Qualities of Movement; Inspired by Animals

September 28, 2017:

Qualities of Movement; Inspired by Animals 

            My first Dance Lesson with the Kindergarten class went pretty well! I taught a lesson based on Four Qualities of Moment; Swing, Sway, Sustain and Suspend, inspired by different examples of animals and their movement patterns. Throughout the lesson, students were instructed to follow as I reviewed each animal; what it was, what it ate, how it moved and more… then the students had a chance to explore their own interpretation of how that animal would move. Soon after exploring each animal and how they move, we then introduced the movement quality that connected with a specific animal. As the students were realizing the four movement qualities and how they related to the animals, I could tell most of them understood and they were having fun moving their bodies. There were a few times I had to stop the class and remind them again, that “we dance with our bodies, not with our mouths” but, over all, I felt the students were following instructions, understanding the concepts and able to connect the animal movement patters with the focused four movement qualities.   

            After the students explored each animal and the movement quality that connected with that animal, we added level changes; High, Medium and Low and continued explore and practice moving through each movement quality, with the beat of my drum. Throughout the lesson, I noticed how I could have stopped a few more times to make sure everyone was ready to go together. This is one area I’d like to improve on and make sure my students are listening, following instructions and I’m not afraid to stop, wait and help them if needed.

          Near the end of the lesson, it’s always fun to put the dance together then perform with music. As soon as I felt the students were ready, I had them sit quietly on their pocket, “be at a five” (a saying Mrs. Talbot uses to get their attention), and those students who were sitting quietly, had the opportunity to create the order of the dance on the white board. Once the order was complete, we danced the choreographed order twice through with music. The dancers did a wonderful job with music! I noticed how they still relied on my help moving with the order and movement, but I enjoyed watching the process unfold and come together in the end.

             To finish the lesson, I had all the dancers gather on the carpet and we reviewed our experience together. I asked a few questions regarding the lesson and the students responded with their favorite movement quality to dance, or their favorite animal and if they enjoyed dancing today. By the students’ responses I could tell how much of the lesson they actually learned and where to go next.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first time teaching this cute kindergarten class! I see how I can improve and I’m excited to try new principles with them next time. I am also happy to report the lesson went well and how excited I am to be participating in BYU’s Arts Bridge Program. I feel this is the perfect timing for me to be progressing and working on my teaching skills. I’ve already learned so much and I look forward to always striving to learn more and become better every day.