Transfer Task

One of the options for our transfer task for this concept, was to perform a cultural dance at the end of term Rimu Whanau celebration.  At the beginning of the term we explored the conventions and elements of dance such as body awareness, space, time, energy and relationships.  We listened to different cultural music and used these conventions and elements to respond appropriately.  We learned about mirroring, shadowing, cannon and flocking.  Flocking just means we arranged ourselves in a V like a flock of birds.  It is a helpful way to produce a dance without having to remember a strict routine.

We also watched lots of traditional dances from India, China, Germany, Ireland, Croatia and Scotland.  We looked at the way the dancers moved, whether they danced in a group or as an individual.  We also looked at their costumes which were all similar to their national costume.   We also looked at the reasons for the dances - story telling, social interaction and being agile (physically and mentally) were some of the reasons we thought of.

We decided to create our own dance so we could use our new learning about dance.  We listened to some traditional music and finally chose a piece from the Middle East.  We then spent some time trying to use our dance knowledge to create a new dance.   We videoed our first performances and they were not that good.  People got embarrassed and lacked confidence to perform in front of others.  Being able to watch ourselves when we played the videos back was good though.  We were able to see what we needed to to do to improve.  For most groups it was moving our feet properly and using the space.  We had some really good upper body movements, especially our hands and arms but for some reason our feet were a bit clunky.

Luckily,  a week before we had to perform our dances to our whanau, we attended a dance workshop with Footsteps Dance Troupe.  Kate, the dance instructor, taught us some new moves and although they made up a modern dance, we were able to use some of them in our own dances.  The other good thing was that we loosened up and became less self conscious.   After our workshop, we went back to class and incorporated the new moves we had learned.  What a difference!  Our routines improved and we were more focussed.

Kate, our fantastic dance instructor from Footsteps Dance Troup

No we are not holding our ears!