Experiencing Dance

• Journaling prompts
• Extended learning activities
• Web search suggestions for further research
• Worksheets and assignments to either print out or complete online (via editable Word files)
• Interactive chapter review quizzes (these are completed online and students get immediate feedback)
• Video clips
• Vocabulary terms with and without definitions to aid in self-quizzing and review

• A printable full-color poster for the classroom
• PowerPoint presentations for each chapter
• Answer keys for worksheets and quizzes
• A full electronic version of the student textbook

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

Lesson 1.2

Body Mechanics: Matching Movement to Muscles and Bones

Move It!

Repeat the simple jazz arm exercise shown in figure 1.3 until your muscles get tired. In this way you will be able to identify which muscles are doing the work in this exercise.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477025_ebook_Main.jpg
Do this jazz arm exercise until your arms get tired.

With a partner, take turns doing a similar movement with resistance (see figure 1.4). Note: One person does the movement while the other person carefully presses or pulls on the lower arm in the opposite direction (resistance).

With your partner, discuss which muscles you felt when you bent your elbow (flexion) and when you straightened your elbow (extension).

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477026_ebook_Main.jpg
Flexion and extension of the biceps while bending and straightening the elbow joint.

Vocabulary

• antagonist
• concentric contraction
• eccentric contraction
• extension
• fixator
• flexion
• kinesiologist
• ligament
• prime mover
• resistance
• synergist
• synovial joint
• tendon

Curtain Up

The skeletal system has three major functions. It gives the body support and form. The bones and their attached muscles determine the body's structure. The skeleton provides protection for internal organs. Consider what vital organs your skull (brain), rib cage (lungs and heart), and pelvis (reproductive organs) house and protect. The skeletal system also allows for movement. Bones play a passive role in movement, but their shapes, lengths, and places where muscles can attach dictate how the body moves.

Joints are where two bones meet. Movement occurs at the joints. Although there are various types of joints, dancers, athletes, and kinesiologists (those who study the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement) are usually concerned with synovial joints. Synovial joints (such as the knee; see figure 1.5) include cartilage-covered bone endings (a form of connective tissue that is smooth and elastic), a capsule (also made up of connective tissue) that protects and strengthens the joints, and synovial fluid that lubricates the joint (like oil in an engine). Ligaments (tissues that connect bones to bones) and muscles also strengthen and protect the joints. The freedom and direction of movement possible at a joint are determined by how the ligaments are placed and the shape of the bone endings.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477027_ebook_Main.jpg
Synovial joint.

The muscular system contains muscles, tendons (which connect the muscles to the bones), and ligaments. The muscles actively work to produce movement. Simply put, the muscles shorten and lengthen while pulling on the bones, thereby creating motion. During a movement, one muscle shortens. This muscle is called the prime mover (a muscle that is mainly responsible for a motion). On the other side of the bone, its antagonist (a muscle that counteracts, or slows down a motion) lengthens in opposition. In this way, not only is movement created, but also the joints are protected from too sudden or too much force. For example, in the Move It! exercise the following occurred: To bend (flex) your elbow, the biceps did a shortening (concentric) contraction while the triceps did a lengthening (eccentric) contraction (see figure 1.4). In extending your elbow, the muscle groups reverse roles.

Put simply, other muscles, called synergists, often help the prime movers. Also, fixators (muscles that hold or fix a body part in a particular position to support the movement of another body part) hold other body parts in place so that a certain motion can be done efficiently.

Take the Stage

The following is a matching exercise for linking muscles, joints, and movements.

1. Identify the two sets of muscles that are the prime movers and antagonists for the joints in figure 1.6: shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Write your predictions or guesses next to the name of the joint.
3. While moving the joint, touch the muscles to see if your predictions are true. Make any needed corrections. Use the partner work that you did in this lesson's Move It! to help you with your work. (Remember how your partner provided careful resistance.)

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477030_ebook_Main.jpg
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477156_ebook_Main.jpg
Muscles of the arms, hips, and legs.

Take a Bow

Compare your work with another student's work. It would be preferable if this student were not your first partner. Discuss and defend your findings. Make any needed corrections on your prediction list.

1. Check your results with your teacher.
2. Make corrections on your prediction list as needed.

Spotlight

Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd (1946-)studied with and assisted Dr. Lulu Sweigard at the Juilliard School from 1968 through 1974. Irene has a BA in philosophy from Vassar College and studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School and neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Juilliard School where she teaches classes in anatomy and kinesiology and dynamic trunk stabilization, and another course on understanding technique for summer high school students. She also teaches at the National Ballet School of Canada and conducts training programs for both faculty and students of the school. Irene has a private practice in neuromuscular training that she started in 1974. The focus of her private teaching practice is solving individual problems with the functioning of musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which can cause discomfort or the inability to achieve one's potential in movement. In the third edition of her book, Taking Root to Fly, Ms. Dowd speaks of the process of seeing and touching her students as they go through movements in daily activities.

Did You Know?

Gray's Anatomy

Many resources can help you learn more about the human anatomy. One of the most popular is Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, by Henry Gray (1825-1861). In 1858, the first English edition of Gray's Anatomy was published. Forty editions have been published, and it still serves as a primer for students of anatomy worldwide. You can visit your local library or bookstore to check out this valuable resource. For an interesting alternative, try using the Anatomy Coloring Book.

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Lesson 4.2

Apply Dance Learning Strategies to Other Life Situations

Move It!

Collaborating with a partner, find a way to communicate simple directions to others in a nonverbal manner. Share and discuss the experience with another set of partners.

Vocabulary

• creative process
• transfer

Curtain Up

Collaborate and communicate: These are two of the skills considered important to the workforce, according to the business partners involved in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st-century readiness of all students so that they can enter the workforce and continue in their education. In 2010, The 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts was unveiled, which illuminates how certain skills are demonstrated in the arts.
www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477051_ebook_Main.jpg

These particular skills are as follows:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Innovation and information literacy
• Media literacy
• Information, communication, and technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

Dance projects that integrate these aspects provide a great opportunity to practice lifelong skills.

The creative process is the same no matter what someone is making. Refer to table 4.2, Comparison of Cognitive Processes. Notice the similarities between the creative and artistic processes and the writing, problem-solving, and scientific processes. You can apply what you know, through choreographing, learning dance skills, and performing, to any other life or learning situation. Taking new learning from one situation and applying it to another situation is called transfer. Here are examples:

• You can use the self-discipline you have learned in technique classes and rehearsals in any training situation. Self-discipline is needed in such diverse activities as playing sports, memorizing facts for a test, and staying on schedule for a project. This self-discipline is an example of your application of initiative and self-direction as well as flexibility and adaptability.
• The teamwork skills that you have learned in rehearsals, performing, and group work in choreography will be useful in any committee work you do in the future. Listening to all ideas, giving your input, compromising on decisions, and being responsible for your assigned work are all teamwork skills you have learned in dance. This teamwork used in dance reflects the skills of communication, collaboration, and leadership and responsibility.
• Persistence is necessary for completing research or problem solving. Dancers, detectives, and scientists all have persistence in common.
• Transfer what you know about rehearsing and performing in dance to any other performance or exhibition situation, whether this situation is a theater production or an oral report given in school.
• Being an artist has taught you about risk taking (putting yourself and your ideas out before others). The self-esteem and self-confidence you have gained through completing and performing a dance will serve you well when you are confronted with new experiences.
• Dancers should know how to stop and evaluate their work and abilities. They learn how to take their work apart, decide what is good and poor about it, and make revisions. Evaluation is necessary for all types of work, from writing a term paper to serving on an advisory panel for the government. Without evaluation, improvement is impossible.
• Creative thinking flows easily for experienced dancers. Some artists have described the creative state of mind as almost like being in a trance. Use creative thinking when rearranging information or making anything original.

Of course, the sense of responsibility and the ability to work hard are traits that all serious dancers share, and you should apply those skills to your employment opportunities. Dancing teaches more than just steps. Bring all that you have learned from dancing and apply it to the rest of your life.

Take the Stage

1. In small groups, discuss which skills you have used in dance and also have used in other life situations. You may want to use the lists in this lesson's Curtain Up as a discussion starter.
2. Design a group presentation that supports the value of dance learning. Be sure to use personal testimony and examples that illustrate how skills learned in dance have applied in other life situations.

Take a Bow

To further apply the skills of collaborate and communicate, give this presentation at a faculty meeting, school committee meeting, parent - teacher meeting, or business forum.

Spotlight

Careers Beyond Dancing

When it comes time for dancers to transition into other careers, they can receive help from a nonprofit organization, Career Transition for Dancers, founded in 1985. CTFD provides a variety of transition-related services - all free of charge to any dancer. Only the grants and scholarships have eligibility requirements involving length of time in the profession and amount of money earned. On a new mission, CTFD now urges dancers to start planning for, and in some cases even embarking on, a second career while they are still working as performers. No matter why or when you want or need to find another career, your dance training and the skills you learned during that training will help you find a new passion by problem solving, creative thinking, and being motivated. An interesting note is that a survey indicates that 50 percent of professional dancers become teachers after their performing careers end, but with guidance from CTFD there can be many more choices.

Did You Know?

Contacts in the Dance Field

The United States Department of Labor has a page in their online Occupational Outlook Handbook dedicated to dancers and choreographers. The tabs on the page are summary, what they do, work environment, pay, job outlook, similar occupations, and contact for more information. The more you know about future possibilities, the more capable you are of directing your own future.

Cultural Dance

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Lesson 9.1

Cultural Dance

Move It!

Close your eyes. Visualize a traditional dance pose or step from a specific culture. Open your eyes and show it to your classmates. Ask them to identify the country by your demonstration of the pose or step.

Vocabulary

• world dance

Curtain Up

Dance is for everyone, but it means different things to different cultures. In many cultures dance is not separated from everyday life. It is used in religious rites and ceremonies, and for many it can be a rite of passage, a thanking of the gods, or the raising and quieting of spirits. Dance is also a way to celebrate. Notation of dances is a relatively new practice. Most cultural dance movements, meanings, and techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. Men dance with men, women dance with women, and men and women dance together.

You can delve into your cultural background and find movement and material that can be used in building dances. Look to your heritage. In the United States all people or their ancestors, except Native Americans, have come from another country. Whatever your ancestral background might be, there should be someone around who remembers some of the reasons why people of your culture dance certain dances. If you do not have firsthand or secondhand knowledge, you can rely on traditional research methods. You can pull information from videos, pictures, artwork, the Internet, and other written sources. Often there are societies that preserve and practice the dances of their countries.

World dance is a term currently used to describe dances that stem from an ethnic culture and express the movement aesthetic of that culture. It is a global term and has evolved from the term ethnic dance. World dance includes the folk dances in which widespread participation identifies it as part of the way of life of the country. World dance is not to be confused with the classical theatrical forms of ballet, modern, and jazz.

Tribal dance can also be under the umbrella of the term world dance. It stems from a time before industrialization and is inherent in community life. It is not used for entertainment and is usually serious in nature, done during rites of passage, before battles, at victory celebrations, and as mourning rituals. Sometimes it is even used as a way to communicate with the supernatural.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_4258807_ebook_Main.jpg
Flamenco dance is one example of world dance.

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

Take the Stage

Create a dance based on the research of a dance from a particular country or region. Before you begin, read the criteria in this lesson's Take a Bow, and use the information as a guide to complete this activity.

1. Choose a country or region of a country.
2. Research the chosen country or region. Use videos to select a dance. The Internet is a great resource of folk or world dances. Other resources are music recordings, reference books, and other print materials. Research could include who does the dance, what purpose the dance serves in that context, where specifically the dance is done, and when the dance is done, such as during festivals or rites of passage. Aspects from the research should be evident in the dance and should also be documented in your notes and reflections. Look to your local or state arts organization for help in finding a cultural group in your community that specializes in dance from your chosen country or region.
3. Create your original dance. Start by selecting and learning key movements and steps and phrases from the world dance. Build other dance phrases from research. Finally, organize the dance phrases in an order that pleases you.
4. Revise your dance. Reread the criteria to see if anything is missing. Video-record your dance and evaluate your work. Make revisions as necessary. Remember, seeking critiques from other people is always a good practice.

Take a Bow

Evaluate your dance using the criteria and rubric. When you want to assess your work, you need something to function as a guide. Part of your job is to find the answers to the criteria questions.

Use evidence from the criteria and rubric for your portfolio, and include other evidence, such as reflections on the research and choreographic process, research notes, bibliography from research, and final reflection on the completed dance.

Spotlight

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández (1917-2000) is a troupe that started with only eight dancers. They performed the traditional folk dances of Mexico. Amalia Hernández's vision as master choreographer was to introduce the elements of Western classical theatrical dance forms into the folk dance traditions. This was one of her greatest innovations. Mexican folkloric is now a dance form of its own. As a touring group, Ballet Folklórico de México has brought to the world the richness and mystery of Mexican culture.

Did You Know?

Arts and Cultural Organizations That Include Dance

Most state councils of the arts have someone on staff who is responsible for keeping a list of community cultural organizations that include dance. This person might also have information about classes, performances, traditional costumes, and internship possibilities. You may be able to find the contact information for your state council on the arts in the government listings in your phone book or on your city or state's home page on the Internet. Sometimes cities and towns have their own council on the arts that lists local arts resources.

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens’ center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Lesson 14.1

Create and Plan Presentations for Specific Settings

Move It!

Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a performance at a senior citizens' center. Create a dance phrase that would be appropriate for a kindergarten class to watch. Create a dance phrase appropriate for an audience at a juried dance festival.

Vocabulary

• crossover
• masking
• wings

Curtain Up

You have a dance or collection of dances. Now you need to locate a place and an audience for a performance. Not all dances are appropriate for all audiences. To keep the audience's interest, you may need to tailor the presentation to the special audience. In a high school exit exhibition or senior project concert, you would choose your most accomplished works and a more formal performance space. For a group of kindergartners, a lively, fast-paced, colorful presentation will stand a better chance of keeping the young audience's attention.

Some performance spaces will require that you change your costuming, footwear, and possibly some choreography to fit the space. Some spaces present problems such as uneven floors, superheated floors from the sun, lack of changing areas, and a small dance space. It would be wise to get the dimensions of the dance or stage area so that you can rehearse your work in the exact dimensions of the space. Some performance areas do not include wings. Wings are entrance and exit spaces between legs, which are curtains that provide masking, a cover that hides the performers from the view of the audience for their entrances and exits and to get from one place to another behind the scenes.

If this masking does not exist for crossovers, when dancers exit one side of the stage and have to go to the other side of the stage for their next entrance, dancers must practice standing quietly at the sides of the dance space. Also, without masking, choreography, exits, and entrances might have to be changed. Other changes in the choreography may be necessary for the protection of the dancers. For example, knee slides are not recommended for a splintered wood floor or on a hill in a park.

Costumes should be appropriate to the performing site as well. If no changing areas are provided, a basic underlay costume (such as a skin-tone leotard) can be changed in appearance by layering different costumes over it.

If the space has limited or no lighting capabilities (as a cafeteria or multipurpose room in a school), then a dance that needs high-tech lighting effects would not be a wise choice for your programming. In this case, choose more movement-oriented pieces. Always ask whether the sound system will be provided and what type of technology is being used (CDs or MP3s). Even if the sound system is provided, it is always advisable to bring your own backup. If there is no microphone available, and the space is large or in a large outdoor space, avoid pieces that use text and narration. However, if a microphone is available or the space is small enough so that you can be heard without amplification, some inexperienced audiences will find a short explanation before each dance helpful. Finally, when performing at sites other than one you are used to, be flexible and ready for anything.

http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/127/E5623_477097_ebook_Main.jpg

Choreography can be a real challenge when you work outdoors using different levels and nontraditional surfaces.

Photo courtesy of Tovah Muro.

Take the Stage

Good preparation is essential for taking your show on the road. Follow these suggestions:

1. Either alone or in a group, design programming that would be appropriate for a particular audience and setting. (Some examples of audiences are young children, peers, senior citizens, general public, and dance-knowledgeable audiences. Some nontraditional settings are lawns, classrooms, lobbies of public buildings, libraries, and on parade routes.)
2. Consider all the possible variables in lesson 14.1 Curtain Up as you choose your dances, costumes, footwear, and accompaniment. You should keep these variables in mind when you create your program.

Take a Bow

Create a short narrative that describes and promotes your presentation. Be sure to describe the audiences that would benefit from and enjoy this presentation, and support why this is so. (In preparation for lesson 14.2 Take the Stage, this information can be presented in flier format.)

Spotlight

Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (1915-1979) was affiliated with the University of Utah. She developed and ran a huge children's program, but she also had many students as part of her Creative Dance program and Children's Dance Theatre (CDT) that has since become a Utah institution. The fact that this program has grown over its more than 50-year history is a credit to Ms. Tanner's ability to choreograph to her students' abilities and present material that inspired the student audience. Under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since 1979, CDT performs for more than 40,000 Utah residents each year and has made appearances as far away as Malaysia. Not only do they entertain, but they also present lecture - demonstrations and teacher and community workshops as educational components of their work.

Based on www.tannerdance.utah.edu/cdt/cdt.html.

Did You Know?

Choreographers for the Stars

The entertainment industry is full of successful choreographers. Frank Gatson Jr., who started as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, has choreographed for Beyoncé and has worked with other artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly Furtado. Brian Friedman has choreographed for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, and Pink and has been nominated for and won many awards. He has also choreographed for at least two seasons of the television show So You Think You Can Dance. Laurieann Gibson is a Grammy-winning choreographer and creative director and has worked with Lady Gaga, Diddy, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.