DA 4.1 Students use improvisation to create new movement for a specific purpose.

Improvisation to create new movement: · explore creating spontaneous, unplanned movement individually or in pairs. When confidence and trust are developed, improvise movement within a large group setting. · create new movement in order to communicate or express something · use dance components such as: - stillness: moments when dancers are perfectly still in the space - combining dynamics: mixing the force with which a movement is done and the movement quality e.g. strong (force) percussive (quality) movements - focus: (i) where the attention of the dancer is concentrated and (ii) where the attention of the audience is drawn. Specific purpose: · student identified: to create a dance with various sections that differ in their subject matter using movements that reflect the subject matter (see ‘variation’ below) · teacher identified: to create a dance that involves movements that identify who you are as individuals and welcomes new students to the school. Forms: · climax: the moment of highest intensity and interest. · variation: incorporating movement phrases with differing subject matter e.g. a section about school, followed by a section about holidays, followed by a section about favourite hobbies.

Students may: Understand and apply dance components identified for Level 4. · Explore a stimulus such as war and peace using the following dance components: - create shapes that are symmetrical, use smooth, curved lines (shape) and move in quick (time), light (energy) ways to depict peace and harmony; create shapes that are asymmetrical, use hard, angular lines (shape) and move in slow (time), powerful (energy) ways to depict war and turbulence - use group formations to modify the focus e.g. if the focus is in the centre of the space where everyone is gathered to suggest unity, change the group formations of students in the space so that they are scattered in small groups, each group on a different level (space) to change the focus and suggest disharmony. Respond to a range of stimulus material through improvisation. · Improvise by speculating about the appearance of movements if the space, time or energy were changed e.g. exploring how a social barn dance would look if choreographed in square floor patterns or at very fast speeds or with strong percussive energy. · Respond to spoken words or images by improvising with a peer e.g. When words such as strength or force are spoken, the students may move as if they are lifting or pushing a heavy object; when images of political power are displayed the students may create a motif that depicts someone standing over someone else. Choreograph dance to reflect a specific purpose. · Create a dance for a specific purpose, such as to educate about an issue, by incorporating a climax into the movement sequence e.g. students may use narrative form to tell the story of the plight of the boat people fleeing their country.

DA 4.2 Students perform movement sequences with improvised sections.

Perform sequences with improvised sections: · practise choreographed sequences, created by students, peers or teacher · identify a moment in the dance where it would be appropriate to break away from structured choreography and perform some improvisation e.g. when people are scattered in groups, use improvisation as a way for each individual to come back and create one group · improvised sections may appear differently each time or with slight variations · improvisation is often a very personal experience. Allow students to volunteer to perform their improvisations to others, rather than selecting a student or group of students. · warm-up (before) and cool down (after) during any lesson that involves performing and choreographing movement. This could include walking, skipping and jumping to raise the heart rate followed by slow, simple stretching such as reaching for the ceiling or floor and circling hands and feet.

Students may: Improvise within a known, practised movement sequence. · Use improvisation during performance to personalise a section of a dance e.g. students may learn and practise a dance to welcome new students to the school, but for 32 counts in the middle of the dance improvise movements that reflect the students’ own personalities. · Improvise different ways of getting down from a high level to a low level (space) or of moving from one group formation to several smaller groups. Perform locomotor and non-locomotor movements with accuracy and clarity. · Maintain the integrity of a movement regardless of the timing of the accompaniment or the space in which it is performed e.g. although students may be close together and moving quickly to the music, they still fully stretch their arms out to the side.

DA 4.3 Students analyse elements of dances from various cultural and historical contexts.

Analyse elements of dance: · focus on a short section of a dance, rather than attempt to analyse an entire dance · analyse: - cultural and historical contexts - dance components (space, time, energy, action) - visual elements (dancers, props, lighting, costumes, setting) - aural elements (things that can be heard) - the intent (saying what the dance is about). Cultural and historical contexts: · cultural contexts of students and the school community. Make links with the local community and invite members to share their dance with the students or obtain video recordings of dances. Follow appropriate protocols when studying dance from various cultures. · cultural and historical contexts related to Studies of Society and Environment classroom activities · ways in which dance informs and educates about cultural and historical contexts, e.g. dances performed by early settlers in Australia were shaped by folk traditions they brought with them, as well as their social class and life experiences · movements that are performed, costumes worn, performance space used and accompanying music · ways dance components are used in these contexts.

Students may: Describe, interpret and evaluate short sections of selected dances. · Describe the dance components of the section including: - action — movements such as skipping, walking, clapping, hopping - space such as levels, directions, group formations - time such as dancing to a steady 4/4 beat - energy such as strong, percussive movements - visual setting such as the props, costumes and lighting - aural setting such as the music, voices, silence. · Interpret what is happening in the dance by referring to the movements, aural setting and visual setting to support the interpretation. · Evaluate the section e.g. it was enjoyable to watch because I understood what was happening and I could see the dancers enjoying themselves. Identify how aspects of specific cultural contexts are represented through dance. · Identify costumes, setting, music and specific movements that are particular to a historical or cultural context, such as the clothing worn when line dancing or the music that accompanies Balinese dance.