Energy 3.1

In this lesson, we did two variations
of the Brain Dance as a warm-up.

The first variation
was seated on the floor

and that presented the students
with some challenges

about how they can move
through those patterns

while remaining on a low level.

(teacher) And two, up.

And two.

Good.

Now, what was the next one?
Anyone remember?

- Yes, Khalil?
- Cut the body in half.

Cut your body in half,
that's right, Khalil, awesome.

Whoosh.

Just [inaudible]. Whoosh.

Stretch, make it as big as you can.

You can make sound effects like Jaleel.

- Do you remember the last one, Judy?
- Spinning.

- Spinning.
- We're going to spin on our bums.

Six spins, round and round and round.

(children) Whee!

And then the second variation
we did is a mirroring activity

where one student was the leader
for one movement pattern

and the next student was the leader
for the next movement pattern,

and they had to try to remain in sync
with their partner as much as possible.

Continue with the mirroring activity,
where one student is the leader

and the other student is facing them
and trying to mirror their movements

as accurately as possible.

We're going to keep doing
a little more mirroring,

but this time you're going
to listen to the music, okay?

So, you're going to move sharply
when the music is sharp

and you're going to move smoothly
when the music is smooth, okay?

But at the same time, you're going to try
to mirror your partner.

So, Ava is going to stand up.

So, Ava is going to do
something smooth for me.

And I'm going to try to copy it as closely
as I can, so that if I'm looking at it,

it's really hard to tell who the leader is
and who the follower is, right?

Encourage students to begin using
slow and simple movements

so that their partner
has the best chance at success.

As partners become better
at this activity,

their movements can become faster
and more complex.

♪ (music) ♪

So just smooth.

If it's smooth, then you move smoothly.

Now, smooth.

Think about tai chi, maybe.

Tai chi is much slower.

♪ (music) ♪

Ooh, I like that, [Trace], that's nice.

Good, and whoever is the leader
is going to change pretty soon.

Nice, Yannis.

Think about that you don't have to do
everything standing up,

you can crouch down lower to the ground.

You can take a leg back.

Oh, this is really nice, Mirabelle
and [inaudible].

Good, now you're going to move sharp.

Sharp! Sharp!

So, whoever is the boss now
is going to move sharply.

Sharp, sharp, very nice, you two.

Can you do that with your legs?

Highlight the work of pairs
who were moving very successfully

in the mirroring relationship

or whose movement
was very interesting and unusual

and share that with the class.

I'm going to turn the music back on

and Alya and Eliana are going
to just quickly show

some of the sharp stuff they were doing.

♪ (music) ♪

Good, that was really great.

I really like that
because they were using--

a lot of you were using your whole arm,

which was also really good,

but they were getting into using
their fingers and their wrists.

Highlight a pair who learned
that it was easier to move together

when there was a pattern
to their movement.

So, for instance, when the leader did
one movement four times

and then another movement four times,

it was easier for that partner
to mirror that movement accurately.