Creative Dance for Elementary School Learning

Creative dance is an art form that provides potential for the expression of personal and universal qualities. Through its use of nonverbal communication, dance gives students the opportunity to participate in a way that is different from any other area of learning. In a broad and balanced elementary school curriculum dance is an important area of human experience that should not be neglected. Dance supports any subject matter area. This paper describes creative movement ideas and activities that would enhance the teaching of American history for grades 3 through 5.

The goal of creative dance is to communicate through movement. The instrument is the human body. In creative dance there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do things, no routines to learn. What is important is that the dancer draw on inner resources to make a direct and clear statement. Granted, an increase in skill increases ability to communicate, but in creative dance the statement comes before the technique.

Great dancers can communicate depths of feeling through movement, by making their craft and feeling one. But even great dancers must begin at the beginning. In teaching creative dance to elementary school children the first step is learning what the body can do, and how it can be done. A thorough knowledge of the basic elements of dance empowers the child to explore, experiment, and use the elements creatively. The second step is to let ideas arise from the movement so that the children become

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olonists to plant corn. The Indian princess Pocahontas gave food to the starving men and women of Jamestown. John Smith, the leader of the Jamestown settlement, claimed that Pocahontas was responsible for saving the colonists from death and famine. The first step in using any story is for the teacher to present it as an idea to the class. Question, discuss, and define the idea. Then relate the image and experience to movement. What movement possibilities are inherent in the idea? Relate the idea to dance by questions involving the elements and use contrast, space control, and extension to increase movement possibilities. The elements provide a bridge that serves as a crossover between the idea or image and dance. The third step in structuring an idea is to put the movements into a form: shape, movement, shape. The children select and organize their movements, enclosing them between a beginning shape and an ending shape. Using the Pilgrim and Indian story as an example the teacher would first question, discuss, and define the concepts. For example, some of the children might want to dance as parts of the landscape, perhaps trees. The first step would be for the children to find a starting shape. The initial concept

Category: Arts - C