Something that got me thinking after attending a session with Andrea Ostertag (teaches movement at the Institute in Salzburg) at conference...
Can we get students to start thinking about the quality of movement rather than a literal "translation" of the movement. For example, when we ask them to move like a bird, they usually become the bird (flap those wings!) rather than moving with the qualities of a bird (gliding, slow, floating)
I am toying with this in my classroom currently. I think at this point my squirrelly kindergartners are a lost cause (I might focus more next year early on) but my older kids are kind of getting it after doing a cool movement activity where we talked about balloons.
I think that Kindergarteners are such literal beings that it may be a "lost cause" for developmental reasons. But I love this idea of expanding their movement vocabulary through thoughtful choice- not mimicry (sp?)
ReplyDeleteMovement vocabulary...yes! How do birds move? Glide, swoop, dive, hover, flit....I loved Andrea's simple directions that invited a sequence: move through space and swoop down to touch the floor, pause, sink--and that caught on at the banquet dance. Creative movement meets dance band! I wonder how photos or videos of birds might invoke new images and vocabulary to explore?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting discussion. I feel most comfortable using literal movement with middle schoolers as well to make them as comfortable as possible. I use Karen's movement flashcards all the time so students have a concrete idea of what to do. Otherwise they're not comfortable enough to do anything. Another method I use is to teach them a basic dance and let them elaborate upon it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the middle elementary grades are the best for experimenting with quality of movement, because I don't see my middle schoolers (who have many different GM teachers throughout their experience) doing anything not literal :)