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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 12 hours
    Level: Intermediate

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • Dance communicates ideas through movement and is an expressive art form. Students need to learn how to use their body in a safe and healthy way, whilst developing a wide-ranging movement vocabulary. This...
 

1. Safe dance practice

  • 1.1 Safety and dance Resource
  • As with other physical activities, consideration must be given to aspects of safety when teaching dance. Safety is paramount and should underpin all dance education.
  • 1.2 The warm up Resource
  • The importance of an effective warm up to prepare the body for physical exertion cannot be emphasised enough.
  • 1.3 Warm-up activities Resource
  • A variety of actions might be included in warm-up activities, and there is good reason for keeping these simple and repetitive. If the brain and muscles have to concentrate on learning new and complex...
  • 1.4 Myths and facts Resource
  • Myth – Warming up and being warm are the same thing.
 

2. Posture, alignment and balance

  • 2. Posture, alignment and balance Resource
  • Posture and alignment are the key to balance and moving through space. It can be tempting to overlook such things when faced with 25 students, of whom a third want to do a routine to their favourite chart...
 

3. Dance combinations

  • 3. Dance combinations Resource
  • Movement and dance combinations enable students to make physical sense of the exercises and movement material that they are given in class on a regular basis. In dance, repetition and recapitulation are...
 

4. Performance skills

  • 4. Performance skills Resource
  • Performance skills are those aspects that set dancing apart from mechanical movement. Often, our attention is drawn to the dancer who is using a range of performance skills effectively, because they stand...
 

5. Giving feedback

  • 5. Giving feedback Resource
  • In order to develop and improve dance skills, students should also be involved in evaluating one another's, and their own, work.
 

6. Conclusion

  • 6. Conclusion Resource
  • This unit has highlighted some of the fundamental aspects of dance skills, and given you ideas as to what to include and possible approaches to developing such skills in class. It has also looked at the...
 

References and Acknowledgements

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