Energy 1.1

I want you to find a spot in the room

that’s all to yourself,
as much as you can.

Ask students to use the whole space,
and introduce them to the idea

of personal space
versus general space as a warm-up.

We’re going to try moving
through the space

without touching anyone else.

So we’re going to start
that movement up on a high level,

so up on your feet.

You’re not just going to walk like this.

Te-te-te-te-te-te-te--

You’re going to move as much as you can

without touching anybody else.

As students are warming up,

bring their awareness
to using the entire room.

The first thing you’re going to do
is you’re going to pretend you're skating.

Students will often just
use the middle of the room

and neglect the corners,

so bring their awareness to the importance
of using the whole space.

(drum tapping)

Find those empty spaces.

Freeze! So we’re going to take
big steps this time--

like big, stretchy, giant steps.

Ready? Here we go.

(tapping drum)

When accompanying yourself
with a rhythm instrument,

establish a “cue” sound,
like a big beat at the end,

so that students know
when to freeze and when to move.

(tapping drum)

Now, this time I want you to try
to move on a different level,

so let’s try to move
on more of a middle level.

So we’re not going
to be walking up high this time,

we’re going to be down low.

You’ll notice that students find
moving on a low level or a middle level

more challenging
than moving on their feet,

and might require encouragement to do so.

Now, this is harder.

It’s hard to stay
out of people’s personal space,

so you need to be really aware
of who’s around you.

Are you ready? Here we go.

(tapping drum)

(children's shouts)

You should be moving
in amongst the students

to help encourage them to participate,

but it’s also important
to pull out to the edges of the space

so you can see everyone at the same time,

which helps you to manage behavior

and helps you to mediate risk
as the students are dancing.

You will want to dance with your students
to encourage them to dance.

When the teacher withdraws
and just watches as an audience member,

students feel self-conscious.

But when the teacher
moves with the students

and overcomes their own insecurities
in their physical space,

then students feel encouraged to dance
and feel validated in taking the risk,

because the teacher is also taking a risk.

With your students, connect
the idea of contrast in dance

to the idea of contrast
in other art forms.

So we do that a lot in dance:
we look at contrast,

because if someone was dancing
all the same way all the time,

would it be interesting to watch?

So this idea of contrast,
of things changing a lot,

is what makes dance interesting to watch.

Ask students for examples
where they see cause and effect

in their own lives.

For instance, bending their knees
before they jump

or pushing a kayak paddle down,
and the other side going up.

Have you ever been on a see-saw
or a teeter-totter?

(students) Yeah.

So what happens when one side goes down?

(student) You go up.

You go up, right?
It has this opposite action.

Ask them to give you examples
of where they see this action-reaction

in their own lives.

So we’re going to work on that idea
of opposite actions with movement.

So you’re going to-- when I say, “Go”--

you’re going to find a spot
in the room with a partner,

and you’re going
to experiment with that idea,

with one of you going down,
and the other one going up.

Or one of you going in,
and the other one going out.

While students are working in pairs,
circulate around the room

to provide feedback or information
to different pairs of students.

♪ (music in the background) ♪
(children's overlapping conversations)

Bring forward
some of the stronger pairs

to share their work with their classmates.

Very nice!

Everybody have a seat-- quick, quick.

Now, were there any partners
who wanted to show

what they were working on?

And this will help to build understanding
of what we’re working on.

♪ (music) ♪

After pairs have shown
their work, discuss with the students

how cause and effect manifest in dance.

For instance, we bend our knees
before we jump.

We might twist our body one way,
before we turn the other way.

And help them to see
how they are doing these things,

even though they might not notice
that they’re doing these things.

That’s the case when we dance, right?

What’s the first thing you do
before you jump?

What do you do before you jump?

In any kind-- if you're playing
basketball, if you're--

you have to bend down first.

So in order to go up, first,
you have to go--

- Down.
- (instructor) Down.

Have you ever tried to jump
without bending your knees first?

Give it a try.
You can stand up and give it a try--

jumping without bending knees.