VAPA 1.3 Teaching Dance

A third-grade teacher decides to teach a square dance. The most probable reason is

This dance is structured, requiring concentration and teamwork

Dance helps children ______ from structures of their surrounding

communicate artistic expression

Dance helps children organize

physiological energy within space and time

The foundation of the elements of dance begins _____ as children first express movement through their experiences of ___.

prior to entering school, play

Children first express movement through their experiences of

play

During adolescence, dance provides students with opportunities to express their ___, ___, ___ abilities as they practice and refine their skills in arranging, performing, and interpreting movement skills.

creative, physiological, and technical abilities

Children naturally learn to dance and move rhythmically as a result of

Observation and mimicry

Dance activities begin with

Body awareness, warm-up exercises

Warm-up exercises includes

Posture, coordination, balance, flexibility, strength, and rhythm

When thinking about space, teachers should be aware of the space between the dancers

Individual, group, or class; Interactions between dancers

Beginning students should be introduced to the

4/4 time

Intermediate students should be introduced to the time

3/4 time (waltz)

Advanced students should be introduced to the time

2/4 time (cut time) and 6/8 (minuet)

Text stimuli for a dance is

When students are asked to improvise a dance to a provided word or phrase

Sports that emphasize grace, balance, and kinesthetic awareness that will provide the biggest advantage in dance are

gymnastics, figure skating, ice dancing, diving

Coordination is moving various parts of the body

Smoothly, with grace

Kinesthetic awareness is

Knowing where your limbs are without looking

Signs that a dancer has poor kinesthetic awareness are

looking at their feet while dancing, watching their arms or hands while dancing, arms or legs out of position, body (trunk) at an odd angle

A dancer with poor kinesthetic awareness may be

looking at their feet, or watching their arms or hands while dancing.

Other signs of poor kinesthetic awareness include

arms or legs out of position or the body at an odd angle.

Framework for Dance Activity Instruction should begin and end with

Warm-up, cool down

Exercises should include

steps to be used in the dance activity

When teaching a dance, you should use _____ to cue steps and directional changes

key words and counts

Using key words and counts help students

Maintain rhythmic pattern and gain a sense of the whole

To dispel the idea that a partner is always needed for dance, teachers should

encourage opportunities for different dance experiences.

When partners are needed, teachers should

restrict choice and encourage frequent and rapid changes of partner.

To provide an opportunity for students to refine their skill level, once the whole dance has been learned,

repeat several times to increase fluency and enjoyment

If the dance is to be performed in a formal or public setting, allow opportunities for _____ to perform, and not just ______ dancers.

all students to perform, and not just the most able dancers

The purpose of a cool-down in a dance class

To gradually lower the heart rate, prevent muscle soreness, and increase flexibility.

Adagio practice exercises include

extensions and balances

Kinesthetic awareness

Feeling the dance movements of others in one’s own muscles.