Dance Strand 2: Effort and Dynamics

This week’s tutorial influenced me that all students should be given the opportunity to perform their interpretations of movement qualities such as swing, lyrical, percussion, vibrator and sustained on the spot, giving them opportunities to improvise.  This gives them freedom, confidence, and feeling positive about themselves (Collins, 2014, p.3).

To make it more expressive, I believe in getting my students to apply the Laban’s theory on movement, which consist of direct and indirect direction, heavy and light weight, quick and sustained speed and bound and free flow. I believe that these movements will surprise audiences, which is the key to an entertaining dance.  As Magruder (2013) states, the more energy is put into the dance, the more it will excite audiences’ imaginations, which will make it entertaining. Energy can be achieved when Laban’s theory is used in children’s dancing. This allows them to perform dances that will deliver their intended message effectively and clearly.

I will get them to use the strategies listed above to express their thoughts about the personality of a character of a picture book that the teacher is about to read. Getting them to express their thoughts without restrictions will increase their engagement, allowing them to encounter experiences that go beyond the daily experiences (Bond & Stinson, 2001, as cited in Fegley, 2010, p.6).

References
Collins, K. E. (2014). Artistic Expression Through the Performance of Improvisation (Senior Thesis Preparation, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=dance_students
Fegley, L. A. (2010). The impact of dance on student learning: Within the classroom and across the curriculum (Masters thesis, The Evergreen State College, USA). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.428.3993&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Magruder, E. H. (2013). Dancing for Young Audiences: A Practical Guide to Creating, Managing and Marketing a Performance Company. North Carolina, USA: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.