Exploring using props in dance

In recent years there have been many dance reality television shows (such as Strictly come dancing, Dancing on Ice, So you think you can dance and Britain's got talent) which all use props at some point during the show. These television programmes have brought dance to a wider audience, as like Singing in the rain did back in the `1950's with it being one of the first great musicals which showed dance in the cinema (MGM had created a way of putting sound and colour into film and those who could not afford to go to the theatre experienced dance performances for the first time). Having been inspired by one of my dance icon's Gene Kelly, I looked for guidance from his popular "Singing in the rain" routine. In this routine he uses his hat and his umbrella. See link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

(Other interest may be the George samson version of "Singing in the rain"
 which won him Britain's got talent 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyDnYeUnT7w and the
 more recent Glee "Singing in the rain / Umbrella" medley, which uses the umbrella as the main prop again, but has a strong focus on group/ensemble dancing, different to that of Gene Kelly's solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3bhQbO63uI).

I have recently been working hard to choreograph our school show "Footloose". I have discovered the use of props in dance to be an exciting challenge. I decided to use props for the Act one Finale number so that these props could then be cleared from the stage during the interval. I choose a variety of props to match the 'gym' theme for the scene. These included basketballs, others hula hoops, a skipping rope and a few sets of pompoms. During rehearsals I encouraged my students to explore ways of using the props and to create techniques for incorporating them into the dance routine (structured improvisation). The students were challenged to master the skill of prop work and I found that mostly they demonstrated an increased enthusiasm and focus during these sessions.

Overall the dance routine was presented with high energy, artistic flair and control during the performance. The audience seemed delighted and gave an outstanding applause. In my experience I have found that bringing props into dance helps to inspire dis-engaged students, maintain student focus and challenges even the most able dance student. I will certainly use props again in the future and hope to explore them further to develop new techniques and skills. Any ideas are welcome?

Inquiry task 2D (work in progress)

Whilst thinking about a topic for this task I was working on the school show.. Our school show "Footloose" took place last week. The students and staff all worked incredibly hard in order to ensure that the show ran smoothly and that the audience were not disappointed. What were the factors that made this show a success?  I have been considering how important diet and nutrition are for a dancer needing to maintain energy throughout a two hour performance and also exploring how effective the use of props are in creating a polished performance?

Reflective theory task 2C

Experimenting is where you gain your own experience from, and where you gain your knowledge is from the outcome/actions as a result of the experiments. Where Dewey quotes "the teacher has often to spend the larger part of the time in suppressing the bodily activities", in dance this is quite the opposite. The dance teacher encourages the student to move and thrives on the exploration and development of action and physical skills. Dance uses both left and right thinking so develops the brain in return. "For the pupil has a body and brings it to school along with his mind. And the body is of necessity a wellspring of energy it has to do something." (Dewey).
We presented our show 'Footloose' at school this week. The other teacher, director for Footloose was suffering from exhaustion so on Friday I taught a joint lesson during period five. I was very happy to combine our top year seven classes who were able dance students. However space was an issue due to the limited room in the dance studio. As P.E were outside the larger sports hall next door was free, so it seemed a good decision to allow some groups of students to work in there under the supervision of a Teaching Assistant. I choose a few groups of 'sensible' students who were fully engaged in the task and working well while rehearsing their dance battle choreographies. Suddenly they ran around the sports hall shouting and shoving their peer's and behaving like wild animals released from a cage. I blew my whistle, re-called them back into the dance studio and sat the class down for a lecture on the rule's, sanctions and expectations of behaviour in dance.

From this experiment I have learnt that the key must be to 'channel' the students energy in order to insure a positive outcome? A teacher will train students to behave in a particular way in familiar surroundings (such as the dance studio). In here my students understand the rules and have knowledge of boundaries. In my experience these particular students energy was suppressed in a smaller space and they were able to quickly engage in the group task and work well. As soon as I allowed some students to work in the sport hall I changed the area I sub-consciously made a decision to change the conditions in which they work. This in turn adapted the circumstances (the rules and boundaries) and altered the consequences to follow. This reflects on Dewey's theory of trial and error, cause and effect. I will endeavour to experiment again with another class. If I can reflect upon this experience to discover what the desired conditions are for a positive result then I believe that the outcome of using the sports hall as an additional rehearsal space will have a positive effect on learning in the lesson.

"The action which rest simply on the trial and error method is at mercy of circumstances, they may change so that the act performed does not operate in the way it was expected to, but if we know in detail upon what the result depends, we can look to see whether the required conditions are there." (Dewey)

Study time

I just read Pauline's post and can relate to the pressure of finding suitable study time. With our school show running next week and an extensive rehearsal timetable on top of classes (and looking after my baby daughter),  I have now made a study diary for BAPP.  I will read the books recommended by Alan and continue writing my personal journal. What else can I read to aid my research and support reflective practise. Has anyone got any suggestions for further reading? Thank you, Gemma.

I have taken a few different approaches on using structured improvisation and have been experimenting in my lessons. In one lesson I led the structured improvisation. In another class I allowed the students to guide the lesson entirely. I predict that the first class will achieve the highest grades as they had more structure to their lesson (I taught them new learning and they reflected on their own practise through peer/self evaluation).  I look forward to comparing the grades of students from both these two classes after next lessons dance assessment. However, this raises a new question in my mind. What is the definition of "teaching"?

Structured Improvisation. This is the title of our discussion during yesterdays campus session for module 1. When you teach you improvise sections your lesson to suit the needs of learners in the class. You have a map of where you need to go (A to B) but how you get there is dictated by your students.

We face external pressure to produce a lesson plan and theres a saying that "Failure to plan is a plan to fail!. However it is not always possible to follow this exact. Failure to plan is a plan to fail! What is your view on this?