Students will dissect and interpret text to have a greater understanding of an artist and the process they goes through to arrive at the final stage of choreography. Through the creation of their dance piece, students will explore how dance can incite action and/or awareness.

Guiding Questions

How can dance advocate for environmental change?
Through reflection of the choreographic process, how can the group further their understanding of composition and why is it necessary to reflect on this?
How can the observation and critical analysis of the environmental pieces create change and action in someone?

Learning Goals

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • understand how dance can be used as a catalyst for a variety of social issues
  • work collaboratively with a group
  • present site-specific works of dance
  • review and evaluate their own works.
Readiness

Students have been working towards the presentation of their Environmental Issue Creation Piece during Lesson 1-4. Students will have prior knowledge of the environment through various source materials and artifacts. 

You need to be cognizant of the fact that this type of exploration is new for many students. Help to build students' self-confidence by instilling the perspective that they are sharing dance with the school and community by using Site Specific Dance. This broadens the meaning of dance for many and brings others to the realization that dance is not just danced in a studio or on the stage.

Terminology
  • Audience etiquette
Materials

Each student will require:

  • Appropriate clothing/costumes for the environment or studio
  • Pen/pencil and paper
  • Appendix 2 Christopher House Quote
  • PDF #7 Presentation Graphic Organizer

Minds On (~20 minutes)

Whole Class > Quote

Read this quote aloud to students. Share Appendix 2 Christopher House Quote.

"I think any artist has an initial pool of imagery and emotional and intellectual impulse that you begin with when you start to create. And, at a certain point you've made that statement which is often an intuitive, spontaneous statement. But if you're going to continue to dig below the surface and to make a more powerful and maybe a more universal statement you need to work very hard at both sides of your art, unless you're very lucky and very unusual! One side is developing your art and your craft at expressing your ideas, and the other aspect is developing the stamina and the courage to follow through on what you believe is the truth of your vision." ~Christopher House

Individual > Response to Quote

Ask students to write/draw their response (using PDF #7 Presentation Graphic Organizer) of the following questions:

  • Christopher House talks about two sides of the art - expression of ideas and following through with ones vision.
  • Do you feel your group worked at both of these sides in your piece?  Why or why not?
  • Do you feel that your piece makes a universal statement? How?
Assessment for Learning (AfL)
  • Responses to Minds On tasks

Action (~140 minutes)

Whole Class > Sharing Responses

Invite students to share their responses with the class. After the discussion, remind students as they are viewing the class pieces, to think about the two sides of art (expression through craft and truth of vision) that Christopher House discusses in the quote.

Whole Class > Sharing of Visual Component and Presentation of Pieces

Write down the order of the pieces on the board. Group the environmental issues so that there is continuity and flow between them. Remind students of proper audience etiquette. Ask students to share their visual component before the group performs so that the audience has some insight into what sources were used for movement inspiration and vocabulary. Instruct students to present their pieces (in silence, with text and/or with music).

Whole Class > Reflection

After each piece invite students to take notes about:

  1. The environmental issue that the piece addressed
  2. Where the group presented (Studio or Site Specific)
  3. How the group incorporated/represented their source material
  4. Used text, silence or music
  5. What the most powerful moment was

(Refer to PDF #7 Presentation Graphic Organizer)

After presentations, instruct students to hand in PDF #7.

Differentiation (DI)

Students can make a variety of choices that can appeal to their learning preferences and styles. (content of dance, location of performance etc.)

A graphic organizer for responses to questions in the Action section would help to aid learners with a preference for visual thinking.

Consolidation (~30 minutes)

Whole Class > Discussion of Pieces

Using the questions in the action section, discuss the pieces and the impact they had on the class. 

Small Group > Reflection

Instruct students to get back with their small group and reflect upon the dance work.

Key Questions for Discussion
  • How could these dance pieces be used to advocate for environment awareness?
  • What other observations did you make while you watched your peers' pieces? 
  • How did the integration of the sources/artifacts into the pieces impact on you? 
  • How do you think you are personally affected by the environmental issues addressed?
  • What touched you most about what you saw?
  • What changes will you personally begin to make in an effort to help the Earth?
Assessment as Learning (AaL)

Reflection.

Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Presentation of environmental pieces and source/artifact creation.