National Dance Week Foundation
Modern Dance Project
As part of a celebration of National Dance week, class members engage in a series of exercises that introduce them to the movements of modern dance.
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Dance Sequences and Phrases
A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...
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Exploring the Roots of Modern Dance in America
Students develop an understanding of how African culture impacted modern dance in the United States.
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Ballet, Modern, and Jazz Dance: Basic Positions
Students compare and contrast the basic vocabulary of ballet, modern, and jazz dance through observation and experience. This lesson correlates with the DanceSense Enhanced DVD.
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Lesson 14- Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance
Students analyze the techniques of modern dance choreography. They keep a journal as they observe the movement of people and animals. They use the movements to create a dance piece.
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The Chicken Dance
Third graders identify and perform the five main dance movements of the "Chicken Dance" to accordion music.
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Dance Research Essay
Pupils discover and appreciate the history, characteristics, and significance of a specific dance style. They to pick a dance style that they are interested in and would like to research.
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Solo Dance Composition
Students conclude the semester with an individual movement study utilizing basic elements of dance and choreography previously covered in class. They will choose from three choreographic prompts presented a few days before giving them...
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Chance (Probability) Operations in Dance Composition -
Eighth graders investigate modern-dance choreographer Merce Cunningham's historically significant contribution to dance-making history. Specifically, 8th graders explore and practice Merce Cunningham's choreographic use of chance...
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Dance Production
Students go through the experience of creating a dance. They use the correct vocabulary when creating the dance in writing. Students choreograph the steps needed to perform the dance in sequence. Then they perform the dance for final...
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"Shapes" Dance Lesson Plan
Sixth graders create dances by manipulating shapes with their bodies.
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"Performance Qualities" Dance Lesson Plan
Eighth graders move across a space practicing a dance as they work on focus and energy.
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"Spatial Awareness" Dance Lesson Plan
Seventh graders explore spatial awareness and then choreograph a dance.
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Movement And Rhythm In Modern Art
Students gather around the three selected paintings. The teacher guide students in looking at different elements of the paintings and help students make the connections between the visual art and movement skills.
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Jump if you feel like it
Students incorporate historical references into the modern circle dances.
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EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES
Students create a dance that expresses a specific mood. They describe the composition in writing and explain how they would alter actions, movement qualities and spacing to convey a new mood. They perform the dance they created...
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The Chicken Dance
Introduction of a modern folk dance that emphasizes the coordination of both fine and gross motor skills within the melodic structure of the song. The pupils will be able to identify the main parts of an accordion and discuss the...
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Japanese Abstract Art And The Impressionist Movement
Students study several examples of Japanese abstract art and how this style impacted the Impressionist movement of the 19th century. This lesson includes ideas for student-created sketchbooks.
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Cinquain
Students create an original Cinquain (five-line poem) and choreograph movement to their poem, performing movement for class and video. This lesson addresses standards in the arts and requires a video recorder.
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Modern Dance and the Harlem Renaissance
Students create an artistic rendering based on what they have learned from the film and the lesson.
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Plodding Along: The Dan Wagoner Experiment
Students research Dan Wagoner and apply his choreographic ideas in "Plod" to dance study. In this art lesson, students discuss Dan Wagoner. Students select four shapes from "Plod" and connect in a dance.
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Pathways to the Future
Students draw a pathway and create a movement phrase along that same path using specific movement vocabulary. The phrases are performed in class and rubrics are used for assessment. Meets State standards for the arts.
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Bollywood, Philadelphia
Students conceive a simple boy-meets-girl story. They write a screenplay, compose a storyboard, and produce the story with music and dancing in the style of a modern Indian operetta, using digital filming and editing. They screen the...
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Flamenco Music
Learners explore flamenco music through research into the lives and movements of the Gypsies of Andalusia. They adopted th music of Spain and added their own strong rhythmic sense and drama.