BLE Dance
Dream...Imagine...Believe...Create...Dance...
Introduction to Dance (7th/8th grade)
Course overview:
This course is an introduction to a variety of dance genres, with a consistent focus on both ballet and modern dance technique. Students will learn to use dance technique as a tool to strengthen and condition their body, and as a tool to learn basic anatomy. Students will also be challenged to learn and develop both their improvisational and compositional skills. They will learn how they can move their body utilizing the dance elements of space in order to create personal dances. Students will also be introduced to jazz, hip hop, and cultural dance.
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Dance I: Foundations in Dance
Course Overview:
This course is designed as an introduction to the the foundations of dance. Students will study the bio-mechanics and anatomy of the body and how this knowledge relates to movement and to moving their bodies as dancers. Students will learn and explore the elements of dance through writing, improvisational and compositional exercises, as well as through tasks which will provide a variety stimuli. This will allow students to broaden personal movement vocabulary and to discover personal movement preferences by actively, skillfully, and intentionally processing information. Students will study a variety of dance genres, such as ballet, modern, cultural dance, jazz and theatrical dance. they will study these genres, technically, creatively, and historically. Students will synthesize, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply dance materials and dance content to create and choreograph dance studies in individual, partner and group work.
Dance II: Expressions in Dance
Course Overview:
This course is designed as a continuation of dance I and focuses on deepening students’ understanding of the dance elements as performer and dance maker. Students will deepen their understanding by participating in improvisational, compositional and choreography activities and projects that require them to actively, skillfully, and thoughtfully apply their personal movement vocabulary and personal movement choices. Students will do this by continuously observing, writing, evaluating, and refining movement throughout their creative process. Students will also study anatomical concepts and principles and apply these concepts to technical skills in dance, as well as to exercises for dance conditioning. Students will have a focus of study in contemporary dance and will learn how contemporary dance connects to modern dance, ballet, and hip hop. They will study this connection by participating in dance techniques, daily improvisational activities, and in dance history lessons. Students will analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply dance materials and dance content to create and choreograph expressive and meaningful solo, partner, and group dance works.
Dance III: Reflections of self as dancer, educator, choreographer
Course Overview:
This course is designed as a continuation of dance II in which students will have the opportunity to continue to deepen their connection to dance as a medium to create, express, educate, and communicate opinion and facts of real world issues.This course will focus on dance techniques as a lifelong conditioning and wellness
Tool. Students will continue to focus on an advanced level of contemporary modern dance, as well as lyrical ballet, hip hop, and world dances. Students will continue to deepen these connections through an advanced and more rigorous technique and conditioning curriculum, and more challenging improvisational and compositional tasks, as well as higher level research and writing expectations. Students will also learn about careers in dance and how dance can be an effective tool when teaching subjects such as math, history, and science in the elementary classroom. Students will begin to look at and research history and current events and analyze and compare connections to dance as an art form. Students will continue to analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply dance materials and dance content to create and choreograph expressive and meaningful solo, partner, and group dance works throughout this course to meet course expectations.