Dance Workshops with Phoenix Dance Theatre - Tracy Witney

I thought that I would show an example of one of our basic class structures for the residency beginning the week of the 19th of September. We are aiming to introduce to each group some basic dance skills which will in turn relate to each idea that was discussed with the teachers and other artists. The below listed workshop relates to the adventures of the Knight in the Jabberwocky picture and the idea of moving sculptures, by the end of this session it is hoped that the students will have gained skills in the listed key elements but also be able to chose words to add into our dance bank.

• WORKSHOP ONE – YEAR 3
  INTRODUCTION TO DANCE SKILLS
  Key Elements:
  Mirroring
  Levels
  Pathways
  Balances – on own / with partner
  
  WARM UP:
  Warm Up Ideas
  Ask the group/class/participants why they think warming up is so important and then read this out to them.
  
  Warming up your body before you dance is of vital importance to a dancer’s health, safety and fitness. To do this you should carry out gentle exercises that warm your body up and get your heart and blood pumping. You need to stretch and loosen your muscles for when you start to dance, to ensure that you don’t injure yourself.
  
  There are certain ways to tell that you are properly warmed up:
  -Your breathing will have increased and should be much quicker
  -Your heart will be beating faster
  -You should feel invigorated and ready to move
  -Your blood will be pumping around your body much quicker, allowing your body to become much looser and more flexible. Reducing the risk of injuries
  
  Ice Breaker:
  Ask children to form a large circle and stand still in the space:
  Students should be shown how to stand in parallel position with the shoulders over the hips, hips over the knees & knees over the feet.
  
  · Go around the circle in a clockwise direction and ask each person to say his or her name.
  · Repeat above but this time adds a small gesture or movement, everyone should then repeat the name and movement of each person.
  
  Ask children to find a space in the room and stand still:
  Students should stand in parallel position.
  
  Shake a body part; hands, feet, legs, arms, - this can be performed in rhythms of 8, 4,2,1 using different level whist working on the spot.
  
  Walking: Begin the movement by walking on the spot in time with the music; slowly speed this up to jogging on the spot. This can then develop into slowly walking around the room at first and gradually getting faster until you begin to jog, it is not advised to run around the room as health and safety issues come into play.
  (Stress awareness of the general space, and each other)
  
  Stretching: When a signal is made (drum, shout or clap) ask the students/pupils to find to a free space and take 8 counts to the stretch in different shapes towards the ceiling, arms alternating and extending*, then 8 to the sides and 8 towards and into the floor. Then again using a signal start to walk / jog around the room again.
  
  Find a partner: Mirroring
  Mirroring exercise
  · Hands – like a piano stretch out to the sides
  · Cleaning windows each hand making bigger circles x 4
  · Shake a foot x 4
  · Balance – any sort – change balance x 4 (must mirror partner)
  
  Travelling:
  Travel from one end of the room to the other in groups of four doing the following
  Low level movements in a straight line
  Medium level movements in a straight line
  High level movements in a straight line
  Variations of all levels in a straight line
  
  Creative task:
  With a partner, create a short sequence that includes the following:
  A starting position that stretches up to the ceiling.
  A traveling sequence that starts on the floor moves through the medium level and ends with a jump.
  An ending position that is in contact with your partner.
  
  Be able to remember, repeat and perform your sequence.
  
  COOL DOWN
  Cooling down is as equally important as the warm-up, as it is important to cool down our bodies slowly and thoroughly to prevent muscle soreness.
  
  Lift shoulders on an ‘in breath’ to the ears and let drop on the ‘out breath’
  Roll shoulders forwards and then repeat backwards slowly
  Calf stretch
  Stand in parallel, on your ‘in’ breath take your arms from by your sides in a circle out to the side to the ceiling. Reverse on your ‘out’ breath, bringing your arms down to the sides to the floor