n Contribute to a list of the
reasons people dance, sharing
personal dance experiences.
n Explore questions such as:
How does it feel to dance with
sharp movements? Smooth
movements? In
what ways
do these
movements
affect our
feelings when
we watch
them? What else
moves as sharply
or smoothly as
the dancers we
observed? What
images did watching
the dancers bring to mind?
12 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Apply Dance Vocabulary,
Terminology and Symbols Communicate About
Students develop a basic dance
vocabulary, demonstrating the
ability to:
n use words and symbols to
describe and name dance
activities and ideas.
n respond to action words and
symbols with appropriate
movement.
n express basic elements of dance
by naming and demonstrating
different body parts, shapes,
actions, dynamics, directions,
levels, paths and relationships.
n name different dance styles
(e.g., Ballet, Tap).
n understand and demonstrate
choreography ideas (e.g., solo,
duet, unison).
n name dance professions (e.g.,
dancer, choreographer, dance
teacher).
n use basic motif symbols or
invented images to represent
movement experiences.
Suggested activities:
n Contribute to a class dance
folder.
n Contribute to a class word
wall.
n Participate in a dance
activity with motif symbols
used individually and in
combination.
To sing well and to dance well
is to be well-educated.
Analyze, Critique and
Students respond in words,
movement or pictures,
demonstrating the ability to:
n recall movements and general
impression.
n notice and describe elements of
spatial design such as a circle
formation or a line of dancers.
identify the theme or subject of
n
a dance.
n understand and explain a
dance based on a story.
recall elements of the music
n
and costumes.
n express personal feelings about
the dance.
Suggested activities:
n Develop guidelines with peers
and teacher for expressing
opinions about dance, and
follow them during class
discussions.
n Write and draw in response
to participating in dance, and
post responses on the school
bulletin board.
Travel
in any ion
direct
Flexion
Dance
Identiify and Compare
Dance Styles, Genres,
Students understand that there
are different approaches to and
Grade 2
forms of dance, demonstrating Benchmarks
that they:
Students learn and
n comprehend that apply dance vocabu-
choreographers are artists
who make dances in response lary and symbols to
to experiences, feelings and respond to and make
observations about their
world. observations about
n recognize that dance. They are
choreographers use
both original and introduced to
borrowed movements. the many ways
n perceive that traditional
and social dances from
people dance
different countries have around the
different styles.
world, and
n distinguish a choreographed
theatrical dance from a discover dances
traditional or social dance. unique expressive
power.
Suggested activities:
n Contribute to a student
Developing Dance Literacy
choreographers chart, listing
the activities students engage
in when creating dances.
n Respond verbally and in
movement to works by artists
such as Agnes De Mille
Dancing
(Rodeo), George Balanchine
(Nutcracker), and Donald
is poetry with
McKayle (Games).
arms and legs.
Charles Baudelaire
Plato

Making Connections
Understand Dance
History and the Social and
Cultural Significance of
Dance (Theatrical, Ritual &
Social Dances)
By actively observing the
movement of other students,
people and things; and learning
dances from various cultures and
historical periods, students will:
n apply dance concepts to the
world outside the classroom.
n recognize that every student
has a cultural background and
dance is part of it.
n understand that people
danced differently in different
historical periods.
n explain why dance can have
different functions.
Suggested activities:
n Interview parents/guardians
about the dance traditions of
their childhoods, and share
with the class.
n Interview classmates to find
out whether and in what ways
dance is a regular part of their
family experience.
n Find examples outside the
classroom of some of the
movement words on the class
word wall.
n Learn dances marking
holidays, celebrations and
traditions of various cultures.
13 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Connect Dance to Other
Arts and Disciplines Connection With Dance and Well-Being
Through activities including
other disciplines in dance
study, students will illuminate
understanding of dance,
demonstrating the ability to:
n respond to other arts
and disciplines in dance
movement.
n respond to dance in another art
medium.
n understand how other art
media combine with dance.
Suggested activities:
Understand dance concepts by
learning or inventing dances
using:
Music: rhythms.
Visual Art: movement, color and
spatial design in a painting (e.g.,
Van Goghs Starry Night).
Theater: character-based
movement.
Language Arts: actions,
dynamics or pathways drawn
from words and images in a book
(e.g., Going for a Walk With a
Line by Douglas MacAgy and
Elizabeth MacAgy, My Mama
Had a Dancing Heart by Libba
Moore Gray); tense; grammar.
Math: geometric shapes in the
body or in group formations.
Science: movement qualities
found in natural elements in
different seasons; movement
qualities of various animals; life
cycles.
Utilize Technology in
Students respond to and discuss
videotapes of student and
professional dance performances,
demonstrating the ability to:
n identify a video recorder as a
moving image camera.
n discuss the difference between
a moving image and a
photograph, and between
dancing and posing.
n speculate on the possible uses
of dance video.
n recognize and describe
performance elements on
video.
Suggested activities:
n View and respond to a
videotape of a class session.
n Share a videotape of a class
performance with the school,
contributing comments about
the process.
n Discuss questions such as: Why
does a dance look different on
video than it does live?
One
may judge
a king by the state of
dancing during his
reign. Chinese proverb
Dance
Connect Dance to Health
Through participating in and
reflecting on dance, students will
Grade 2
demonstrate that they: Benchmarks
n understand the value of a Students understand the
dance warm-up and cool- significance of dance in
down.
n understand personal space their own and other cul-
and its relation to safety and tures, explore creativity in
well-being.
n understand that dance
dance in response to other
promotes strength and arts and subject themes,
flexibility in body and mind,
and why these are important to
use video technology
good health. for reflection, and relate
n understand why nutrition, dance to personal health.
good health and dance are
connected.
n understand the relationship
between breathing and
moving.
Suggested activities:
n Web the feelings created by
a dance warm-up and cool-
down. To watch us
dance is to hear our
n Contribute to a list of favorite
foods; discuss the relationship
between food, energy and
exercise. hearts speak.
n Explore and observe changes in Hopi Indian saying
Making Connections
posture and describe how they
affect mood.
n Discuss how expressing
yourself helps you feel healthy
and strong.
n Do a movement phrase
breathing normally; repeat
holding the breath; discuss the
differences.

Wo rk i n g w i t h Co m m u n i t y a n d Cu l t u ra l R e s o u rce s
Engage With Community and
Cultural Institutions, Colleges
and Universities
Through the schools participation in
partnerships with dance artists and
institutions, students will:
n identify that there are multiple
sources of dance learning, such as
the school dance specialist, a dance
teaching artist, a college dance intern,
a professional dance company.
n describe dance venues and cultural
institutions in connection with
performances.
Suggested activities:
n Prepare for performances through
dance activities and discussion of
audience behavior.
n Attend rehearsals and performances
in theaters, colleges and universities,
and community centers.
Learn dance from a dance teaching
n
artist.
n Learn dance from a college or
university dance teaching intern
assisting the dance teacher in the
classroom.
n Attend performances in school
given by dance organizations and
companies, and engage in post-
performance discussions.
14 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Use Dance Research Resources Share Dance Experiences in
Students become aware of print, video
and online resources for dance research,
demonstrating the ability to:
n use the school library to find dance
books and videos.
n use photographs in magazines and
videos as sources of dance images.
n access dance websites in guided
sessions.
Suggested activities:
n In the school library, look for books
with the word dance, dancer or
dancing in the title, or with dance
as the subject.
n Participate in a class tour of the
Dance Collection at the New York
Public Library for the Performing
Arts at Lincoln Center. Consider the
question: What is special about this
library?
n Find images of dance in dance
publications and appropriate
websites.
and Between Schools
Through in-school experiences in dance
class, between classes or with visiting
schools, students will:
n understand that dance is part of the
school day.
n describe how dance benefits the
school.
n demonstrate dance learning to other
students.
n share dance learning with parents.
n discuss dance with the classroom
teacher.
n share dance experiences with an older
dance buddy.
Suggested activities:
n Respond to a video of dances
from another school through
creative choreography, videotaped
commentary, pictures or writing.
n Mentoring: Identify and examine a
variety of role models, distinguishing
and discriminating behavior that
exemplifies a mentor in dance;
partner with a 5th grade dance
buddy.
Dance
Grade 2
Benchmarks
Through school partnerships
with dance institutions,
teaching artists, colleges and
universities and local, bor-
ough and city dance venues,
children extend and enliven
their experience as dance
learners.
Working With Community and Cultural Resources
Entry points for teaching
n an element of dance such as Body Actions
n a theme from students lives such as My Family
Let that day
n a theme related to Social Studies and/or
Language Arts such as Native American
be lost to us on
myths
which we did not
n a traditional cultural dance such as Kou
Kou (West Africa), Ribbon Dance (China,)
dance once!
Native American Friendship Dance
n a visual art work such as Van Gogh
Friedrich Nietzsche
(Starry Night)
n a poem or narrative such as those
by Shel Silverstein (A light in
the Attic), Ezra Jack Keats (Pet
Show)
n an environmental theme
such as The Seasons
n a musical element
such as Legato/
Staccato

Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning
Learn About Careers in and
Related to Dance
Through an introduction to jobs in and
related to the dance field, students will:
n understand that there are people who
make their living in professions in
and related to dance.
n identify basic professions in dance.
n identify basic professions related to
dance.
Suggested activities:
n Ask the dance teacher about her/his
own dance career; understand that
teaching dance is a dance profession.
n Participate in a guest visit by profes-
sional dancers or choreographers,
view a short presentation of their
work, learn some of the movements,
and hear them speak about their life
in dance.
n Participate in a hands-on workshop
with a professional in a dance-related
field like a musician or costume
designer.
n Contribute to a chart of professions
in and related to dance, learning the
definitions of:
dancer
choreographer
dance teacher
composer
costume designer
15 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Set and Work Toward Goals Value Dance as a Source of
Through participating in dance over
time, students will:
n identify how coming to dance
class and participating fully is a
preparation for being a dancer.
n discuss what dance class teaches
children about concentrating,
working hard, thinking about how
things work, creating, working with
others.
Suggested activities:
n Find pictures of a baby in motion, a
toddler playing, children dancing,
and adult dancers in performance.
Create a story about how you imagine
yourself dancing when you are older.
n Contribute to a class portfolio of
student drawings and writings about
dance.
n Discuss the challenges of working
with a partner, and devise
cooperative strategies.
Dance
Enjoyment and Lifelong
Learning
Through participating in dance in
school on an ongoing basis, students
Grade 2
will: Benchmarks
n feel comfortable enough to dance Children are introduced
freely and spontaneously at family to a variety of careers in
gatherings.
n ask to be taken to dance and related to dance, and
performances. understand that everyone
express enjoyment of dance.
n
can continue dancing and
n express pride in student dance
performances. enjoying dance throughout
n value dance as an integral part of life. their lives. They realize
Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning
that being a dance artist
Suggested activities:
n Participate in a parent-child
involves processes that they
intergenerational dance event. are already practicing.
n Visit and observe a 5th grade dance
class.
n Invite family to student dance Dance first.
performances.
n Visit a local dance studio.
Think later. Its the
n Attend dance performances at a local natural order.
theater. Samuel Beckett

Te a c h i n g T h r o u g h t h e F i v e S t r a n d s
Dance Making
Develop Skills and
Techniques
Build body awareness,
cooperation, creativity and
expressive skills by inventing
and recalling body actions to
express the images and themes
of Rainbow Crow. Learn the
movements of the Native
American Friendship Dance,
building the ability to reproduce
and retain steps in sequence.
Improvise
Find action words in the story
of Rainbow Crow such as fly,
climb, run and gather, and Symbols
explore them with various parts
of the body, shapes, actions,
dynamics, levels and spatial
paths. Invent original movements
to express the images and
meanings of the Native American
Friendship Dance.
Choreograph
Create a movement sentence
using movements generated
in response to action words,
descriptive words, themes, and
images from the story of Rainbow
Crow. Contribute it to a class
dance.
Perform
Perform the Rainbow Crow
dance and the Native American
Friendship Dance for another
class; share responses. Practice
and refine the dances and
perform at a school assembly for
peers and families, demonstrating
cooperation and concentration.
16 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Devoloping Dance Literacy
Understand Dance as a Means of Expression
and Communication
Discuss the dance to explore questions such as:
n How does this story explain natural events?
n How are the characters portrayed in movement?
n How does the dance express the story differently
from words and pictures?
n Why might different people interpret the same
dance differently?
n Why do people dance in many different ways?
n How have we participated in this unit as dancers
and choreographers?
Apply Dance Vocabulary, Terminology and
Contribute descriptive vocabulary and action words
drawn from the story of Rainbow Crow to a class
list. Create a movement sentence of three to five
body actions inspired by these words. With peers,
notate the movement sentence using motif symbols
or invented images. Use dance words to describe the
movements, patterns and formations of the Native
American Friendship Dance.
Analyze, Critique and Communicate About
Dance
Observe the movement sentences created by other
students for Rainbow Crow, and discuss the images
that the shapes, actions and movement qualities
suggest. View student performances of the Native
American Friendship Dance, live professional
performances of Native American dances (e.g.,
the American Indian Thunderbird Dancers, the
Mohawk Native American Singers & Dancers), or
videotapes (e.g., Native American Mens & Womens
Dance Styles), and web key characteristics of Native
American dance styles.
Identify and Compare Dance Styles, Genres,
Major Works and Artists
Learn movements from two styles of dance, such
as a Native American Friendship Dance and an
Israeli Hora. Identify and compare basic movement
elements and spatial formations.
Dance
2nd Grade Sample Thematic Unit:
Making Connections Students make imaginative connections by
exploring and inventing body movements to
create an original class dance inspired by
Rainbow Crow, a Native American Lenape myth
Understand Dance History and the Social retold by Nancy Van Laan. They integrate learn-
and Cultural Significance of Dance
Discuss how cultures respond to the changes in ing the Native American Friendship Dance into
the seasons through stories, songs and dances. the unit to support their creative work.
Ask parents about dances from their culture that
celebrate the seasons or mark events such as planting
Working With Community Exploring Careers and
or the harvest.
and Cultural Resources Lifelong Learning
Connect Dance to Other Arts and Disciplines
Music: Recognize, clap, and move in time to the
beat, tempo, and rhythms of the Native American
Friendship Dance. Engage With Community Learn About Careers in and
and Cultural Institutions, Related to Dance
Visual Art: Contribute to the creation of simple Colleges and Universities Participate as a dancer in the
costumes and sets for the Rainbow Crow dance, Work with a teaching artist Native American Friendship
referring to Native American depictions of animals and/or the school dance specialist Dance. Participate as a
in drawings, paintings, jewelry, rugs, masks and
to learn the Native American choreographer and as a dancer
headpieces. Friendship Dance. Participate in the Rainbow Crow dance.
in school partnerships with Contribute to creating the
Theater: Create a characteristic sound and
Native American song and costumes for both dances.
movement for each animal in the dance.
dance groups (e.g., the American Discuss and understand the
Language Arts: Create a dance narrative based on Indian Thunderbird Dancers, the difference between the roles
action words from the book. Mohawk Native American Singers of choreographer, dancer and
& Dancers). Attend a powwow costume designer.
Math: Visually represent counts and groups in the held in New York City.
dance. Set and Work Toward Goals
Use Dance Research Set short-term goals such as
Science: Use observations of various animals Resources creating a movement sentence by
to create and demonstrate movements for the
Use the school library to find the end of a class period. Imagine
dance. books based on Native American the next dance that you would
myths such as Rainbow Crow and like to create and describe it.
Utilize Technology in Connection With
Jumping Mouse, and books on
Dance Value Dance as a Source of
Native American dances. Visit the
View a videotape of students practicing the Native Enjoyment and Lifelong
Museum of the American Indian
American Friendship Dance. Notice and discuss the ex- Learning
to learn about Native American
ecution of the dance, and revise performance accordingly. Invite parents/caregivers to a
dances, songs, drumming and
culture. class practice or a performance
View a videotape of animals to help find animal
of Rainbow Crow and the Native
movements for the Rainbow Crow dance. Discuss the
Share Dance Experiences in American Friendship Dance.
qualities that characterize the ways different animals
School and Between Schools Teach parents/caregivers some of
move (e.g., stealthily, suddenly, lazily, fiercely) and
Discuss the Native American the steps.
explore in movement.
Friendship Dance and the
Connect Dance to Health and Well-Being Rainbow Crow class dance with
Discuss how various animals move, considering the classroom teacher. Perform
questions such as: What parts of their bodies need to the dances for other grades and/
be strong or quick? Relate to human movement. or parents.
Discuss how friends work together to solve a
problem, and why this contributes to individual and
community well-being.
5th Grade

5th Grade

Dance Making
Develop Skills and
Techniques
Through participation in dance
classes, students achieve the
ability to:
n demonstrate a variety of
extensions and flexions, limb
rotations, stretches, swings,
bends and twists.
n exhibit control in balance (two
feet, one foot, other body points).
execute a variety of locomotor
n actions.
movements with changing
shapes, dynamics and pathways.
n demonstrate movement
combinations in duple and
triple meters, even and uneven
rhythms.
n dance with weight shift,
transition and flow.
n apply basic partnering skills.
n build techniques and execute
combinations of elements in
various dance forms.
Suggested activities:
n Practice exercises and
combinations that build
strength, awareness,
coordination and control.
n Learn basic skills of a style.
n Explore concepts through
improvisation.
n Learn more complex dances.
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Improve dance skills and support
individual styles and personal
expression by observing other
students, engaging in discussion
using dance vocabulary, and
developing criteria with peers and
teacher. Consider questions such
as: In what ways might I do this
movement differently? generated criteria. Consider ques-
18 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Improvise Choreograph Perform
Students explore dance
movement and group dynamics,
demonstrating the ability to:
n collaborate in improvisations.
n invent solutions to movement
problems.
n distinguish symmetrical and
asymmetrical shapes.
n employ a variety of traveling
n dance with contrasting
dynamics.
n combine and layer movement
elements.
n use focus as a dance element.
n work alone, or cooperatively
with a partner or small group,
with awareness of the self in
relation to others.
n respond to musical accents and
rhythms.
Suggested activities:
n Explore structures such as
Follow the Changing Leader,
Echoing, Pass the Movement.
n Improvise collaboratively on
a theme.
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Engage in discussion using
dance vocabulary and student-
generated criteria to increase
range of exploration, to focus
improvisation, and to support
individual styles and personal
expression. Consider questions
such as: How does changing the
movement quality or speed affect
this improvisation? What are
some other ways to approach this
movement problem?
Students collaborate on
choreography, demonstrating the
ability to:
n select themes, discuss and
plan, and develop movement
in collaboration with peers, in
partners and small groups.
n create a short dance with
peers, incorporating several
movement phrases with a
beginning, middle and end.
use unison movement in
n
different directions and spatial
paths.
n make choices based on simple
choreographic structures such
as AB, ABA, canon, theme and
variation.
rehearse, evaluate, revise and
n
edit a dance in collaboration
with peers.
Suggested activity:
n Create a dance with peers,
using group formations, a
variety of locomotor and
non-locomotor movements,
expressive dynamics and
changing spatial paths.
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Revise and edit choreography
through discussion using dance
vocabulary and student-generated
criteria, to support individual
styles and personal expression.
Consider questions such as: Why
did we make these movement and
spatial choices?
Students perform, demonstrating
the ability to:
n reproduce complex sequences
accurately.
n remember a dance with
multiple parts and internal
entrances and exits.
n dance with focus and intent.
n dance with a range of
expressive qualities.
n dance with responsiveness to
rhythm, tempo and mood of
music.
n work in silence or in relation
to text.
n exhibit self-awareness and
awareness of the audience in
performance.
n dance with sensitivity to an
ensemble.
n demonstrate awareness of cul-
tural tradition and style or
genre.
improve performance through
n
repetition and correction.
n understand stage directions.
n consistently exhibit appropriate
behavior in rehearsal and
performance.
Suggested activities:
n Perform for peers in class.
n Perform at school assemblies
and functions.
n Perform at local community
organizations.
Respond, Reflect, Revise
Discuss in-class and stage perfor-
mances, using dance vocabulary,
and evaluate according to student-
tions such as: What do we need
to do and think about in order to
dance together as a group?
Dance
Grade 5
Benchmarks
Through ongoing
participation in dance,
students develop
strength, flexibility,
and endurance. They
layer compositional
elements and select
Entry points for teaching:
n an element of dance such
themes for group cho-
as Levels & Directions or reography, apply their
Pathways in Space
increasing awareness
n an introduction to technique
or style such as Modern of dance forms as they
Dance, Ballet or Tap learn more complex
a theme from students lives
dances, demonstrate
n
such as Games or Dreams
n a theme related to social self-initiative, and col-
studies such as the American
Civil War or Latin America
laborate actively with
n a traditional cultural dance others in class, rehears-
such as La Bomba (Puerto al and performance.
Rico), Flamenco Sevillanas
(Spain), Atan (Afghanistan),
Buzzard Lope (American Civil
War), or American Square
Dance or Reel
n a poem or narrative such as
those by Roald Dahl (The
BFG) or Maya Angelou (Life
Doesnt Frighten Me)
Dance Making
a visual art work such as
n
those by Jackson Pollack
(drip series) or Keith Haring
(movement figures)
an environmental theme
n
such as The Rainforest or
Volcanoes
n a musical element or quality
such as Syncopation or
Canon

Developing Dance Literacy
Understand Dance as a
Means of Expression and
Communication Dance Major Works and Artists
Students understand the concepts
narrative, themed and
abstract as they apply to dance,
demonstrating the ability to:
n recognize the difference
between a story and a theme
in dance.
n describe the movement
components of a dance and
their effect.
n recognize and demonstrate
how combining dance
elements (e.g., head or torso
toward or away from an arm
gesture) communicates images
and feelings.
n analyze the effect of areas
of the stage and facings of
performers.
n describe music and rhythms
in dance.
Suggested activities:
n Discuss what a dancer brings
to dance and what a viewer
brings to dance.
n Explore questions such as:
What is a symbol? In what
ways can dance movements be
symbols?
n Compare and contrast live or
taped performances of dances
that are narrative (e.g., Mark
Morris The Hard Nut) and
abstract (e.g., Paul Taylors
Esplanade).
19 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Apply Dance Vocabulary,
Terminology and Symbols Communicate About
Students understand, speak
and read an expanding dance
vocabulary; apply it to their
writing; and use it to enrich
their dancing, demonstrating the
ability to:
n apply contrasting dance words,
(e.g., point/flex, round/arch).
n demonstrate and invent a
wide range of contrasting
action words (e.g., pull/push,
fall/recover) and descriptive
words (e.g., gliding/bouncy,
heavy/light).
understand general dance
n
concepts (e.g., parallel, turned
out, positions of the feet).
n name styles, genres, artists,
companies, dance professions.
n use vocabulary specific to a
dance style (e.g., Ballet: pli,
relev, port de bras; Flamenco:
golpe, zapateado, braceo,
compas, palmas).
understand choreographic
n
devices (e.g., repetition) and
structures (e.g., ABA, theme
and variation).
combine motif symbols or
n
invented notation to represent
simultaneous movement
n
concepts.
follow basic stage directions
(upstage, downstage, stage
right and left, wings) and stage
maps.
n understand basic information
about muscles and bones.
Suggested activity:
n Maintain a dance journal
that includes responses to
performances, vocabulary lists,
drawings and notation.
Analyze, Critique and
Students respond to dance
with an opinion supported by
examples based on collaboratively
derived criteria, demonstrating
the ability to:
n identify the date, performers
and venue.
n use dance vocabulary.
n recognize the genre or style of a
performance.
n infer the ways in which specific
movements and spatial design
create images that support the
theme of the dance.
n interpret a dance in terms of
content (narrative, themed
or abstract) and context
(theatrical, ritual or social).
n describe music and costumes.
n express personal reactions
based on specific examples.
n recognize and articulate
personal aesthetic preferences.
n express responses verbally and
in writing.
Suggested activities:
n Create a set of agreed-upon
criteria for evaluating dance
with teacher and peers.
n Use notation to analyze a dance
movement.
n Post student ads for dance
events, reviews of dance
performances and reflections
about learning or creating a
dance.
Dance
Identiify and Compare
Dance Styles, Genres,
Students identify and distinguish
several different forms of dance,
Grade 5
demonstrating the ability to: Benchmarks
n identify and describe at least Students expand their
four different dance styles and dance vocabulary of
genres.
n use dance and descriptive words and symbols
language to compare and to further refine their
contrast styles.
n recognize aesthetic elements of
understanding and
different dance styles. communication of
n identify elements that are ideas and themes in
related to students own dance
practice. dance. They practice
n recognize several major works. constructive criticism
using dance language,
Suggested activities:
n Contribute to a growing class
and explore the ele-
list of styles, genres, artists and ments that contribute
companies.
n Compare and contrast works
to expression and
by choreographers such as meaning in dance.
Jerome Robbins (Fancy Free),
Fred Astaire/Hermes Pan
(Top Hat), Paul Taylor (Three
Epitaphs), Alvin Ailey (Cry).
Alone or in concert
man dances his selves and
his feelings, his knowledge and
his intuitions, and his dance
Dance Literacy
becomes a communication
as clear as though it were
written or spoken in a universal
language. Katherine Dunham

Making Connections
Understand Dance
History and the Social and
Cultural Significance of
Dance (Theatrical, Ritual &
Social Dances)
Through discussion and examina-
tion of both choreographed and
traditional cultural dances,
students understand that all
dances reflect a time and place,
demonstrating the ability to:
n identify clues about history and
culture in dance movements,
costuming and musical
accompaniment.
n describe who dances a dance,
and where, when and why it is
danced.
n discuss how values and beliefs
are reflected in a dance.
n examine the cultural origins of
a variety of dance forms from
around the world.
Suggested activities:
n Learn a dance from ones
heritage and teach it to the
class, explaining when and by
whom the dance is performed,
and its cultural significance.
n Learn elements of a dance style
(e.g., Tap, Modern Dance) and
examine its roots.
n Research the originator of a
technique.
n View videotapes of children
studying dance in other
countries (e.g., Russia: The
Children of Theatre Street), and
compare with students own
experiences in dance class.
n Take part in a whole-group
non-presentational dance
experience (folk, social or
improvisational); discuss the
feeling of participating in
dancing as a community with
no performance goal.
By seeking themes and
20 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Connect Dance to Other
Arts and Disciplines Connection With Dance and Well-Being
inspiration for dance making in
other disciplines, students make
original insights and connections
in dance, demonstrating the
ability to:
n develop dance expressions of
ideas and images from other
disciplines.
n respond to dance using other
art media or other disciplines.
n combine dance with other arts
and disciplines.
Suggested activities:
Understand dance principles by
learning or inventing dances,
using:
Music: syncopation in music and
dance from various traditions.
Visual Art: a movement palette
inspired by a painters palette.
Theater: script and blocking.
Language Arts: action and
descriptive words drawn from a
poem.
Math: symmetry and asymmetry.
Science: environmental issues,
natural systems or processes.
Utilize Technology in
Students view videotape of
classes and both professional and
student performances, and use
computer programs designed for
elementary school dance students,
demonstrating the ability to:
n explain the difference between
video dance documentation
and dance video as an art form.
n describe the audience
perspectives provided by
video zoom, pan, and cut as
compared with live viewing
from a single vantage point.
n use a dance teaching program
with guidance.
Suggested activities:
n Create a video of a dance with
peers and edit it using such
software as Macintosh iMovie.
n Use interactive computer
choreography games.
n View a videotape of students in
dance class, and make a list of
new or surprising information
that the video medium reveals.
Dance
Connect Dance to Health
grade 5 benchmarks
Through participating in and
reflecting on dance, students will:
Grade 5
n understand and describe how
Benchmarks
the body responds to small and Students illuminate their
large movements, stretching relationship to dance
and aerobic activity.
n recognize and demonstrate by exploring dances of
how small and large different cultures and
movements, stretching and
aerobic activity are sequenced periods, find shared ele-
in a dance class. ments among the arts,
describe the ways in which
n
dance builds good coordina-
use video and interactive
tion, and analyze why good technology to support
coordination might be
dance learning, and an-
desirable. Dance alyze the effects of dance
n recognize that some foods are
more healthful than others, has existed on body and mind.
n
and identify healthful foods.
understand caloric intake and
at all times,
what kinds of movements burn
calories.
and among all
people
n recognize their own shifting
moods and the ways in which
dance can help them explore and races.
and move through them. Mary Wigman
Suggested activities:
n Create a web of small and large
movements in dance, and the
Making Connections
parts of the body they engage.
n Bring in a list of healthful
foods and share with the
class; discuss the importance
of healthful eating habits for
dancers.
n Discuss the effects of dancing
on self-confidence and comfort
with ones body.

Wo rk i n g w i t h Co m m u n i t y a n d Cu l t u ra l R e s o u rce s
Engage With Community and
Cultural Institutions, Colleges
and Universities
Through the schools participation in
partnerships with dance artists and
institutions, students will:
n understand and describe different
approaches to dance making
and performance learned from
partnerships.
n identify the different places dance
learning and performing happen:
schools, colleges and universities,
community centers, studios, theaters.
Suggested activities:
n Make a list of school partnership
activities and web the connections
between them.
Attend professional and college-level
n n
dance rehearsals and performances in
school; public, college and university
theaters; community
cultural centers; and
site-specific venues.
n Engage in post-
performance talkbacks
with a list of questions
prepared in class; discuss
afterwards in class.
n Engage in workshops and
tours with partnering dance
organizations.
n Work with a teaching artist to learn
new dance styles and approaches.
n Interview a college or university
intern assisting in the dance
classroom to learn about their goals.
n Interview a teaching artist to learn
about the mission of their cultural
institution.
21 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Use Dance Research Resources Share Dance Experiences in
Students utilize print, video and
online resources for dance research,
demonstrating the ability to:
n use the school library to find
information about a specific dance
topic.
n use published material such as
magazines and videos
as a source of dance
information.
n use dance websites
and Internet teaching
programs in guided
sessions.
Suggested activities:
n Research a specific dancer/
choreographer with a guided group
using appropriate websites, and
create a summary.
n Participate in a class visit to the
New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts at Lincoln Center,
and learn how to access the Dance
Collection.
n Use an instructional CD-ROM
or video to learn a dance.
n Read youth-oriented magazines
about dance such as Young Dancer or
Dance Spirit for articles about dance
around the United States.
The dance is for everybody.
I believe that the dance came from the
people and that it should always be
delivered back to the people.
Dance
and Between Schools
By sharing dance through classroom
experiences, advertisement,
Grade 5
performance, documentation and Benchmarks
mentoring, students will:
In a variety of school part-
n value dance as an integral part of nerships with dance cultural
learning.
n describe particular benefits of dance
institutions, community
learning to other students and organizations, and colleges
teachers.
n work with peers to share or rehearse
and universities, students
dances. attend performances at
n bring parents to school to participate dance venues citywide, work
in dance experiences.
with dance teaching artists,
Working With Community and Cultural Resources
n share information and ideas learned
in dance class with the classroom see professional dance per-
teacher.
formances at their schools,
share dance experiences with a
younger student. and become familiar with a
range of resources for learn-
Suggested activities:
n Become dance pen pals with
ing about dance.
another class to exchange and
reconstruct motif scores of dances.
n Mentoring: Make a list of roles that a
dance mentor needs to play; become
a dance buddy for a 2nd grade dance
student.
Alvin Ailey

Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning
Learn About Careers in and
Related to Dance
By exploring the functions of various
careers in and related to dance, students
will:
n understand and describe what people
do in various dance and dance-
related professions.
n describe one dance-related career in
detail.
Suggested activities:
n Role-play dance-related professions
with peers and create a web,
answering the question: How many
people does it take to produce a
dance performance? Relate this to
students own experience.
n Attend professional dance
performances and study the program
to see the various professions listed,
such as:
dancer
choreographer
composer
costume designer
musician
set designer
lighting designer
rehearsal director
stage manager
technical director
n Interview people in non-performer
professions related to dance.
n Visit a performance rehearsal to
observe a choreographer interacting
with dancers, designers and technical
n
personnel.
Create costumes or sets with peers,
or prepare posters to advertise a
performance, and discuss the role of
the costume designer and marketing
director.
22 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Set and Work Toward Goals Value Dance as a Source of
Through participating in dance over
time, students will:
n develop short-term goals and long-
term goals in dance and in personal
growth.
n identify a personal relationship to
dance.
n express interests and preferences in
regard to various professions.
Suggested activities:
n Identify and describe personal
qualities that dance classes have
strengthened, and speculate about
how these might serve a person in
life.
n Make a list of personal dance goals
and the steps necessary to achieve
them.
n Write an illustrated story about how
you imagine yourself dancing in 8th
grade, and describe what you did to
achieve this.
n Read or create a story about
becoming a dancer or doing a related
job to help a dance production.
n Maintain a dance journal over
time, including such items as diary
entries about dance experiences, and
dance-related writings, drawing, and
photographs.
On with the dance!
Let joy be unconfined.
Dance
Enjoyment and Lifelong
Learning
Through participating in dance in
school on an ongoing basis, students
Grade 5
will: Benchmarks
n learn new dances from friends and Students make inquiries
family. into the variety of careers
n attend dance events outside of school
as a participant or audience. in dance and dance-related
n initiate dancing as a social activity. fields. They begin to develop
n seek opportunities to dance in school personal goals in their own
and outside school.
n promote dance in and outside of
dancing. They visit local
school. dance venues, and learn
about the physical and so-
Suggested activities:
cial benefits of dancing.
Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning
n Watch dance on film, video and TV.
n Invite friends and family to student
dance performances.
n Create posters advertising school
dance performances.
n Attend an after-school dance class at
school or at a local dance studio. Dancing: The
n Attend dance performances citywide.
highest intelligence
in the freest body.
Isadora Duncan
Lord Byron

Te a c h i n g T h r o u g h t h e F i v e S t r a n d s
Dance Making
Develop Skills and
Techniques
Build skills in controlling and
combining movement elements
on varying pathways in space,
layering actions, shapes,
contrasting dynamics, and levels.
Learn the Buzzard Lope, building
skills in dancing rhythmic
movements, taking visual and
aural cues, and maintaining a
group circle formation in which
soloists take turns.
Improvise
Explore the actions of the
Underground Railroad
(creeping, darting, running,
hiding, reaching a destination)
traveling along various pathways
in space. Explore dynamics to
express emotions (suspense,
fear, determination, courage,
excitement, relief, joy). Take turns
improvising the solo buzzard
figure in the Buzzard Lope. (Freedom River).
Choreograph
Work collaboratively with peers
and teacher to create a narrative
dance based on the theme of
the Underground Railroad.
Create movement phrases,
dynamics, spatial paths and
group formations inspired by
words and images. Make group
choices about choreographic
structure and how music is used
in the dance. and use as imagery to inspire choreography.
Continued on following page
23 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Developing Dance Literacy
Understand Dance as a Means of Expression
and Communication
View and discuss examples of dances that are
abstract (e.g., Paul Taylors Esplanade), and dances
related to the unit that are themed (e.g., Alvin Aileys
Cry) and narrative (e.g., Donald McKayles Rainbow
Round My Shoulder) to explore questions such as:
n What kinds of ideas might an abstract dance be
based upon?
n Is our class dance narrative, themed or abstract?
Why?
n Is the Buzzard Lope narrative, themed or abstract?
Why?
n In what ways is dance different from mime or
sports?
n What is communicated when a dancer moves
towards the audience? Away from the audience?
Faces the audience? Faces away from the
audience?
n What else in a dance creates a strong reaction
in a viewer? American Southern culture (e.g.,
Apply Dance Vocabulary, Terminology and
Symbols
Examine key words, themes and images in the story
of the Underground Railroad, and explore these in
dance. Learn the dance vocabulary that describes
the resulting movement. With peers, notate a phrase
of movement from the dance, using a stage map to
draw the pathways and motif symbols or invented
notation to depict movements.
Analyze, Critique and Communicate About
Dance
View a live or taped performance of a professional
piece inspired by a different historical event or period
(e.g., Doris Humphreys Shakers or Sophie Maslows
The Village I Knew). Write a response, describing
the narrative or theme, and the feelings evoked by
the dance. Describe how the movements, dynamics,
pathways and relationships between dancers convey
both story and mood.
Continued on following page
Dance
5th Grade Sample Thematic Unit:
Making Connections Students create an original class dance
inspired by the Underground Railroad,
exploring pathways in space and movement
qualities that express emotional content, in
Understand Dance History and the Social
and Cultural Significance of Dance response to the theme of making a dangerous
Learn a dance that was done by slaves during the journey from oppression to freedom. They
Civil War period, such as the Buzzard Lope or the
Ring Shout, and understand its origins and meaning. integrate learning the Buzzard Lope, an
Research other kinds of dance that emerged in African-American dance from the Civil War
African-American culture during the period, includ-
ing dance parody. Discuss in relation to students period, into the unit to support their creative
own dances done with friends, family and commu- work.
nity. Compare with the Underground Railroad dance
and other dances students have choreographed.
Working With Exploring Careers and
Discuss the role of dancing as an outlet for Community and Cultural Lifelong Learning
expressing feelings of joy in spite of harsh Resources
circumstances, and for giving a shared form to
feelings of sadness.
Engage With Community Learn About Careers in and
Connect Dance to Other Arts and Disciplines and Cultural Institutions, Related to Dance
Music: Experiment with a range of musical Colleges and Universities In small groups, take turns being
selections for the Underground Railroad dance, Attend performances of works by the rehearsal director for sections
such as Georgia Sea Islands chants, blues by Robert companies that make reference to of the dance. Discuss the role of
Johnson, symphonic selections. the dance and music of African- rehearsal director with classmates.
Visual Art: Create set elements and costumes
Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Dance
with peers, referring to paintings by such artists as
Company or Forces of Nature
Jacob Lawrence (see below) and Doreen Rappaport Set and Work Toward Goals
Dance Company). Invite the
Create a timeline with peers,
company to the performance of working backwards from
Theater: Integrate excerpts from the poem the Underground Railroad dance. the performance date of
Harriet Tubman Speaks by J. Patrick Lewis into
the dance. Together, draft a
performance.
plan for completing work in
Use Dance Research choreography, stage rehearsal and
Language Arts: Read The Underground Railroad by
Resources support preparations.
Raymond Biel, or Harriet and the Promised Land by
Use the school library and the
Jacob Lawrence to inform dance decisions.
local public library to research
Math: Create an original dance map depicting social life and dances during Value Dance as a Source of
a journey from the South to the North, showing the Civil War period for the Enjoyment and Lifelong
pathways and events in the dance. Underground Railroad dance. Learning
Discuss ways in which the class
Science: Identify constellations that guided the slaves, Visit websites such as www.
has collaborated in the creation
nationalgeographic.com/
of this dance, and the benefits of
railroad to learn more about the
collaborating in dance and other
Utilize Technology in Connection With Underground Railroad, and www.
activities.
Dance pbs.org/wnet/freetodance to learn
Videotape students practicing different kinds of more about African-American
pathways with a variety of actions, dynamics and dances of this period.
levels. Make group choices about choreography Continued on following page
based on the viewing.
Continued on following page
 Dance
Te a c h i n g T h r o u g h t h e F i v e S t r a n d s continued

Dance Making Developing Dance Literacy Making Connections Working With Community
continued continued continued and Cultural Resources
continued

Perform
Perform the Underground
Railroad dance and the Buzzard
Lope as part of a school assembly
on the Civil War and slavery,
demonstrating collaborative
behavior and a clear sense of the
dramatic intent of the dances.
Identify and Compare Dance Styles, Genres,
Major Works and Artists
See a performance of a work about the African-
American experience like Alvin Aileys Revelations,
and compare with the Underground Railroad
class dance in terms of theme, style and structure.
Consider questions such as: Revelations has
sectionsdoes our dance have sections? What
emotions are expressed in Revelations? In our class
dance? What themes of African-American history
are explored in Revelations? In our class dance?
Play with an interactive choreography program Share Dance Experiences in
(e.g., LEGO MindStorm for Schools/Kaiserworks School and Between Schools
Kidmotion) to create computer-generated ideas for Create posters and exhibits about
the Underground Railroad dance. the Underground Railroad dance
for the school bulletin boards.
Connect Dance to Health and Well-Being Post student-created stage maps
Web the effects on healthy living of working showing the pathways used in the
cooperatively with others in dance class. Consider dance next to maps of the routes
questions such as: What is enjoyable about of the Underground Railroad.
participating in dance with other people? Perform the dance for younger
Discuss the impact of slavery on peoples health. grades and/or parents.
Consider questions such as: What are the many ways
enslaved peoples have preserved their dignity and
well-being through artistic expression, including
dance? In what ways do freedom and choice allow us
to be healthier in our bodies and spirits? How does
dance play a part in that?

Alvin Aileys Revelations

24 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

Appendix C
Assessment in Dance
Classroom and studio assessmentthe kind that
good teachers do formally and informally every
daytells us how well our students have learned
and what we need to re-teach in order to move their
learning ahead. Perhaps more significantly, thoughtful
assessment can provide students with useful feedback
that can immediately guide them toward revising and
improving their performances while deepening their
understandings. Research done in dance, music, theater,
and visual arts classrooms demonstrates significant
boosts to achievement when teachers and students have
information about three central things: 1) clear goals for
learning and performance, 2) where student learning is
in relation to those goals, and 3) what they need to do to
close any gaps.
Informed by the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning
in Dance, assessment-savvy teachers craft well-defined
and achievable goals with clearly articulated criteria for
student work, and support students in getting feedback
from a variety of sources, including teachers, peers, and
students themselves. The feedback provides information
about where students are in relation to the goals, and
how to close the gaps between the goals and students
current status. Feedback informs re-teaching as well as
revision by students. Taken together, the three elements
of classroom assessment provide a powerful lever for
enhanced teaching and learning in Dance.
Courtesy of Dr. Heidi Andrade, University of Albany
58 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Assessment is the systematic process of gathering, Formative Assessment
reflecting upon, and communicating evidence of what
Formative assessments are ongoing assessments, reviews,
a learner knows and can do in terms of specific student
and observations that occur during an activity, lesson,
learning objectives and criteria. The term assessments also
project, or unit to inform instruction and improve
refers to the various instruments, tools, and techniques
students investment in their own learning. The results
that can be used to check for understanding. Effective
of formative assessments are used to modify or validate
assessment is of learning, for learning, and as a moment of
instruction. Teachers use formative assessments to
learning. Teachers use assessment to gather information
monitor student progress on a regular basis, and to
to modify or differentiate instruction to improve students
modify or differentiate instruction to help students reach
learning. Students assess their own learning to make
learning objectives. Likewise, students can examine
decisions about how to improve their work.
their own progress in a variety of ways to assess their
Learning objectives state what students will learn by the own and each others learning and take the necessary
end of a unit. Criteria are concise, written descriptions or steps to improve their understanding through reflection
evidence of what students are expected to know and be and revision. Formative assessment gives students the
able to do toward the achievement of a learning objective opportunity to revise and improve their work based
from a dance benchmark. Establishing clear criteria for upon clear criteria.
students is an essential aspect of the development of
Summative Assessment
effective assessment tools.
Summative assessments are given after instruction has
Many assessment tools can be applied in any of occurred to determine what students know and are able
the processes mentioned below. For example, a to do. They are typically used to determine if students
checklist and rubric can be used both formatively and have mastered specific competencies and to evaluate the
summatively, depending on when and how they are effectiveness of instruction at the end of the learning period.
used. Similarly, they may also be used as a self-, peer, Summative assessment is most familiar as an accountability
and teacher assessment strategy, depending on who is measure used as part of the grading and accountability
assessing whom and why. process (e.g., performance tasks, written tests).
Pre-Assessment (or Baseline Assessment)
Pre-assessments allow the teacher and student to identify
what is already known and understood about a topic prior
to instruction. This knowledge provides an opportunity
for students to engage in questioning, formulating,
thinking, and theorizing in order to construct new
knowledge appropriate to their level. Pre-assessments
provide a baseline for comparison with summative
assessment at the end of a lesson, unit, or project.
Appendix C continued

Assessment in Dance

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Using open-ended questions related to the topic of the lesson to identify students Shows evidence of critical analysis to enhance performance. Discussions, written
Questioning prior knowledge. work, or movement in response to dance creation, performance, and study of various
styles and genres are some examples of critical responses. Effective critical responses
Students respond as whole group, small group, or individually to guiding questions show the following cognitive processes: discriminating, describing, identifying,
about the topic: analyzing, distinguishing, comparing, synthesizing. For example:
KWL Chart n What do they already know? Critical n Explaining dance concepts using appropriate dance vocabulary in writing
n What they want to learn? Response n Using graphic organizers (e.g., lists, webs, charts) to represent relationships or ideas
n What have they learned?
n Viewing and critiquing dance works (live performance or from video) with a

Ask students to display a designated hand signal to indicate their understanding of a specific focus in mind
specific concept, principle, or process: n Class presentations on dance subjects

Hand Signals n I understand____________, and can explain it (e.g., thumbs up). n Participating in class discussions using appropriate dance terminology

n I do not yet understand ____________ (e.g., thumbs down).

n Im not completely sure about ____________ (e.g., wave hand). Exit Slips Filling out a form or writing a brief response to a question posed at the end of a class.

A one-minute writing assignment in response to a focused question with a specific Activity in which groups (1) generate ideas on a topic, (2) document them on chart
One-Minute goal that can, in fact, be answered within a minute or two (e.g., What do you know paper, (3) appoint a presenter to explain their work and process, (4) rotate to explore
Question about __________?). Gallery Walks other groups ideas and ask questions of the presenters, and (5) meet together to
Any of several forms of graphical organizers that allow learners to perceive discuss their findings so the presenter also can learn from other groups.
Web or relationships between concepts through diagramming key words representing those  escriptions of dance experiences
D
Concept Map concepts (e.g., Venn diagram).
n

n ersonal responses to performances

P
nC
 ritical reviews of performances
Setting Goals Setting personal goals for specific skills, projects, or tasks.
nR
 esearch papers on dance artists, periods, styles, or genres in the context of society,
Self-assessment gives students the opportunity to consider the quality of their own culture, and general history
learning and performance, individually and in collaboration with others, with n Reports, interviews, and job-shadow journals about dance and dance-related
respect to curricular objectives, content benchmarks, and/or specified criteria. Self- careers
Self-Assessment assessment is only used formatively and gives students the responsibility of identifying
Written Work
n Creative writing in response to or about dance

competencies and challenges in their own work, and to devise appropriate strategies n Scoring or notation of dance

for improvement. Examples include setting personal goals and checking ones progress n Sharing feelings, dreams, and wishes about dance and dancing

toward them, and comparing ones work to the criteria on a rubric or checklist. n Writing poetry in response to dance

n Remembering/reminiscing about dance

Peer assessment promotes focus on and attention to clear criteria, and helps develop
listening, observation, and communication skills. It engages critical thinking
and provides opportunities for use of dance terminology as well as analysis and
interpretation of content and structure. A peer review process is a formative
assessment strategy that includes thoughtful feedback and provides additional
suggestions for revision to ones own work, ultimately improving student learning.
Peer Assessment When students engage in peer assessment or critique, they can use rubrics, checklists,
and protocols to focus their feedback on the criteria for the task, and should use
n Planning and documenting choreographic process (sketching or collecting ideas for
a dance)
n Writing captions of photos or drawings about dance
n Correspondence to other students, teachers, or artists
Have a variety of formats that includes multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and/or
short answer tests and quizzes. They assess content knowledge in dance, such as:
n Dance vocabulary and terminology

protocols for constructive peer-to-peer feedback, such as: Written Tests n Dance history

n I noticed and Quizzes n Dance styles and genres

n I like the way because n Dance notation

n Have you thought of ? n Physiology/kinesiology

n I would like to suggest n Stagecraft

59 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

Appendix C continued

Assessment in Dance

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Performance assessments involve students in constructing products. Performance
assessments measure what students can do with what they know, rather than how much
they know. Performance assessment tasks are based on what is most essential in the
curriculum and what is interesting to a student. They show evidence of understanding
of dance concepts as well as development of skills, projects, or tasks, such as:
n Movement exams (demonstration of dance performance skills)
n Students performing a culminating dance that embodies the skills and
Performance understandings from a particular unit of study
Assessment n Recording dance tasks or performances using video, motif notation, written notes,
Students formulate individual responses, and then turn to a partner to share their
Turn and Talk answers. Teacher calls on several random pairs to share their answers with the class
and check for understanding.
This is a group activity used to share or collect information from each member.
Have one student in the group write down a response to a prompt, and pass it to
Telephone the student on his/her right, who adds a new response. This continues until the first
student gets the paper back. Then, the group and teacher read all the responses and
look for accuracy and synthesis of information.

drawings, etc. Teacher assessment provides information on the quality of student learning and
n Using rubrics and checklists aligned to Blueprint indicators (teacher-generated or performance. Information from teacher assessment can provide feedback to students.
Teacher It reveals how content, instructional approach, and delivery style are impacting
student-generated) Assessment
n One-sentence summary (students are asked to write a summary sentence that student learning. It also helps identify students who need additional assistance or
answers the who, what where, when, why, how questions about a performance) who have differentiated learning needs.
n Comparing one dance performance with another
Walk around the classroom and observe students as they work to check for evidence
n Engaging in discussion with a jury of peers, teachers, and/or guest artists
of student learning. Strategies include:
Students: n Anecdotal records
Observation n Conferences
n Write personal response following a dance experience
Journals n Record impressions after a dance performance n Checklists

n Share photos or drawings about dance n Rubrics

nS haring feelings, dreams, and wishes about dance and dancing A portfolio is a purposeful collection of significant work, carefully selected, dated,
Oral and n  riting poetry in response to dance
W and presented to tell the story of a students achievement or growth in well-defined
Written nR emembering/reminiscing about dance areas of performance, such as reading, writing, math. A portfolio usually includes
Response nP lanning and documenting choreographic process (sketching or collecting ideas for personal reflections where the student explains why each piece was chosen and what
a dance) it shows about his/her growing skills and abilities. Computer software and digital
 evising and reworking dance
R applications can be used to organize large quantities of material. Many examples
Creative Process
n

n S elf-critiquing ones performance above provide evidence you may want to include in a student dance portfolio in
addition to the following:
Responding and reflecting on dance concepts and ideas that have just been Student Dance n Teachers expectations (rules, guidelines, year-long/project goals, rubrics, dance
introduced, making connections to prior knowledge or experience using sentence Portfolios standards)
starting prompts, such as: (Courtesy of n Videotape and photographs of student engaged in process and in performance
n I changed my attitude about during the beginning, middle, and end of the year or project
Barbara Bashaw)
Self-Reflection n I became more aware of n Students class notes, reading notes, choreographers journal, notation, and other
n I was surprised about dance scores
n I felt n Special recognition student has received (awards, citations, performance
n I related to invitations, competition placements)
n I empathized with n Parent feedback, formal and informal

n Student/teacher conference records

Students identify:
n Peer conference records
n 3 things they discovered
3-2-1 strategy n 2 interesting things they noticed
n Students defense of the grade he/she feels is deserved

n Student dance and personal rsum with cover letter (for high school seniors)
n 1 question they still have

CREDIT: Compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 4/2012, A Fragoso and JM Sevilla 4/2015
60 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Appendix D
S p e c i f i c C o n s i d e r a t i o n s f o r Te a c h e r s o f D a n c e
Developed by the Office of Arts and Special Projects,
the following specific considerations for teachers of
dance support teachers and their supervisors through
the use of reflective questioning, an essential component
of effective dance instruction in New York City public
schools. Revised and approved in coordination with
the Office of Teacher Effectiveness and the United
Federation of Teachers, this document serves as both a
planning and a reflective tool for dance teachers across
all grade levels.
About this Resource
Danielsons 2013 Framework for Teaching (FfT) provides
teachers and school leaders with a common language
to describe and discuss effective teaching in order to
achieve continuous growth in teacher practice and
student learning. The FfT was created as an overarching
framework that describes the commonalities in every
classroomthose aspects of teaching that are common
across grades, disciplines, and students backgrounds.
Thus, the FfT is appropriate for use with and by
teachers of the arts. For the 201415 school year,
teachers are evaluated on only eight components in the
Danielson 2013 Framework for Teaching. The remaining
components (those shaded in the following pages) of the
Danielson 2013 Framework for Teaching may be used for
non-evaluative (i.e., developmental) purposes only.
Many school leaders and teachers have requested
additional support in using the FfT in classrooms
in which student characteristics, subject content, or
program models may differ significantly from other
courses or subjects. In response, this document offers
specific considerations1 for school leaders and dance
teachers through component-aligned questions. These
questions may be discussed when providing feedback,
1
New York States Education Law 3012-c requires that lead evaluators have appropriate guidance regarding specific considerations in evaluating teachers of English Language Learners and students with disabilities. While not
required for teachers of the arts, this document was inspired by the Specific Considerations of Teachers of English Language Learners and the Specific Considerations of Students with Disabilities and follows a similar design.
61 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
engaging in pre- and post-observations, and planning Embedded in the questions are good instructional
next steps; they are not to be used for evaluating teacher practices for students; this document is not an exhaustive
practice. In addition, these questions can be used by guide of those good instructional practices.
teachers voluntarily as a resource to guide their thinking
The Office of Arts and Special Projects contributed
as they plan and reflect on their instructional practice in
significantly to the creation of this document, and these
how they are meeting the needs of their students. While
questions align to the Benchmarks for Arts Learning as
these questions may be useful for informing teachers
described in The Blueprint for Teaching and Learning
usual planning, preparation, and professional learning
in the Arts: Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts.
processes, teachers may not be required to provide
These specific considerations align with the work of the
written answers to these questions as an additional
Office of Arts and Special Projects to support students
professional assignment.
by helping to create rigorous learning environments that
This document is not a separate rubric for teachers of focus on academic and artistic achievement.
the Arts, nor is it to be used as a checklist in classroom
observations. Each FfT components Rationale,
As an educator, I believe great instruction is
Performance Levels, Critical Attributes, and many
great instruction, regardless of the discipline.
of the Possible Examples are relevant to teachers
This document provides a powerful reflec-
of the Arts and should be used by school leaders
when considering evidence of each component. This tive tool through which I can facilitate and
document only seeks to present additional context to augment my professional growth. The use of
consider, keeping in mind that not every question will this common language illuminates how best
be applicable depending upon the students need and
practices support high-level instruction in the
context. Those components for which it was agreed that
study of dance.
there were no significant special considerations for dance
teachers (4a: Reflecting on Teaching and 4f: Showing
NYC Dance Teacher
Professionalism) are not included in this document.
It is essential for administrators and all
educators to have a clearer understanding of
what to expect in a dance classroom. This
knowledge will help them to observe the dance
class and support the dance program as a whole.
NYC Dance Teacher
Appendix D continued
S p e c i f i c C o n s i d e r a t i o n s f o r Te a c h e r s o f D a n c e
Domain 1: Planning & Preparation
1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
H
 ow do you align lessons with appropriate learning standards in
n 
the NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance, PreK-12?
W
 hat do you do to ensure that lessons reinforce important
n 
concepts about performing, creating, responding to, and
connecting through dance (e.g., effective repetitive practice, being
aware of criteria for excellence, a place for feedback, and student
reflection)?
1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students
n  I n what ways do you plan assessments and surveys to attain some
of the following knowledge about students:
dance interests (e.g., hip hop and rock) and the extent to which
students know about dance as an art form?
students previous experience and skill level in the units focus s
(e.g., ballet, modern dance, or African dance)?
dance traditions specific to the students cultures?
experiences taking dance classes outside of school?
whether they have time or space to practice outside of school?
1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes
n  O
 ver the course of a year, how do you ensure that learning
outcomes include objectives that address the Five Strands of
Learning in Dance in the Blueprint?
n  H
 ow do you ensure that planned instructional outcomes include:
students demonstrating new dance and performance skills?
students creating and developing movement, recognizing and
describing choreographic structures, and applying both to
original dance compositions?
students expressing opinions about the meanings of a dance,
citing specific movement evidence from the dance, and making
connections to personal experience, culture, history, and/or
other arts and disciplines?
1d: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
n  H
 ow does your planning integrate resources like professional
dance performances, guest artists, professional dance reviews,
dance books and magazines (e.g., Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit),
and online dance sites (e.g., Jacobs Pillow, The Kennedy Centers
Free to Dance)?
62 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
1e: Designing Coherent Instruction 2b: Establishing a Culture for Learning
n  H
 ow do you ensure that your lessons incorporate major concepts n  H
 ow do you support students constructive use of protocols for giving
(big ideas) that are Blueprint-aligned and matched to the their peers feedback on their dance work?
learning outcomes and learning activities?
n  H
 ow do you support students in displaying concentration, focus,
n  I n what ways do your lessons include opportunities for multiple and discipline when mastering new dance techniques?
high quality movement responses to improvisation and
n  H
 ow do you ensure that students understand and use particular
composition tasks, and avenues for all students to improve
skills in dance expression, while demonstrating persistence?
their technical dance skills?
n  H
 ow do you plan to use student groupings that are appropriate for
the activity, including: 2c: Managing Classroom Procedures
whole class for technique and skill building n In
 what ways do you set up dance class routines to maximize
small groups and partners for choreography tasks instructional time?
solo for individual movement exploration, demonstration, and
H
 ow do you ensure that students demonstrate independence in
dance creation n 
carrying out dance class procedures (e.g., students change into
n  W
 hat are some examples of planned instructional strategies that
dance attire, follow the warm-up, use eyes and body to learn
address diverse learners (e.g., physical demonstration, verbal movement, practice without prompting, and quickly form lines
direction, appropriate light touch, and visual aids)? for traveling)?
n  I n what ways will the lesson design support students with special
needs?
n  W hat are some opportunities for students to move in response to 2d: Managing Student Behavior
themes, ideas, music, and other arts to create choreography?
n W
 hat strategies do you use to support students use of their eyes
and body rather than their voice in dance technique class?
1f: Designing Student Assessments
n  W
 hat methods do you use to ensure that students are respectful
n  H
 ow do you plan clear assessment criteria that may include both verbally and physically while learning, performing, creating,
specific aspects of physical movement (e.g., a jet or leap in ballet
observing, and responding to dance?
should have stretched legs, pointed feet, and leg turnout)?
n How
 do you ensure that students enter the dance studio in a
n  W
 hat are examples of ways in which your lesson plans include respectful and quiet manner?
multiple opportunities for teacher-, peer-, and self-assessment
(e.g., students observe each other while performing choreography n  W
 hat strategies do you use to make sure that, while dancing,
and use a rubric and protocol to provide peer feedback)? students are aware of self, others, and the boundaries of the
dancing space?
n  H
 ow have you provided opportunities for your students to build a
portfolio of their work throughout the year?
2e: Organizing Physical Space
n How
 do you ensure that:
Domain 2: The Classroom Environment the designated dancing space is cleared of furniture or other
2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport impediments so students can dance safely?
dance flooring, mirrors, ballet barres, and equipment (e.g.,
n  H
 ow do you ensure that students respectfully observe peer sound, video, computer, Smart board) are unobstructed?
dance work? dance vocabulary, dance photos, student work, and Blueprint
Standards are posted?
n  I n what ways do you model appropriate physical proximity for
dancing and ensure that students maintain their own and respect
others personal space?
Appendix D continued

S p e c i f i c C o n s i d e r a t i o n s f o r Te a c h e r s o f D a n c e

Domain 3: Instruction 3d: Using Assessment in Instruction n W

3a: Communicating with Students
n I n what ways do you use clear, precise dance terminology,
descriptive language, and accurate, expressive dance
demonstration to explain the purpose of a task as it relates to the
larger learning goals?
n  W
 hat are some ways in which you use targeted imagery to
explain the subtleties of dance movement (e.g., Your arms
should be slightly curved like the branch of a tree bending in the
wind; Imagine your leg is rooted into the ground, like a strong,
old tree trunk)?
3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
n I n what ways do you ask students to respond to artistic questions
both verbally and physically (e.g., when asked what support
means in dance partnering, students respond by physically
exploring myriad ways to support a partner in movement, and
then share out)?
n H
 ow do you give students opportunities to discuss and demonstrate
the differences between two styles of dance they have learned?
3c: Engaging Students in Learning
n H
 ow do the learning activities and assignments integrate dance
technique elements that build upon students prior dance
knowledge and skills?
n H
 ow do you support students in including additional
compositional elements beyond the given parameters of a
choreography task?
n In what ways do you ensure that the lesson is well paced, with
a mix of dance demonstration, verbal instruction, movement
practice, and discussion?
n In what ways do you include writing when appropriate to the
unit of study?
n In what ways do you circulate and give students feedback
while they perform warm-up or dance combinations, quietly
correcting individual students (e.g., verbally, with light touch,
or by modeling movement) and/or giving audible group
corrections?
n  H
 ow do you ensure that students observe each others rehearsals
and compositions and engage in constructive peer critique, using
dance terminology?
n  I n what ways do you support students in self-correcting their
movement and line using body awareness (e.g., students make
visible physical adjustments with or without prompting) and
visual feedback (if there is a mirror in the dance studio)?
3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness
n W
 hat are some ways in which you address student
misunderstandings during a lesson (e.g., students demonstrate
confusion of right and left, so the teacher makes a mid-lesson
correction and presents direct instruction in recognizing right
and left in movement)?
n  I n what ways do you invite students to share individual
interpretations of a piece of choreography, modifying the task in
response to students performances?
Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities
4b: Maintaining Accurate Records
n  W
 hat strategies do you use to maintain accurate records of student
progress in dance skill building and performance, improvisation,
and choreography through photos, videos, student papers, and/or
online apps?
 hat are some examples of ways in which you incorporate students
families and cultures into learning opportunities? For example:
A parent is invited to teach a dance from their culture
to the class.
Students are given an assignment to interview family members
about the dances they know.
Students learn a cultural dance from another student and share
it with their own families.
4d: Participating in the Professional Community
n  W
 hat are some ways in which you collaborate with other dance
educators and with teachers of other content areas to enhance
student success in and through dance (e.g., working with the
social studies department to co-host a Harlem Renaissance event
that includes period dance performances)?
n I n what ways do you help plan and implement school initiatives
including student performances both in-school and off-site?
4e: Growing and Developing Professionally
n  W
 hat are some ways in which you participate in ongoing school-
based and off-site professional development opportunities
during the school day?
n  W
 hat do you do to enhance your professional practice?
For example:
attending regular dance-related professional development
provided by the NYCDOE and at school
participating in events and training provided by professional
dance companies and/or dance education organizations
attending professional dance concerts
participating as a member of a dance company

n H
 ow do you use groupings that are appropriate to the activity?
For example: 4c: Communicating with Families
whole class for technique and skill building n  H
 ow do you ensure that notices and permission forms are sent
small groups and partners for choreography tasks home with students in a timely fashion for upcoming performances
solo for individual movement exploration and creation and field trips?

63 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

Appendix E
Dance and the Common Core Learning Standards

Dance teachers continue to find a variety of ways to align their instruction to the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and their focus on active learning and higher-level
thinking. The Office of Arts and Special Projects recommends that Dance teachers pay particular attention to the following documents, which clearly resonate across all arts
disciplines:
nA lignment of CCLS for English Language Arts with Attributes and Capacities of Students, Grades K-12

nA lignment of CCLS Standards for Mathematical Practice, Grades K-12

The tables below illustrate how the Blueprint benchmarks and indicators align with each of these aspirational components. Through comprehensive study of Dance, students
advance and master the related CCLS skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Alignment of CCSS ELA College and Career Readiness Capacities with Attributes of Students K-12 Who Are Building toward College and Career Readiness in Dance
CCR Capacity Dance Blueprint Outcomes: Grades 2, 5, 8 and 12
2: Invent movements; choose and order movements in a sequence.
They demonstrate 5: Layer compositional elements and select themes for choreography; take initiative and actively contribute when collaborating with peers to create dances.
independence. 8: Apply choreographic principles to making and performing dance; develop personal goals to improve skills; improve dance performance independently in response to feedback.
12: Teach and demonstrate for peers; create improvisation tasks; develop a repertoire; self-evaluate and self-correct to improve dance performance.

They build 2: Perform fundamentals of various dance forms and simple dances; apply basic dance vocabulary/symbols.
5: Apply awareness of dance forms to learn more complex dances; identify expression and meaning in dance.
strong content 8: Perform in a range of styles, understand their historical development, and master various style-specific skills.
knowledge. 12: Achieve technical proficiency in one dance style and verbal, written, and practical fluency in dance concepts; understand the history of theatrical dance forms and the functions of ritual and social dances.
They respond 2: Explain why dance can have different functions; understand the purpose and routine of a dance class.
to the varying 5: Exhibit self-awareness and awareness of the audience in performance, and sensitivity to the ensemble; revise and edit choreography with teacher support in response to peer and teacher feedback.
demands of 8: Actively relate to the audience; change focus, mood, and intent for different dances.
audience, task, 12: Dance with confidence in a range of performance experiences and venues; make appropriate performance, compositional, casting, music, and costume choices to support choreographic intent for
purpose, and intended audience.
discipline.
2: U  nderstand basic ways of relating to other dancers; describe how dance expresses feelings, a story, or an idea; use descriptive language to distinguish between various dance movements and
different dance genres.
5: Compare/contrast elements of various dance styles; respond to dance with opinions supported by examples; practice constructive criticism in dance language; understand how values are reflected
They comprehend
in a dance.
as well as critique. 8: Identify the movement components in a dance phrase; analyze basic structural elements of choreography; speculate on the intent of a dance and evaluate whether it was successfully
communicated.
12: Distinguish referential from formal themes in a dance; discuss point of view in a dance; use multiple frameworks to observe, analyze, and interpret dance.
2: Replicate and later recall movements and patterns of movement; evaluate and revise dance skills by observing peers, engaging in class discussion, and following simple rubrics.
5: Revise and edit choreography through peer discussion using student-generated criteria; identify elements in a piece of professional or peer choreography that are related to students own dance practice.
They value
8: Present informed opinions about dance based on stated criteria supported by examples expressed in dance terms; show and discuss dance studies in progress, using agreed-upon protocols.
evidence. 12: Apply general observations and self-review to developing a personal approach to movement, taking into account personal strengths and physical limitations; identify choreographic structures in
other disciplines.
They use 2: Respond to videotape of class sessions; discuss the difference between a moving image and a photograph.
technology 5: Use an online dance learning program with guidance; upload feedback and student work to a shared forum.
and digital medial 8: Handle a video camera independently; navigate dance websites for research; compare and evaluate sites.
strategically 12: Navigate a wide range of dance websites for news and research, participate in dance blogs and shared forums, use online materials to generate ideas for performance; use a dance composition
and capably. program to generate choreography.

They come to 2: Perform dances marking holidays, celebrations, and traditions of various cultures; recognize that every student has a cultural background with its own dances and viewpoint on dance.
5: Identify clues about history and culture in dance movements, costumes, and music; describe who dances a dance, and where, when, and why it is danced.
understand other
8: Analyze how societal mores and world events affect the way dance is performed and received; examine how dance styles influence each other across cultures.
perspectives 12: Identify whether a dance is theatrical, ritual, social, or a combination of these, and describe its function; reflect an understanding of dance history and cultural context in dance study, creation,
and cultures. performance, and critical responses.

64 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance

Appendix E continued
Dance and the Common Core Learning Standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
(Students proficient in mathematics )
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
65 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
General Alignment
with the Arts
(Students proficient in the arts )
Problem-solve and use various points of entry to arrive at creative
solutions; understand this is integral to practice, process, and
performance in the arts.
Recognize that working within an arts discipline involves the
understanding and use of both abstract and representational elements of
the art form.
Engage with peers in critiquing a work of art, questioning its
effectiveness as a work of art, and asking clarifying questions to establish
greater understanding.
Apply what they know, confidently making assumptions and
approximations with the understanding of the role of revision in the arts
process; understand that the thought processes and problem-solving
skills employed in the arts have extensions in other curriculum areas
and in daily life.
Envision, analyze, predict, and make creative use of complex structures,
patterns, sequences, relative values and interrelationships in interpreting
and designing works of art.
Apply knowledge, and use skills, materials, and resources appropriately
and strategically.
Understand that creativity in an art form is grounded in the recognized
body of knowledge, history, vocabulary, and skill sets associated with
that discipline.
Know to look for and discern a basic structure in a work of art and
understand how structure was interpreted, altered, or challenged by the
artist; apply this knowledge in art making.
Reflect on repeated outcomes when engaging in arts processes; self-
assess and self-correct as they work within an arts discipline.
Alignment with Dance
Individually or collaboratively, students construct an original dance
over time within a given set of parameters. They persevere in improving
personal dance technique over time, with attention to their unique body
shape, degree of flexibility, and coordination.
Students improve their technical progress in dance by analyzing muscle
use, skeletal alignment, torque, effort and force, momentum, breath,
weight, and gravity. They design dance structures in consideration of
musical counts, rhythm, meter, and the expressive effect of movements
and onstage relationships.
Students respond to both professional and peer dance works using
appropriate dance terminology, and back up their statements with
specific visible, historical, or contextual evidence.
Students find several different ways to alter the movements in a
dance combination to reflect changes in speed, rhythm, and meter. In
designing dances, they construct movement models using choreographic
devices, such as canon and accumulation, within a set number of counts
or measures.
Students use discrete dance skills in combination to perform longer
phrases with transition and flow. They apply the tools of choreography
devices, structures, shapes, levels, pathways, facings, directions,
dynamics, groupings, formations, time, and music relationshipswhen
creating and performing dances.
Students apply fine discrimination to the specific requirements of the
body and the shape, dynamics, and intent of the movements in various
styles and genres.
Students identify choreographic devices and structures within a dance,
such as ABA, theme and variation, canon, call and response, rondo, and
suite. They recognize and can articulate the thematic threads in a piece
of choreography.
Students apply corrections, rules, principles, discoveries, and insights
to new tasks and challenges in their dancing and choreography
explorations.
Appendix G
Dance and Students with Disabilities
Introduction
Dance education has intrinsic benefits for all children, whether they are identified as
having a disability or not. Dance facilitates growth and learning in social-emotional
and cognitive areas as well as physical. The rationale is not that one dances to improve
these abilities, but that these areas are all essential parts of the dance experience.
Dance education supports success in other curriculum areas by helping students
develop academic readiness skills, such as self-regulation, sharing space, and working
cooperatively with others.
Improvisation and dance-making, two fundamental activities in dance education,
engage children and give them the freedom to make choices within a structure. They
learn to concentrate, generate and synthesize ideas, and collaborate with others.
Children discover and develop their own unique voice as they simultaneously move,
think, and feel. These active, integrative learning experiences, where there is no single
correct response, are important for all children. This is especially so for children with
disabilities, who may have limited experience with success in school.
Children are classified as having a disability if they are found to have physical, cognitive,
developmental, sensory, and/or emotional challenges for which they require special
services. The special services needed are detailed in the Individualized Education
Plan (IEP), which also provides information on student challenges, strengths, learning
characteristics, and alternate assessment criteria. Dance educators can support students
goals in all domains of the IEP: physical (improved balance, gross motor coordination),
social-emotional (self-regulation, socialization), and cognitive (spatial awareness,
sequence, relationship).
Working with other educators
Consult with classroom teachers, counselors, and speech, occupational, and physical
therapists about students special needs, IEP goals, incentive systems, behavior
intervention plans, picture schedules, and assistive communication and mobility devices.
Paraprofessionals are generally assigned to classes of students with disabilities or to
individual children who have more serious challenges in learning, behavior, or physical
functioning. Elicit their ideas and discuss how they can best support the dance class,
such as assisting children who are engaging in dance activities, supporting children
who are having difficulties, or supervising alternative activities for students who are not
participating on a given day.
68 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Strategies for Dance Educators in Special Education and Inclusion Settings
Typically developing children may present challenges similar to those of youngsters
who are identified as having a disability, especially regarding behavior and learning
styles. Implementing Universal, Targeted, and Prevention Strategies will help all
children to do their best.
Universal Strategies
Universal Strategies are utilized for all students at all times. When consistently applied,
they help children participate in dance education to the best of their ability. They include:
Rules: Dance classroom rules are based on expectations of safety, respect, and
responsibility. Rules tell students, in a direct and respectful manner, exactly what they
should do in order to meet these expectations. The rules are stated positively and clearly,
so that students understand how to conduct themselves in dance class.
Routines: Organize recurring activities so students can carry them out smoothly and
properly. These include activities such as entry into the dance classroom, dance attire,
taking spots on the floor or at the barre, warm-up, moving across the floor or in general
space, coming to attention, distribution and collection of equipment, and watching and
responding to peers work.
When rules and routines are clearly articulated and taught to students at the beginning
of the year they help the majority of students to successfully engage in the class.
Universal Design: Use teaching strategies that make the material accessible to everyone,
regardless of learning style or disability. This means presenting lessons in multiple
modalities, including auditory (spoken word, music), visual (pictures, Language of
Dance symbols), kinesthetic (movement), and touch (use sparingly and with consent
of the student). Add pictures or symbols to written vocabulary words to facilitate
developing literacy.
Focus on ability: Notice and regularly affirm students abilities, accomplishments, and
appropriate behavior. Base dance activities (warm-up, instruction, improvisation, and
choreography) on your students capabilities, and develop these so that children are able
to expand their abilities and ameliorate or compensate for their disabilities.
Open-ended language: Use directives and movement terms that will accommodate
a wide range of abilities and choices. For example, telling students to rise instead
of stand up, or mark the beat rather than clap, will permit those who are unable to
stand or coordinate their hands to come up with their own variations based on their
abilities. Open-ended language facilitates creativity for all students and lets them take
responsibility for their choices.
Appendix G continued
Dance and Students with Disabilities
Represent diversity, including disability: Display pictures of dancers with various
disabilities as well as books featuring disabled characters and works by disabled artists.
Include DVDs of mixed-ability dance companies in masterworks shown in class.
Arrange for performances and residencies with mixed-ability dance companies and
teaching artists with disabilities. These practices provide role models for children and
youth with disabilities, and offer a more inclusive perspective for non-disabled peers.
Targeted Strategies
Differentiation: Variation is inherent in dance. There are many correct ways of
responding to a creative task. Dance activities such as improvisation and dance-making,
where children construct their own solutions based on their abilities and preferences,
can allow children with disabilities to participate as equals in the dance class.
All elements of dance can be used to differentiate dance activities and technique.
Ballet movements can be transposed to other body parts for youngsters with physical
disabilities. The essence of a dance technique can be conveyed through characteristic
dynamic elements, spatial pathways, and interaction patterns. Dance educators can use
their creativity and that of their students to discover ways to embody various dance
techniques while remaining true to the essence of the form. These variations should be
discussed with students so they are aware of the original form.
Children who choose not to participate can accompany their peers with rhythm
instruments, or perform tasks such as helping to distribute materials. Adults should not
manipulate childrens bodies, but rather find ways to engage them in the activity and
elicit voluntary movement for those who have physical limitations.
Prevention Strategies
nM ove around the room to observe and connect with students.
nU
 se nonverbal signals, such as gestures, sounds, and call-and-response, to call the
class or individuals to attention, or to prompt appropriate behavior.
nR
 outines, such as having students take their assigned floor spots or freeze in their
current place, can be practiced and effectively used for redirection if the class is losing
focus.
nV
 ary movement energy and pacing to create a focused environment and sustain
student engagement.
nB
 reak tasks into small steps, giving directions orally, visually, and in writing.
69 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
nP
 rovide clearly structured dance activities with concrete instructions and advance
notice of transitions.
nU
 se a picture schedule so students who have difficulties with transitions know when
they are moving from one part of the dance class to the next.
nA
 ttach vocabulary words to the word wall with Velcro so they can be taken down and
used directly with children who use picture or written communication systems.
nD
 o not take misbehavior personally. Respond professionally and, when necessary,
deliver appropriate consequences in a firm, fair, and respectful manner.
n C
 atchinga student being good is a more effective way to shape behavior than
criticism or punishment. Praise should be genuine, concrete, and specific, and state
what the student is doing well. The tone you set will help students to have supportive
and constructive interactions with each other.
n I gnoremildly challenging behavior if it is being done for attention. Be sure it is safe to
do so and that you can continue to ignore it, even if it escalates. Most importantly, pay
attention to the student when he or she is on task.
Assistive Devices for Communication and Mobility: Introduce these to the whole class to
familiarize them. Plan how to utilize assistive devices in class, such as entering dance
vocabulary into communication devices. At times, you may decide not to use assistive
devices, especially if they impede movement or interaction. Decisions about whether
or not to use assistive devices depend on goals of the lesson, the childs goals, and the
childs wishes. If children will be out of wheelchairs for a dance class, be sure to plan for
extra time to make the transitions in and out of the chairs.
Physical Disabilities
Dance educators have a particularly important role to play in the full inclusion of children
with physical disabilities. Dance teachers are experts in the study of the possibilities of
movement and in the use of the body for artistic and social expression. With some basic
guidelines as a starting point, dance educators can begin to take the necessary steps
toward full inclusion in dance classrooms and toward the development of the rich and
quickly expanding artistic field of mixed-ability dance. Full inclusion, however, takes time
and effort. Teachers may begin with one strategy at a time, and then implement additional
strategies as soon as they are able. Prioritize strategies according to the needs of the
students being served and to the goals of the particular dance program.
Appendix G continued
Dance and Students with Disabilities
nR
 esearch. Teachers take time to learn about the abilities and issues of their particular
students. Not every physical disability is the same, and not every child using a
wheelchair has the same disability. Some children may have some form of paralysis,
others may have low muscle tone, and still others may have extremely high muscle
tone accompanied by reflex responses that interfere with the childs intended or
desired movement. Furthermore, there may be students in the class who do not use
wheelchairs but may have proprioceptive or sensory-motor issues that challenge
their ability to plan and execute movement accurately. Finally, students with
physical disabilities have a broad range of cognitive, communication, and behavioral
abilities. Some children will be highly literate and verbal; some may have high
levels of intelligence but may require assistive devices to communicate, while others
may have multiple disabilities that affect speech or cognition. A rich and accurate
understanding of the child can emerge by close observation and conversation with
the child, by reading the childs IEP, and by collaborating with classroom teachers,
physical and occupational therapists, and families.
nR
 ole models. Teachers initiate partnerships with disabled dance artists and disabled
dance educators. They can show the work of mixed-ability dance companies as focus
studies in class, and include disabled dancers in collages or in the presentation of
work within the curriculum. Picture books that include physically disabled characters
that are multi-dimensional and strong self-advocates can be read aloud to the class
and integrated within choreography lessons or in the process of setting expectations
for classroom behavior.
nT
 one-setting. Create a climate of respect in which the children value differences of all kinds.
nF
 inding the core. As teachers plan dance classes, they will identify what is the most
important part of the dance experience that needs to be internalized by students.
These might include the somatic experience, the relationships between dancers, the
rhythms, or the visual aesthetics of a dance. Then, adaptations and choreography can
be determined according to these priorities.
nI
 ntegrate physical therapy regimens. If the dance teacher works closely with the
physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other related service providers
of their students, they can observe therapeutic sessions and discuss the current
therapeutic goals of the students receiving these services. Often, portions of the
therapeutic regimes can be integrated into the dance class warm-up, which serves
a three-pronged purpose: 1) It ensures that at some point during the warm-up
of every dance class, each child will encounter movement that is simultaneously
relevant, familiar, and challenging, and not requiring modifications; 2) It reinforces
the childrens therapeutic goals; and 3) It reduces the isolation of that child since now
70 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
they are executing these exercises in a larger group and as part of the curriculum for
all students. It is important to note that integrating therapeutic regimes into a dance
class warm-up can benefit all students. Child-driven choreography in an expressive
movement context.
nM
 odel multiple possibilities. Dance teachers can model multiple choices throughout
a warm-up or choreography task to create the necessary differentiation for children
with different kinds of disabilities. For example, in a warm-up, students can perform
full swings with their whole body (for the purpose of finding release and increasing
blood flow), full swings with only the arms (for the same purpose), relaxed sways (for
a child with a spastic condition who needs to just focus on release), or swings with
the head (for the purpose of stimulating rhythm, focus, release, and some increase in
blood flow for a child with limited mobility in the torso).
nA
 daptive mobility possibilities. Wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, lighter and more flexible
athletic and dance wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, motorized standers, gait trainers, weighted
jackets, bolsters, and mats are just some of the devices to use in support of students with
physical disability. As these devices are introduced to the class, they should be simultaneously
presented as tools that anyone could use, but that also can be reserved for the students who
need them the most. All the children should learn how to use and take care of these devices
and respect their limits. Personal items such as wheelchairs or gait trainers assigned to
specific children should be assigned parking spots in the hallways with individual childrens
names, and children should learn to ask permission from that child before ever touching
their chair, stander, or other personal item.
nA
 daptive mobility selection. The dance educator, in collaboration with physical
and occupational therapists and their students other adult assistants (such as
paraprofessionals and nurses), will need to make thoughtful choices about when to
employ adaptive devices for mobility. Assistive tools can be freeing and empowering,
but they can also be cumbersome and isolating. Tools should be selected based on the
main objectives of dance classroom activities and the specific considerations for the
children who will be dancing. While dance educators frequently work with multiple
movement goals in preparing dance lesson plans, in an inclusive environment, the
educator will need to parse out goals that might create conflict by demanding rapid
changes in levels or proximity to others.
nT
 echnical training. There are a few different ways to adapt technical training for
dancers with disabilities. The first is adaptation, in which dancers or teachers freely
adapt traditional movement to fit their personal movement choices and possibilities.
The second is transposed movement, which seeks to preserve the aesthetic core of a
dance style by using a different part of the body than is typically used. For example,
Appendix G continued
Dance and Students with Disabilities
Kitty Lunn, Artistic Director of Infinity Dance Theater, transposes tendus from a
movement of the legs and feet to the arms and hands. Finally, wheelchair technique,
such as the training developed by Mary Fletcher-Verdi of the Dancing Wheels
Company and School, seek to specifically train dancers for the particular rigors of
using a wheelchair as a dance tool.
nC
 horeographic choices. Choreographic choices for performance purposes should:
a) allow the child to have full agency over their movement on stage; b) preserve their
dignity and allow them equal footing on stage with children that have more typical
bodies; and c) represent the growth and achievements of that child. Teachers can use
student-generated choreography to highlight students strengths. They can adapt
traditional choreography to fit the strengths and limitations of a given child or the
tools they are using for mobility.
Hearing Impairments
nH
 earing-impaired students can feel vibrations from the bass speaker even if they have
no apperception of sound per se, and placing students near the primary sound source
helps. Change the groupings or facings to facilitate this.
nE
 ncourage students to use their peripheral vision and to take movement cues from
their peers. This skill is central to dancing with others and especially to dancing in an
ensemble. Some hearing-challenged students may have keenly developed visual acuity
and memory, which can not only serve them well, but also benefit others in the class/
ensemble. You have an opportunity to affirm these students by acknowledging their
abilities in these areas.
n I f
students are wearing an FM Listening System, let teachers talk into a microphone
(hung around the neck), which transmits the sound of the teachers voice directly to
a deaf or hard-of-hearing childs ear. This transmission happens on reserved radio
spectrum 216-217 MHz.
nF
 ace a deaf/hard-of-hearing student when talking to them directly. Avoid as much as
possible turning your back, because the deaf/hard-of-hearing child cannot read your lips.
nT
 alk directly to the child, not to the interpreter (if there is a sign language interpreter).
It is important to do this so that the child feels like he/she is part of the class.
nW
 hen showing a video that includes speaking, use the closed-caption option so the
student can read subtitles.
nE
 xplain deafness/hard of hearing to the class so all understand the accommodations
and respect the different ways that people learn.
71 n Blueprint for the Arts n Dance
Visual Impairments
Visually impaired children may not have the experience of what their bodies can do.
There can be delays in physical development in the critical early years of childhood.
They often have deficits in physical and motor ability. This can lead to challenges with
balance and coordination. Dance experiences that include rhythmic work with percussion
instruments, singing accompanied with movement, body awareness exercises, and
improvisations to music encourage the visually impaired child to participate and develop
movement skills. Contact Improvisation is uniquely suited to blind and deaf/blind people
because it is based on the sense of touch. The student with the visual impairment and all
students in the class are also excellent sources of ideas for adaptations. Teachers have had
much success in developing accommodations through class efforts.
nM
 onitor safety in the dance studio. Maintain the dance studio to allow easy movement
throughout the room and keep it free of clutter. Ensure that the student is made familiar
with the physical layout of the dance studio and its contents at the beginning of the
semester. Alert the student if anything in the physical layout has changed.
nP
 lace the student toward the front of the dance room, closer to the teacher. Describe
movements verbally while demonstrating them. Add audio enhancement for visual
directions. Use tactile props to enhance dance learningcurved, straight, soft, hard,
heavy, light, etc.
nP
 rovide sequential dance learning opportunities to enhance memory. Assign a buddy to
be a resource to the student in each class. This is also instructive for the assigned student.
nS
 tudents with low vision and blindness may benefit from touching the teacher or
assistant when being introduced to a new movement or concept. Gradually decrease
assistance as the students become more comfortable. Always consider safety first,
constantly evaluating the role of assistance.
nU
 se enlarged print, where possible, and highly contrasted colors for paper and written
text. Use a Braille printer and Braille translation software (so that you can read the
students written assignments) as specified in the IEP.
Inclusive dance classes will increasingly become the norm. Dance educators have
an opportunity to break new ground and to develop the field of mixed ability dance
alongside their colleagues in the world of professional dance performance. Only by
creating truly inclusive dance settings can we one day hope to see a more physically
diverse representation of dance artists and dance educators.
FORMS
MEDIA RELEASE FORM
STUDY UNIT FORM
SCHOOL TEAM EVALUATION FORM

new photo Forms_Joffrey Ballet

Photo: Camille A. Brown & Dancers by Ryan Lash\TED

Page 88
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 THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION, INC

DANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS

TEACHING ARTIST STUDY UNIT FORM

Teaching Artist School Partner Borough

Planning Session Date/Time Grade(s) Partner Teacher(s)

Performance for Study Company Performance Date Todays Date

Dance Work ________________________________

Use the Study Unit Worksheet to aid in designing the study unit and

Main Ideas: What are the key ideas and concepts that are central to understanding this work?

Elements of dance: Select one element of dance to serve as the as a lens for inquiry into this work.

Guiding Question(s): Design a question that incorporates a primary key idea and dance element.

Activities: List the types of experiences TA and teacher can provide.

Outcome(s): What will students be able to do as a result of participating in this unit?

 STUDY UNIT WORKSHEET

THINGS WE NOTICED QUESTIONS WE HAVE

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION PERSONAL & CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

(NYS, Common Core, Dance Blueprint Standards)
 CLASSROOM WORK:
(Please indicate dates for sessions being led by classroom teachers as well as by TA and the date for Performance for
Study.)

Session Date Activity Rationale/Emphasis

Number
Session Date Activity Rationale/Emphasis
Number
 THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION, INC.
DANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS

School Team Study Unit Evaluation

*Please complete and give to the TA at your final evaluation meeting. Your TA needs
your evaluation to complete the unit and to be paid for services.

Teacher(s) School Borough

Subject Area Grade(s) Teaching Artist

Performance for Study Dance Work Performance Date

Todays Date

A. To what degree were you able to participate in the planning of the conceptual
framework for the study unit? (Circle/bold one)

Fully able Partially able Not able

B. What was the primary dance concept employed in the Study Unit? What evidence
did you perceive of student understanding of the concept(s)? Give specific examples.

C. Describe two or three things you did with your students as part of this Study Unit.

D. In what ways did the classroom work serve to illuminate the Performance for Study?
E. What did you experience in doing this work with your students?

F. Discuss two or three ideas youd like to build on in future work with your students

G. Which of the NYC Department of Education Blueprint strands did this unit utilize?
Explain.

Dance Making / Developing Dance Literacy / Making Connections / Working with

Community & Cultural Resources /Exploring Career & Lifelong Learning

H. Discuss any non-arts Learning Standard that may have been addressed in this Study
Unit.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Please share successes, special concerns, or other aspects of work on this Study Unit that
you consider to be of significance.