Curriculum Design

Curriculum Design

Audience: Juniors in Highschool

What is the transformation we want them to go through? Exposure to new styles of dance 

What is the container for the curriculum? Studio in the school twice a week

THE VERBAL TO VISUAL CLASSROOM

What do they want to learn from you? 

Foundations for the ballet modern jazz and hip hop

What core skills should you focus on? What are their needs?

The basic techniques of the various styles we are teaching so the students can find a style they may like, how to pick up phrases of choreography

What should the student's takeaway be? What will be useful for them?

- discipline, adapting to new and uncomfortable situations, development of artistic abilities 

What are the elements of dance/pieces you want them to learn?/ Clothesline Method

1. intro: teaching students how to warm up and stretch properly, as well as how to take care of their bodies after class

   a) the differences between static and dynamic stretching and when each should be done

   b) learning to warm up, stretch, and strengthen the neck, arms, shoulders, arms, and thoracic spine

   c) learning to warm up stretch, and strengthen the lumbar spine, hips, legs, ankles feet, and toes

   d) Have each student put together a warm-up and make adjustments, hand it back to them and in every class for the year one student will warm the class up under your supervision

2. ballet

   a) Barre: positions of arms, legs, hands and heads, plies, tendues, releves vs. eleves, retiré vs. passe, sous sous, degage, frappes, developpes, adagio, petite battements, rond de jambe, en dehors vs en dedans

   b) Across the floor: leaps, pas de bourre, etc.

   c) center: turns, adagio, promenade, petite allegro, etc. 

   d) Ballet performance skills: each student has to put together a phrase that is 4 eight counts long (minimum) to show to the class

3. modern

   a) stretching, getting comfortable with simple modern movements like flat backs, roll downs, prances, triplets, etc, 

   b) Technique: teach the basics of Horton, Graham, and Limon technique

   c) Improvisation: introduce students to various improv exercises, both individually and partner-based

   d) Modern performance skills: each student has to put together a phrase that is 4 eight counts long (minimum) to show to the class

4. jazz

   a) Jazz technique: turns, arms, facials, kicks, leg grabs, tilts

   b) Across the floor: kicks, turns, leaps, pas de bourres, combinations etc.

   c) Improv: teach students how to utilize jazz techniques within their improv

   d) Jazz performance skills: each student has to put together a phrase that is 4 eight counts long (minimum) to show to the class

5. hip hop

   a) History: explore various styles and hip hop from different geographical regions, a small introduction to Afro-styles

   b) Technique: grooves, footwork, weight changes, dynamics, textures, teach combos that incorporate these elements

   c) Improv: play with timing, dynamics, and textures, and use different styles of rap and R&B to elicit different movement styles

   d)Hip-Hop performance skills: each student has to put together a phrase that is 4 eight counts long (minimum) to show to the class

6. outro: Have the students pick the style that most resonates with them and choreograph their own dance. 

   a) The students can verbally communicate what styles they enjoyed partaking in most and why as well as anything new they learned over the year, they will then decide which style they would like to make a short dance on based on a given rubric, this will be listed on an excel spreadsheet that only the teacher has access to for progress purposes

   b) the students are more than welcome to combine techniques they learned from different styles if they resonate with more than one 

   c) students will perform their pieces on stage 

This curriculum would be fairly flexible. If the class is understanding one section and struggling in another we will focus more on the section they are struggling with until they have a proficient understanding of the technique or style. 

The Clothesline