The Arts Unit presents another exciting group composition project for students, featuring animateur Paul Rissmann and choreographer Josef Brown
Students will create a collaborative dance work devised through problem-solving tasks and manipulation of the elements of dance. They will explore, devise, select, refine and structure movement in response to the Infernal Dance of King Kastchei from Firebird Suite by Stravinsky.
Duration: 10 weeks (2 x 60 minute lessons per week)
Assessment
Formative
Summative
A student:
5.1.2 demonstrates enhanced dance technique by manipulating aspects of the elements of dance
5.1.3 demonstrates an understanding and application of aspects of performance quality and interpretation through performance
5.2.1 explores the elements of dance as the basis of the communication of ideas
5.2.2 composes and structures dance movement that communicates an idea
5.3.1 describes and analyses dance as the communication of ideas within a context
5.3.2 identifies and analyses the link between their performances and compositions and dance works of art
5.1.2
5.1.3
5.2.1
5.2.2
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.1.2
5.1.3
5.2.1
5.2.2
5.3.1
5.3.2
(One lesson)
Students are introduced to ‘The Firebird Suite’ by Stravinsky and given a brief history of the composer to place the work within its context. Following the contextual introduction, students review the 5 forms of stimuli in relation to ‘The Firebird Suite’ and select one to focus on the remainder of the lesson.
(Three lessons)
Students are taken through a series of workshops to explore the elements of dance. One lesson dedicated to space and another for time, followed by one lesson focusing on dynamics and relationships.
(Two lessons)
Students select a stimulus and a method of exploring the elements of dance as a means to begin a motif phrase. Once they have created a short phrase, students pair up and further manipulate their phrases to create a spatial relationships duet.
(Two lessons)
Students share their solo motif phrases and duets. As a class, students critically analyse phrases with the context of 'The Firebird'.
Combine the pairs with another pair to form groups of fours or sixes (depending on class sizes) to then start creating locomotor sequences by further manipulating their established movements.
(One lesson)
Students listen to 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei' and complete the basic music analysis and discuss their findings in a class discussion. Following the analysis task, students listen again to 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei' and draw/paint/sketch their own visual interpretation of the accompaniment. Students begin to explore the visual interpretation of the accompaniment physically through floor patterns and dynamic variation.
(Two lessons)
Students discuss structures of phrases, sequences and combinations in dance works.
Organising movement: a ‘work in progress’ showing in which students perform their phrases and sequences to the rest of the class. Students discuss the artistic and/or stylistic choices within the movements and brainstorm the direction of the work.
(Two lessons)
Learning Student devised movement phrases
Student direct the class through their movement phrases, sequences and combinations.
(One lesson)
Teacher lead students through a few activities in regards to transitions and variation and contrast. Students work in groups to create effective transitions to link their movements.
(Four lessons)
Students work colleagually to construct the dance work alongside the accompaniment (either the music composition or the original 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei')
Class discussion in regards to the selection and refinement of phrases, sequences and combinations as well as the grouping of dancers.
(Two lessons)
(First half of the lesson)
As a class, students read out loud the passage with blanks and then fill in the gaps individually. Mark all together once the activity is complete. If students finish the passage quickly, they can start to fill in the stimulus worksheet.
(Second half of the lesson)
In groups of three, students are given a stimulus (see resources for list) and are to explore the movement capabilities of that stimulus. (*Option to use a ‘round-robin’ strategy to allow all student groups to experience all 5 stimuli, if time permits).
(Homework)
Students research a bird of their choice to use for the next 3 lessons. Information required:
Using the information gathered from the homework task, students explore the element of space to create unique shapes and movements. After a few activities, students can share their favourite findings and class can discuss the effectiveness of the shapes and/or movements.
Activities could include:
Students create a shape based on their researched bird & locomote that shape.
Once the students have their shape, ask them to locomote that shape around the room;
Encourage the students to use abstract movements instead of simply mimicking the bird.
*Aspects of space covered in this exercise include: shape, level, dimension, direction, planes, pathways & floor patterns.
Students follow one and other throw the space, mimicking the movements of the leader. They need to remain in a tightknit group to remain as a flock.
Students are split into 2 teams (A and B).
After each team have had 2 turns of each role, ask them which aspect of the element space did they feel it related to most, and how they can use that exercise to enhance their bird-like movements?
*Aspects of space explored in this exercise are level, shape, direction, floor patterns, pathways and planes.
What were your favourite findings today? What activity was the most effective in helping you create movement? Why?
Continuing on from the bird they researched for homework, students continue to explore the element of time through activities that may include:
Students create 3 shapes to use and manipulate through the activity.
Once the students have created their three varying shapes, they must add transitions between the shapes to create a small phrase. Students have the option to switch the order if they wish from 1, 2, 3 to 3, 2, 1.
Students are then given a set of temporal instructions to further manipulate their phrase. Aspects include tempo, accent, stillness, and rhythmic phrasing. Students need to ensure all the aspects of time are included somewhere in the progression of their phrase.
Students watch video clips of mating dances of birds and clap out the rhythm of the movements.
Following that, the students can utilise these erratic rhythms to further manipulate their phrases.
Student revisit the earlier exercises and movement phrases to explore and improvise movements involving varying dynamics qualities.
Using the flocking exercise from the previous lesson, students each select a quality to use in the exercise to influence the collective choreography.
Some suggestions for prompting/guiding qualities: swinging, flicking, quivering, trembling, wobbling, slashing, whipping, gliding, drifting, steady, dabbing, swishing, sudden, creeping, heavy, squeezing, cutting, chopping, kneading, vibratory, collapsing, eddying, burly.
Students explore the aspects of relationships to discuss the benefits, disadvantages and effects of groupings, spatial relationships and the interaction between and sensitivity to other dancers.
These include:
In groups of five, students are given a set of criteria to use in their development of a phrase. The criteria are made up of the syllabus descriptors. Students must use the words to create a collective manipulation of their own ‘metamorphmagus’ phrases. For example, a group may be given solo, far, following. The group discuss the options for the development of a sequence that incorporates all their criteria to further manipulate and enhance their movement choices thus far.
Students are introduced to the term ‘motif’ and it’s importance in the compositional process. Watch opening 2 sections of ‘Jardi Tancat’ by Nacho Duato as an example of clear motif establishment and development.
As a class, discuss the possible motifs they have noticed/witnessed throughout the exploration of the elements of dance workshops.
Students develop a motif phrase based on their experiences thus far.
Students teach their phrase to another student and create a duet manipulating the spatial relationships: over, under, around, side-by-side, supported, near, far.
Students participate in a mid-class sharing to critically analyse the progress of their phrases.
Some discussion notes to consider might be:
Encourage students to use the specific dance terminology and provide suggestions to further enhance the phrases.
After the mid-class check in, the students continue to develop and refine their spatial relationship duet.
Students are given 10 minutes to revise their duets before given their next choreographic task.
In groups of 4 or 6 (depending on class size) students start to develop a group-devised phrase; within this phrase the students should draw from their spatial relationships duet, the exercises and activities they have explored to enhance their movement choices.
Continuing on from the previous lesson, students refine their group phrase and are given the extension exercise of translating their phrase into a locomotor sequence. Once they have composed both variations, the students must use both phrases to create a sequence which incorporates all the exploration, improvisation, reflection, selection, refinement of their movement phrases developed over throughout the process.
As a class, the students present their sequences and combinations and discuss the artistic choices of each group and the effectiveness of their motif development and presentation.
Students complete the basic music analysis worhskeet. Discuss findings with class.
Students read through the information sheet in regards to Kandinsky’s artistic practices and processes. After reading about his work, students listen to 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei' and draw or paint their initial reactions to the accompaniment. Encourage students to connect colours with pitches or specific instruments as Kandinsky did, connect shape of strokes or impressions with the accents, tempo and rhythmic patterns.
Students discuss the differences of phrases, sequences & sections and how they relate to the structure of a dance work.
Students present their movement phrases and sequences to the class to elaborate on the potential structure of their dance work.
Students listen to the accompaniment again to provide some guidance as to which phrases, sequences and sections are the most effective with the musical accompaniment.
Students physically explore the movement possibilities to creatively problem-solve the external structure of their dance work.
Students direct the class through their movement phrases, sequences and sections.
Students direct the class through their movement phrases, sequences and sections.
Worksheet & observe Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring (watch first 6 minutes)
Students participate in activities that extend their understanding of transitions and variation and contrast.
Students work colleagually to construct the dance work alongside the accompaniment (either the music composition or the original 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei')
Class discussion in regards to the selection and refinement of phrases, sequences and combinations as well as the grouping of dancers.
Students work colleagually to construct the dance work alongside the accompaniment (either the music composition or the original 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei')
Class discussion in regards to the selection and refinement of phrases, sequences and combinations as well as the grouping of dancers.
Students work colleagually to construct the dance work alongside the accompaniment (either the music composition or the original 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei')
Class discussion in regards to the selection and refinement of phrases, sequences and combinations as well as the grouping of dancers.
Students work colleagually to construct the dance work alongside the accompaniment (either the music composition or the original 'The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei')
Class discussion in regards to the selection and refinement of phrases, sequences and combinations as well as the grouping of dancers.
Students present the unified dance work to an audience with accompaniment (either the composition from the music program or 'Stravinsky’s original Infernal Dance of King Kastchei').
Review the video footage of performance.
Write a newspaper article about the dance work.
