Dance - Stimuli

In this week's dance tutorial we explored choreographing dance with intent, inspired by a stimulus. We've also talked previously about how stimuli can be visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile or ideational.

So for my journal entry I thought I'd pick some stimuli, and come up with some activities for a dance lesson.

Stimulus 1 The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.

I've selected this story for three main reasons.

1) The themes of pride/envy/arrogance and friendship/sharing/belonging could be easily used as the message behind a dance (ideational).

2) It has some interesting movements - fish swimming, starfish scuttling, the octopus emerging from the cage - which could form the basis for movements when dancing. (kinesthetic)
3) The gorgeous pictures could also inspire action, space and dynamics (visual).

Warm-up activities

• Isolation stretches could be done to music that contains water sounds (eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ybbp91bnZk&feature=related), or the sound of rain/water could be overlaid on top of normal warm-up music.
• Tag games related to water eg. octopus tag
• Movements used for a cardio warm-up could be inspired by the book eg. movements could be small and soft to mimic The Little Blue fish's appearance, or sharp and broadway-esque to mimic the Rainbow Fish's appearance.

Exploration activities

• Students could travel across the room to music, using movements based on underwater creatures eg. swim like a fish, crawl like a starfish. The movements could also be based on the emotions in the book eg. pride, loneliness, companionship.
• Follow the leader School of fish. Instead of following the leader in a line, students could follow the leader in the shape of a school of fish.

Then, possibly using the movements they developed earlier in the lesson, students could get into pairs or small groups and compose a dance inspired by The Rainbow Fish. The focus of the dance composition could be the message of the book, the different characters in the book, or just general underwater movements. Alternatively, each group could be given a different scene from the book to use as inspiration.

Stimulus 2 Riverdance

I think just about any musical or dance troup could serve as a stimulus for a dance lesson. I've selected Riverdance for two main reasons:
1) The music associated with Riverdance is fast paced, with a strong beat, and a very specific style that could serve as inspiration for movement (auditory).
2) There is also a very specific type of movement associated with Lord of the Dance (controlled, quick fast movements, stiff body, rhythmic beating with feet) that could similarly serve as inspiration (kinesthetic).

Warm-up activities

• Warm-up music (and all the music used for the lesson) should be from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance etc. or should have similar melodies and beats.
• Isolation stretches should involve short, sharp movements with an extra-strong focus on keeping the rest of the body still.
• Students could move across the room focusing on the rhythm that their feet make (teacher could pause the music every now and then and clap out a new rhythm).

Exploration activities

• Students walk across the room in a line, with a specific movement, with a strong focus on keeping in the line and stepping at exactly the same time.
• Students move around the room and are challenged to convey specific emotions (happiness, sadness etc.) or images (businessman, cat, river) using only their legs and feet, keeping the rest of their body still.

Students could then get into small groups and, after selecting one of the emotions or images that they had conveyed earlier, they could design a rhythm and series of movements for a short (maybe 32-beat) dance sequence.

Stimulus 3 - Rubber gloves

I wanted to challenge myself by selecting a tactile stimulus to inspire a dance lesson. I selected rubber gloves because:
1) They have a very specific feel, which could inspire a series of movements. But composing a dance based purely on touch might be difficult for some students and so...
2) Rubber gloves convey a series of images - cleaning up, doctors etc. - that could also be used to inspire a dance (visual).
3) Rubber moves in a stretchy, slightly clunky way, which could similarly inspire a dance (kinesthetic).

Warm-up activities

•  Free-movement to music. When the music stops, students must get into groups of five and form a 'rubber glove' with their bodies.
•  Students move around the room, following a series of actions called out by the teacher (spin, walk, crawl) but ensuring that at least part of their body is touching the floor to mimic the way that a rubber glove fits on a hand.

Exploration activities

• Students move around the room, pretending that they are light and made of rubber. The teacher tells them how wet they are (dry, soaked etc.) and they have to change their movements accordingly.
• Students are each given a rubber glove. They are told to put it in a specific position (hold it in your right hand, wear it on your left hand, put it in your pocket) and need to walk across the room, in a line, in a way that draws attention to the glove.
• Students play follow the leader while holding hands. The students need to pretend that they are made of rubber, and so when the leader makes sharp turns, they need to move appropriately.

There are then numerous ways that students could develop a dance. More advanced classes could simply be given a glove each, put into groups, and told to go for it! Less advanced classes might require specific instructions eg. the teacher could teach the entire class a 32-beat dance, then the students are put in groups and are told to change the dance slightly, using the rubber gloves as inspiration.