Students investigate the power dynamics present in bullying situations, as well as how these can be negotiated through body language and physicality. They create moving tableaux which examine the public and private body expressions of their characters, similar to the outer and inner voices discussed in the voices in the head activity. As they choreograph dance sequences, focus is given to how elements of dance such as relationships, space, energy, and time can be utilized to express power and agency in bullying situations.

Learning Goals

I can:

  • create and perform tableaux in role as my character, with an awareness of the entire image at play
  • listen and respond to  peer's performances to offer constructive feedback
  • explore power dynamics in solo, partner and group work, drawing on the elements of dance to express a point of view
  • shift cooperatively between the passive and active role as the leader/follower in improvised movement
  • observe and articulate how the elements of dance are being used in my own work and in that of my peer's to express meaning
  • understand the difference between body attitudes and movements that are commonly used in public versus private scenarios
  • listen and respond to my peers in group work and to my other peers' presentations
  • communicate ideas and feelings about cyberbullying using body language, gesture, vocal and facial expression
Readiness
  • Select appropriate music for the warm up and work-period of the class
  • Photocopy PDF #8
Critical Literacy Focus (CL)

Critical literacy focuses on helping students develop a vocabulary for identifying types of power, and for examining how power operates and is negotiated in life and in texts. Thus, it is crucial to examine how bullying operates as a form of power and how resisting or challenging it, particularly as a bystander, can be empowering.

Terminology
  • Tableau (plural - tableaux):  a dramatic form; a still, silent pose of one or more people depicting a scene
  • Elements of Dance: Body, Energy, Space, Time, Relationships.  See Elements of Dance Tools
  • Levels are referred to as the height of a dancer's movement in relation to the floor. ( The Ontario Curriculum- revised Dance glossary p.162)
  • Explain the difference between negative space and positive space or immediate (body zones) and general space.
  • Explain the difference  in quality between the pause and freeze. 

(The Ontario Curriculum grades 1-8- The Arts- Dance Glossary p.159 to 165 )

Materials

Consider viewing this videodance excerpt from Old Country by Kaeja d"Dance with the class. It is an excellent example of physical power struggles, abstracted through dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JBGsQrtv6g

Minds On (~20 minutes)

Whole Class > Movement Warm up

Explain to the class that today the focus will be on how we can negotiate power using body language and movement, as bullies, bystanders and targets.  The class will begin with a movement warm up.

Ask students to walk around the room and progress with these cues gradually:

  1. Walk... change direction, pathways, levels (high, medium,low)... create patterns on the floor while walking (zig-zag, curved lines, circles)
  2. Add the elements of pause and freeze. Change the speed. Use a percussion instrument of choice to guide the students to the rhythm and tempo.
  3. Ask students to move as close together as they can without touching, and then apart.  Repeat the exercise until students feel comfortable with proximity and connections to each other as a group.
  4. As the students continue to move, inform them that whenever the music stops, they must connect with a partner using the specific body parts that you call out, e.g., attach knee to hand, elbow to hip, head to shoulder etc. When the music restarts, they continue dancing with this partner, always in contact.
  5. Continue with this structure, but instead of connecting in pairs, have the students join in trios, quartets, or the entire group at once. When the music plays, this group improvises together.
  6. When you feel ready to finish, ask the students to take their time with their partners to find an ending pose.

Whole Class > Discussion: Bodies & Power

Explain to the class that you are interested in how movement explored in dance activities can relate to everyday life. 

Teacher prompt: How do people use body language and movement in everyday life to gain power, intimidate others, or assert their authority? 

Invite students to offer examples verbally or through a physical demonstration, of situations that they have encountered (e.g., a bully, police officer, protester, parent, principal, the president, the Queen, etc.). To further the conversation, ask what strategies they have observed and use in order to constructively assert their own power in a situations of conflict, such as bullying.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Use the Bodies & Power discussion and brainstorm to gauge student comprehension of "embodied" power, as well as how dance can connect to everyday life.

Action (~90 minutes)

Pairs > Palm to Palm Movement Exercise

Have the students divide into pairs and decide on a partner A and B. Ask them to stand facing one another, and lift their hands up to join palms.  Instruct them to push gently into their partner's palms, and note that they will need to retain this mutual resistance throughout the entire activity to stay connected. Inform them that partner A will begin as the driver, and partner B as the follower. Everyone must keep their eyes open and be aware not TO crash into other groups. If the class is crowded, consider breaking into two groups.

Ask Partner A to initiate movement by pushing into partner B's palms, directing him/her through space. While they move, suggest possible speed, level and dynamic changes, and ask students to be aware of what tactics they are employing to lead or follow their partner. Have them switch roles.

Tell the class that they will continue the activity, but now they need to connect with different body parts like they did in the warm up - no hands allowed! For example, they might make their point of contact: hip to forearm, elbow to thigh, back to back, etc.  When they have established a new point of contact, instruct both partners to push in towards this point to create resistance. Ask partner A to begin as the leader, and B as the follower. While they move, have them pay attention to how many ways  they can direct or receive information with this new body part through touch. Suggest speed, level and dynamic shifts.

Keep the class standing with their partners. 

Teacher prompts: 

  • Who held the power in their partnership and why?
  • Did they ever feel like they were in control as the follower? 
  • If so, how and why? 
  • If not, what could they have done to take control?

Pairs > Give/Take Improvisation (Optional Extension)

Have the students re-form their pairs, or find a new partner. Explain that they are going to do the same movement exercise again, but this time you aren't going to tell them who the leader and follower are, or when to switch roles - they will have to figure this out together as they move, with no speaking.  Have them begin by establishing a point of contact and pushing in to connect. Tell them that when they are ready, one person can choose to initiate movement through space by giving pressure into this point. They can change roles at any time, using the tactics you discussed as a group.  

Once the pairs have the hang of switching fluidly between leader and follower, tell them that they can also choose at any time (without speaking), to change their point of contact. Turn on some background music, and let them explore. If the class or a specific pair is struggling to stay connected, you can always suggest that they return to palm-to-palm contact. This is a complicated improvisation, so give them time to problem solve with their bodies. As they continue, prompt them to play with the amount of force they give their partner, what different body parts can connect, level changes, speed, and more. When you are ready to finish, ask the pairs to gradually find their way to an ending pose in which to freeze.

Give the pairs a moment to discuss their experience, reflecting on if they felt one person was in command more often, as well as how they managed to switch roles between follower and leader. Next, gather in a group circle, and invite students to share their reflections with the class.  

Prompts:
  • What strategies did you adopt to take control as the driver or follower?
  • Did you ever feel that you were in a power struggle with your partner?  How did you respond to this (e.g., fight back, let go, give and take...)?
  • Did you prefer being a leader or follower in this activity and why?  Does this reflect how you act in your personal relationships?
  • Do any metaphors or associations about life arise for you from this activity?

Small Groups > Moving Tableaux 

Note that in this activity everyone will continue to work in role as the character for whom they wrote a monologue. Divide the class into small groups (3-5 people) making sure there is at least one bully, bystander/ally, and target in each group. Give each group one copy of Appendix 4 Tableau Checklist for Success. Explain that each group will create three tableaux: one in which the bully is in power; a second in which the bystanders takes control; and a third in which the target becomes empowered. As they work, suggest how they might enrich their tableaux by playing with contrast in levels, facings, focus, and posture.

When the tableaux are completed, share them as a class.  Remind the students of the public versus inner voices explored in the voices in the head activity, and suggest that we have public and private body language as well. Point out the ways in which the tableaux represent the public body language of these characters, through the use of obvious gestures, symbols or poses. Suggest that behind the bully's imposing, angry pose there might be an interior monologue of other movements that s/he is hiding. 

Prompt: How could these be expressed in more subtle or abstract movement through shape, flow, timing, spacing and more?

Whole Class > Elements of Dance 

Share Elements of Dance Tools with the class by using a projector and/or distributing a copy to each student. As a class, review  the different elements of dance.  Next, have students reflect on how these elements can be used to communicate meaning, and negotiate power relationships.  Request examples of how they used these elements in the warm-up activities for this lesson, as well as earlier in the unit.

Small Groups > From Tableaux to Dance

Explain that each group will now choreograph movement transitions between the three tableaux. The transitions should use the elements of dance to reveal the interior monologues of the characters as well as the shifts in power dynamics between the bullies, bystanders/allies, and targets. Emphasize that they need not take a direct route between the tableaux, but rather should take time to explore relationships that emerge between characters on the way. Ask them to develop a dance of 1-2 minutes to transition between tableaux, which draws on previous movement exercises such as "body talk", "points of contact", the "give/take" extension, and the ABC structure. As they work, prompt them to play with elements of composition such as phrasing, levels, facing, movement quality, and dynamics.

One at a time, have the groups watch one another's dances. After each piece, or after everyone has shared, gather for a group discussion of these questions:

Key Questions for Discussion:
  • How did this group use the elements of dance to express the inner thoughts and feelings of characters?
  • What different characters and points of view did you see represented? How did you know?
  • How did different characters use their bodies to either take or lose power in relation to other characters?
  • Did you see a difference between the public body language of the tableaux versus the interior movement monologues in the dance transitions? Why and how?
  • Did you draw connections between what you were watching and your personal experiences?  Take a moment to reflect on this for yourself.

Small Groups > Set the Choreography 

Have the students return to their small groups. Explain that they will continue working on their dances, integrating feedback they received from the class to finalize the choreography - this means setting a structure and movements.  Encourage them to continue drawing on elements of dance such as timing, spacing, relationship and energy. Circulate through the groups to give suggestions. Prompts: Perhaps you could use more contrast, repetition or stillness? Are you using different levels, speeds, facings, and postures?  Encourage them to pay attention to their beginning, middle and end, so there is an arc of development in the dances. When you feel they have had enough time, have them wrap up and do a sharing of the pieces for the class, one group at a time.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Use PDF #1 Observation Tracking Sheet to record anecdotal observations.

Observe and comment on the change of speed, levels, and quality of movement as students are moving through space in the warm up, palm to palm exercise and Give/Take extension, to help them diversify their approach.

During the class discussion of the Moving Tableaux, gauge student understanding of power dynamics in bullying situations.

Assessment as Learning (AaL)

At the beginning of the task, give each group a copy of the Appendix 4 Tableau Checklist for Success. Ask them to use this throughout their planning/creative process and at the end (for a final check).  They may wish to have a pencil handy in order to check off the items on the list, or they may simply mentally check the items.

When they are choreographing their transitions, they can use
Elements of Dance Tools  to fully explore the elements of dance.

Differentiation (DI)

For Palm to Palm and Give/Take activities, offer accommodations as necessary. Palms may be substituted for other body parts. Also, rather than being in contact, the students may keep a distance between their palms and imagine that they are pushing one another.

If a student would prefer to do the exercise alone, they could explore the pressure between their own two palms, having one hand act as the leader while the other follows. Additionally, one body part could connect to or lead another, e.g., hand pushing (your own) leg or elbow touching (your own) hip.

Consolidation (~15 minutes)

Individual > Personal Reflection on Bodies & Power

Have the students get a pen and paper. Ask them to write the following topic at the top of their paper: 

"Some ways that I can use my body to gain power in dance and everyday life are..."

Ask them to create a short list of examples (3 minimum).  Possible responses include: posture, eye contact, facial expression, levels, physical manipulation, speed, etc.

Whole Class > Bodies & Power Brainstorm

Have a piece of chart paper and markers ready, with the heading "Bodies & Power". Ask students to share at least one example from their personal reflection, to create a large class list.  After everyone has shared, brainstorm additional possibilities as a group, and reflect how these tactics were used in the tableaux and dances in this lesson.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

As the students create, and based on the brainstorm in the Consolidation, observe student comprehension of different elements of dance; provide clarification and feedback as needed.

Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Optional: Evaluate the students' still tableaux using PDF #8 Tableau Rubric.