AFRICAN DANCE (grades preK-12)

In this course, the student explores ways of expression and connection through dance with a focus on dance forms from Africa. This may include Afro-Caribbean dance as well. The class develops coordination, body awareness, and new ways to be in contact with others.   By  performing for parents and peers, the student gains self confidence and experience the power of this art form in communication as well as gain an understanding of how the music and traditions of African countries compare and contrast with each other. We want students to gain an appreciation that “Africa” stretches from Egypt and Morocco to Kenya and South Africa encompassing a continent’s worth of divergent cultures. We explore the art form of dance as it is used in different cultures, both artistically and socially. The choice of particular traditions of dance movement are often  based on cultures the classroom teachers are studying.

In the early-childhood grades the teacher begins with exercises that build spatial awareness and group cooperation. Some of the exercises include the class making shapes with their bodies or playing movement games. As the student learns the skills of body control, movement with intention and movement as a means of self expression, the dance movements become more complex and basic dance vocabulary is introduced.

In older grades, the curriculum focuses on the terminology, form, and functional movement of various African dance forms. The class learns the wide dance vocabulary of a variety of African cultures as well as the key element of choreography [dynamics (force), contrast (flow), musicality (time), narrative and emotion, and pathway (space)].  The program also encourages performance skills, collaboration with an ensemble in rehearsal and performance decisions and attentive audience behaviors when viewing other students