2.2 Dance: warming up  (Page 4/6)

Dance is a discipline that requires learners to compose and to explore ideas, improvise solutions to problems, select the most appropriate actions and shape movements into dance phrases and motifs.

Dance as art shares the characteristics of other forms of art such as painting, poetry, music and drama. It puts dance alongside other arts in the production of objects for aesthetic enjoyment. It also brings into focus the processes of creating, performing and appreciating.

In education the art of dance is centrally concerned with the creating, performing and appreciating of artworks that cannot be produced in a vacuum. With dance the learner may become aware of himself and develop creative/expressive abilities and social skills in group work. Learners need to learn how to objectify their subjective experiences through the artistic medium. The educator acts as a guide and facilitator rather than a director .

Therefore in this module the learner will become acquainted with different spaces, e.g. inside and outside, in the classroom, on stage, on wood, cement, grass or mud, and should be able to dance and describe how dance is influenced by the physical environment and space.

ACTIVITY 1 (GROUP)

preparing for the activities

THE WARM-UP

Before any creative and physical activity can take place the body must be properly warmed up and loosened in order for the learner to execute the movements to follow and move comfortably. The warm-up also sets the learner at ease with the physical situation and is introductory to the activities that are to follow.

To avoid any injuries during the class it is important to warm up the major muscle groups. Start all warm-up sessions with breathing (controlled inhaling and exhaling), in order for the muscles to have enough oxygen to execute the movements.

This exercise can be done to music – preferably modern pop music to which the learners can relate. The tempo must be approximately between 125 and 136 beats per minute, which is a mid tempo beat (compared to a slow tempo of between 84 and 125 beats per minute and a fast tempo of between 139 and 160 beats per minute.)

Follow the procedure in the module.

Helpful Hints:

Learners should breathe normally throughout the warm-up.

Make sure the learners have full range of motion when executing each movement.

Count audibly throughout the warm-up.

Learners must be able to hear your instructions above the music.

Take note of any learner not executing the exercise properly.

Correct faulty posture or movement to avoid injury.

activity 2

THE SPORT DANCE

Only after the warm-up the learner is prepared for the following activity.

This dance is to be done outside on the sports field . Because of the magnitude of space you do not have to use music for this dance. This space is qualified as an “open space”.

Use sport activities as the starting point for your dance based on the five basic body activities:

• travel
• turn
• elevation
• gesture
• weight transfer

Use changes in speed and size of the action to create exaggeration and contrasts: