To express themselves using movement, children need to learn how to combine the components of dance in different ways. Ask yourself: which parts of the body are involved? What actions are being performed? Where, how and with whom or what is the dancer moving? These dance elements, as they are known, are present in any dance, and the form they take will give the dance its particular character.
Use the dance elements as a framework to plan broad and balanced learning opportunities for the children in your setting. In dance, children need to develop:
* body awareness - to co-ordinate different parts of the body and in a variety of shapes
* basic actions - travelling, jumping, turning, staying still and gesturing
* use of space - different levels (high-low), pathways (zig-zag, circular, straight, spiralling), directions (forwards, backwards, sideways, around)
* dynamic qualities - speed (fast-slow), strength (firm-fine), pathway (direct-flexible), flow of energy (contained-free/abandoned)
* relationships - with other people or objects used within a dance.
A session should explore one or two dance elements - for example, exploring open and closed body shapes and the action of rolling, individually and with another person, as preparatory work for a dance about balloons.
Planning for dance also needs to take account of children's individual learning needs with regard to the dance elements, and their physical capabilities.
Movement dynamics and relationships may be worked on through interactive 'rough-and-tumble' type experiences incorporated into dance sessions, while awareness of the body, actions and use of space can be explored through moving in different ways.
Developing control
Children can learn to adjust and gain control over their strength in relation to others and learn the related social skills in preparatory movement experiences for dance. Veronica Sherborne (see Further Resources, page 17) proposed the following developmental programme:
* 'with' relationships - being cradled, rocked, swung or pulled along the floor by an adult, partner or small group
* 'shared' relationships - mutual exchange of energy (as in a see-saw), sensitively adjusting energy in respect of each other
* 'against' relationships - exerting sufficient energy to roll someone over, pull or push them along, resist being budged, escape from a cuddle or as a vault or support for one another to practise a jump
* 'fine touch' - having sufficient sensitivity and maturity (physical and emotional) to partner a younger or more vulnerable child.
This progression may guide practitioners in organising children in partner or group work. Sometimes unlikely combinations of children may work together, especially if an adult is used strategically. Children's attention may be engrossed and they will find themselves co-operating, for example, to form a human tunnel for others to crawl through. Children should be encouraged gradually to work in larger numbers to build up their co-operation skills.
Discovering possibilities
Children's awareness of their bodies may be reinforced through movement experiences that involve physical contact with others and/or against the floor. Children need to experience the whole body moving through space (for example, being swung), and especially along the floor (for example, sliding). They should explore different ways of performing the basic actions of travelling, jumping, turning and stopping, in line with their neurophysical stage of development.
Preparatory movement work for dance can also focus on specific parts of the body and body shape. Selecting this as a theme for a session may contribute to the children's self-awareness by enabling them to feel a particular body part more keenly, such as:
* the trunk - the body's co-ordinating link
* knees and hips - the body's 'shock absorbers' that control the lower body
* peripheries - the expressive potential of their hands, feet, elbows
* facial expression - to help give meaning to dance.
Encourage children to explore the dance space. Some may prefer initially to work close to the body and be sensitive to their 'personal space', while others may be confident using 'general space' and be happy to share this with others. Children also need to learn to organise themselves safely in vertical space, moving fluently between sitting, kneeling, standing, falling and rolling on the floor. Encourage children to find different pathways along the ground or traced in the air, and to move in different directions.
