Over, Under and Through

We began this class with a review of ideas we have covered in other lessons.  We created shapes high and low and in the middle that were straight, round, curvy, and twisted.  Everyone is now able to quickly change from moving with straight limbs to moving with three-dimensional curves and back again.

Next we explored dancing with different parts of the body over and under other parts of the body -  elbows over and under the knees, head over and under the hips, hands over and under the belly button. We found ourselves upside-down a lot!

Marissa had fun dancing with Sabastian as they went over and under each others' knees and elbows. They built off of each others' ideas without using any words to communicate.

We found new ways to make shapes using two hands and only one foot on the floor.  Then we tried two feet and one hand, one hand and one foot, and various other combinations. The students were able to solve these movement problems in a many different ways. Kelly was really focused when making her shapes. She had  great physical control and balance and changed her shapes quickly and easily without losing concentration.

Next everyone moved into their perfect spots (a spot where they have plenty of space).  The Kindergarten class did this especially well this week. With a powerful gentleness, everyone traveled around the stage at the same time without bumping into each other. They did various traveling steps while doing this and kept their eyes out for empty spaces to travel into. Eva worked especially hard to find her way through the space without any bumps even when others came really close to her.

We then explored how to create shapes that have spaces inside them. This became a partner dance - one partner creates a shape that has space and the other partner dances through the spaces. All the students were exceptionally focused during this exercise to combine the skills of balance, physical control, flexibility, and creativity.  In the First-Grade class, James and Lorraine immediately began their partner dance and were great examples for the rest of the class to get theirs going.

There were great example in the Kindergarten class too. Emily had her best class and was really focused in her dances with her partner.  She made terrific twisty shapes with spaces for her partner to go under and through. Alma was fantastic in creating unique shapes for her partner to curve through. In addition, there was Jenny who loves to partner with other dancers and really gave energy to the group.  Tristan and Sabastian showed great teamwork in this dance.

The First-Graders did traveling across the stage in lines at the end of class. Margaret and Deirdre both demonstrated their ability to understand directions quickly and were able to show the class what to do. Maya was able to get in and out of her shapes quickly during the traveling portion of class as well. 

Thanks to everyone for their hard work and enthusiasm! We look forward to another class together.

AT HOME:
In the coming week, teach other family members how to go through the spaces in your shapes. Then teach them how to make a shape with space that you can go through in different ways.