SPRING 2022, ISSUE 18
daCi USA Newsletter Dance and the Child International | USA Chapter INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Men/Movement/ Masculinity........................... 4 SEL Corner: SocialEmotional Learning in the Dance Classroom............... 7 Member Spotlight: Liz Borromeo..................... 10 Lesson Plan Dancing Through the Four Seasons: Spring........ 12 Lesson Plan Landforms: M is for Mountain............................. 15 Recommendation Zone ..................................... 19 Voices of Young Dancers ............................... 22 News & Events ................. 26
Chair's Message Dear daCi USA members, The spring forward/fall back clock change debate has me thinking about the concept of time. Time can ‘fly by’ or ‘pass so slowly’. Memories may ‘seem like yesterday’ or ‘be lost to history’. This is the fourth chair’s message that I share and, alas, they have all been during the pandemic. Looking back at the previous three, I see that I wrote to encourage everyone to find alternative ways to express your passion for dance because the idea of dancing together in-person seemed so far into the future. So, for me this is a very special chair’s message because I am thrilled to finally write that, without hesitation, the daCi USA board is excited to be planning the long-awaited 7th National Gathering as an in-person festivity!
Anchored in Hope: Expanding Horizons will be held at Hope College in beautiful Holland, Michigan from July 26 - 29, 2023. Mark your calendars and begin your fundraising as I know you will want to be a part of celebrating our passion for dance, the connections we form, and our 25th anniversary as daCi USA! There are many ways to stay involved until we arrive at Hope College. The Youth Leadership Training initiative is bringing together young dancers from all over the country to learn and share. The new cohort is just forming so jump on in! We invite you to join our global family for Dancing into Communities, the 15th international conference hosted by Toronto, Canada from July 10 - 15, 2022. Although virtual, there are many wonderful papers, panels, and movement sessions to inspire and inform us on developments in our field. Maybe consider organizing a local group to participate together and use the organization’s seed money to make it a daCi Day of Dance. If the conference isn’t the right timing for you, then we encourage you to bring dancers, dance educators, and dance advocates together for your own local or even regional daCi Day of Dance at a different point during the year. Information on these and other programs and initiatives are on our daciusa website. Check it out, join in, spend some time dancing together! Hope is on the horizon. Warmly, Joy
Joy Guarino with her cat Kane in Buffalo, NY,
2
Editor's Corner Ah, spring! A time of transition, a changeover, a sloughing off of the old and preparing for the new.…. For me, it means some big transitions. I am retiring in May from my position at Bryn Mawr College, a liberal arts college outside of Philadelphia, where I have taught for 30 years. There are many moving parts to that transition, of course, but one of my tasks is to clear out my office. I have been going through loads of files, photos, costumes, and props plus a boatload of VHS tapes and DVDS. Yes, I know I should have digitized all that long ago! I also have many books that I have been carrying around for decades. There are books on dance history, dance criticism, aesthetics, biographies of dancers, dance composition, improvisation, community arts practices, conditioning, injury prevention, even a book of facsimiles of a magazine aimed at dance school operators in the late 1800s (anyone want it???). And, of course, I have lots of books on dance education. This process has given me a chance to see how dance education has changed over these past decades. The dance education manuals have gone from a “things to do and know and here’s how to do it” style, with some rather grand and unexamined assumptions, to conceptual methods, neurological connections, and culturally informed teaching approaches. Dance is no longer seen as an artistic island but one that is connected to the turbulence
of the times. Makes me wonder where today’s ideas will take us next, and what they will be replaced by in the future. New projects, pathways, and unknowns are floating around for me, and I am both energized and daunted by the possibilities. But one thing that will not change is my commitment to daCi and the important work of dance education. There is always so much to learn, and daCi can help with that. In this issue you will find Vincent Thomas’ insights into dance for men, a new column on social-emotional learning through dance, two lesson plans from members in New York and Utah, a spotlight on a member from Washington, the Recommendation Zone with crowdsourced leads, and reflections from our young dancers. Please send your ideas and suggestions for future issues so that we can learn from each other. My thanks to all the contributors and, especially, to designer extraordinaire Heather Francis for making it all look good. Happy spring! Mady Cantor
Mady, age 8.
3
MEN/MOVEMENT/MASCULINITY by Mady Cantor Dance, like just about everything else in human activity, is influenced by gender: gender roles, gender expression, expectations, problems, realities, and opportunities. Sometimes gender roles in dance are obvious and stereotypical, as in 19th-century ballets, with gallant male heroes and pliant maidens. Sometimes gender expression is understated or neutral as in post-modern choreography. In dance classes, gender comes into the foreground when little girls revel in the possibilities of tulle, or when boys are bullied for their interest in dance, but not much direct conscious attention is given to gender in dance education settings. Enter Vincent Thomas, an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in Baltimore. He has been absorbed for many years by questions about the place and possibilities of masculinity in dance, through his artistic work, pedagogical inquiry, and recently through his writing. He has written a chapter in Masculinity, Intersectionality and Identity: Why Boys (Don’t) Dance, a newly published book edited by Doug Risner and Beccy Watson. Vincent was invited to contribute to the book because of an unusual program he developed at Towson University where he is a professor in the Department of Dance. Since 2006 he has offered a course called “Movement Enhancement Skills for Men.”
During the last 16+ years, over 1000 men have taken the course which attracts students from different backgrounds and intersections – athletes, music and theater students, business majors, science students, and neophyte movers. The classes start with the introduction of a set of “Community Agreements,” class guidelines which form the foundation of the class and are a way of being, and being with others. These agreements are: To be full of my value and free of judgment (negative). To be curious about my learning. To acknowledge the many faces, names, bodies, minds, experiences in the space and know they are valid and valued. To have serious fun.
4
These values create a space where experimentation and collaboration are celebrated – a setting, according to Vincent, that is a new experience for many of the men. The class involves an array of dance experiences including a BrainDance warmup, conditioning, exploration of dance elements and concepts, the development of technique and movement phrases, and improvisation which he calls “physical play.” They physically play, for example, in activities like exploring ‘co-working’ (three ways of connecting and supporting): mutual lean, counterbalance, and “pillar of support.” They view live and filmed dance concerts and clips, then write and discuss their impressions and discoveries. As Vincent says, “their bodies sweat and their brains sweat.” What makes the class unique, of course, is that all the students are male. Vincent says that men have been socialized to hide their vulnerability, but, in this all-male class, they feel free to open up, to make mistakes, to embody a range of physical dynamics that may be unfamiliar or even
uncomfortable. Without the “female gaze” there tends to be less selfconsciousness and more openness to taking risks. The class is designed to be a place where strength and vulnerability can co-exist, where issues related to masculinity are brought front and center. The course was the subject of a short documentary a few years ago (https://vimeo.com/275548988) which shows excerpts of the class in action. But perhaps the students’ own words, from the journals they keep as part of the course, offer the fullest picture of the experience: “Being a real man to me means being confident in oneself, to be able to display vulnerability to other people (especially men), having a sense of humility and dignity, and to be a protector for anyone in need. Culturally, I saw the concept of masculinity presented in a universal manner. Altogether, I appreciate having the opportunity to participate in this class to help me evolve both as an artist and human being in this society.”
5
“Throughout this semester, this course has actively mentioned the concept of masculinity and men dancing in this society. There were so many compelling stories, nuances, and details about men participating in this art form and how society has responded to it. There were so many interesting and much needed conversations within the class around this topic, not only when it comes to dance, but simply participating in other things that are considered “effeminate”. I believe that this course provided a safe space for these young men to be vulnerable with each other without a sense of judgement. Especially in a world where men rely on the validation of other men to secure their social status, I believe that this course has broken down the need to get that sense of validity through having these open and transparent conversations.”
“I am very thankful for the opportunity to get a different view of the true definition of masculinity. I always thought it was about being the Alpha and on top of the mountain but in reality, it’s just the best version of yourself. There is no judgement from others or approval. It’s putting your abilities into place and changing yourself in the best possible way.”
While dance is the medium, Vincent feels that the classes, at their core, are really about exploring, expanding and dismantling stereotypes, and embracing a fuller range of masculinity. Vincent is continuing this line of inquiry with workshops and sessions called “Fathers, Sons, and Other Guys.” Stay tuned. For more information, check out www.vtdance.org.
Men's repertory, Photo credit: David Williams
6
SEL Corner
Social-Emotional Learning in the Dance Classroom by Rachel Swenson Editor’s note: With this issue we inaugurate a column on SocialEmotional Learning (SEL). daCi member Rachel Swenson has been researching SEL as a doctoral student at Teachers College and using it as a pedagogical framework in her work as a dance educator in Idaho. Each column will focus on one of the five domains in SEL and will offer an example of a dance activity to put it into practice. Dance is an ensemble art form and uses social processes, yet social and emotional learning in the dance classroom is under-recognized and under-utilized. What better place to teach social-emotional learning than by moving and creating together in the place we call the dance studio? After two years of reviewing the current literature on SEL in dance education, I see a need for dance educators, with the help of dance students, to bring light to the connections between dance and SEL awareness and skills. Many dance educators do deliver different aspects of SEL in their everyday teaching practice. My hope with these columns is to uncover and center even more opportunities for SEL in dance pedagogy.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has been a leader in SEL for over two decades. CASEL defines SEL as “recognizing and managing one’s emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically.” The five social and emotional competency domains identified by CASEL are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Just as dance skills are dynamic, developmental, and reflective, so are SEL skills. SEL can occur in a number of learning activities in the dance studio,
7
such as students taking inventory of bodies before warming up, reflecting on strengths and weaknesses in technique class to set goals for improvement, dancing in unison with peers as a unified social interaction, sharing newly generated movements with a partner as a way of effectively communicating embodied ideas, or creatively problem solving with peers to complete a dance composition. Here’s a class project that relates directly to the domain of self-awareness. It is a poetic identity mapping activity inspired by the poem “Where I Am From” by George Ella Lyon, former poet laureate of Kentucky. Begin by asking the students to listen to George Ella Lyon reading her poem at georgeellalyon.com/audio/where.mp3. Then share the template (see page 9) which retains the structure of the poem but leaves space for students to fill in words and phrases, and create metaphors about their own lives. After they have filled in the poem, there are many possible directions to go. The students can create a solo dance based on it, or they can choose one line.
from their poem to create a movement phrase that can be layered with other student’s movement phrases to create a group “Where We Are From” dance. Consider co-creating a motif for the “I am from” refrain that can be repeated by all dancers throughout the dance. Encourage students to generate small gestural movement as well as large motor movement. The finished poems can accompany the dance as a narration or they can be spoken by dancers during the dance. There can be a poetry gallery that the audience views before and after the dance performance. One idea, for building empathy between peers, is to have the student writer read their own poem aloud while other students improvise and embody the poet’s story. As well as developing self-awareness the students can build social awareness through recognizing and identifying the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of other students and recognizing and appreciating the similarities and differences in the group. Rachel Swenson is a dance specialist at Idaho Fine Arts Academy and a dance teaching artist for the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the Utah Arts Council. She is pursuing an Interdisciplinary specialization as a doctoral student within the Ed.D. Dance Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include social-emotional learning and social processes in collaborative choreography, and cognitive processes in creativity, as well as other areas. 8
Name: ___________________________________________ Date: __________ Inspired by “Where I Am From” by George Ella Lyon
Where I Am From I am from ___________________ (specific ordinary item), from ______________________ (product name) and ____________________(product name). I am from the _________________________ (home description) ____________________________________________________. (adjective, adjective, sensory detail). I am from the ____________________________________ (plant, flower, natural item), the __________________________________ (plant, flower, natural item) ___________________________________________(detail of natural item) I am from _________________________________ (family tradition) and __________________________ (family trait), from _____________________ (name of family member) and _________________________ (another family name) and ____________________________ (family name). I am from the _______________________________ (description of family tendency) and __________________________________ (another one). From ________________________________ (something you were told as a child) and __________________________________________ (another). I am from __________________________________________(representation of religion, or lack of it) _____________________________________ (further description). I'm from __________________________ (place of birth and family ancestry), ______________________ and ___________________________(two food items representing your family). From the __________________________________________ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the ____________________________ (another detail), and the ________________________________ (another detail about another family member). I am from ___________________________________________ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives) ________________________________( indicating their worth) and __________________________________________________ (also indicating their worth). I am from ____________________________________________________________________ (memory of childhood) and _____________________________________________________________ (another) I am from ___________________________ (one word adjective describing family) Lyon, G. (n.d.) . George Ella Lyon Writer and Teacher. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
Member Spotlight LIZ BORROMEO by Chara Huckins, daCi USA Member Liaison daCi member Liz Borromeo began creating performances when she was very young. She says, with a laugh, “I began dancing in my front yard performing shows for the neighbors with my record player.” Her mom always had music playing in the house which facilitated her love for music and dance. Liz began her formal dance training at age 10 with ballet classes in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her father was in the navy, so her family moved a lot. When she was young, she grew up along the east coast in Virginia and North Carolina and then lived internationally during her teen years in Spain and Sicily. When she was considering college, she remembered going on field trips to William and Mary College in Virginia. Liz attended college there and graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Dance. “Over the years it has been nice to meld these areas of study together.” College is where Liz started taking modern dance classes. She found that modern dance was her “happy place.” She enjoyed modern dance because she could push through the lines and rigidity of ballet. In college, Liz was either in the biology lab, playing piano or in the dance studio.
After college, “I wanted to continue with movement and not lose the science that I had learned,” so upon graduation, Liz started working in the physical therapy field. She moved to Yakima, Washington, and took a position as a “Medical Exercise Specialist.” She began to teach at various studios and perform with local dance groups. Liz and her husband moved across the country to Washington D.C. and then to Montana before moving to the Vancouver, Washington/Portland, Oregon area in 2002. There Liz began working in a physical therapy clinic. This was where her boss introduced her to the artistic director for a pre-professional school, Columbia Dance. At that time, they were looking to start a modern program along with needing a director for their children’s program. Upon being hired, “I was given Anne Green Gilbert’s book and Eric Chapelle’s CDs as a recipe book for creating a children’s program.” Liz spent 13 years at Columbia Dance, building and developing the two programs. In 2008, Liz had the opportunity to study in Seattle with Anne Green Gilbert, founder of the Creative Dance Center and developer of BrainDance. She worked with 10
the amazing faculty at the CDC where she participated in the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers. There she directly experienced the teaching philosophy, a nationally and internationally recognized methodology called Brain-Compatible Dance Education. “This experience flipped my brain over in how to bring dance to kids and adults.” In her last few years teaching at Columbia Dance, Liz realized that there was a niche for a dance studio that wasn’t represented in Vancouver’s private sector. “There are kids who don’t want to be at a competition studio or conservatory for preprofessional training, but these kids want to excel, they want to have technique, they want to explore, and they want to choreograph.” Liz found her mission: to start her own studio that was processbased. In 2015 Liz found a space where this dream could become a reality. The following year she started the MOTUS Dance Company and was encouraged by colleagues to join daCi USA. She attended her first daCi USA conference in 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah and brought four of her students with her. Her students performed and “soaked in an amazing time.” They are looking forward to attending the daCi USA conference in Michigan in July 2023.
Liz’s dance company MOTUS is a nonaudition-based group for ages 8-17 years old. “MOTUS” has two meanings: it is Latin for movement, as well as an acronym for Movement Outreach Teaching Unity and Spirit. The dance philosophy of her school is “learning through exploration, building community with dance, and developing strong bodies and minds.” Prior to the Covid pandemic, there were 19 students in the dance company. Like many other dance companies, Liz had to get creative with how she was going to continue offering dance classes. She moved classes to Zoom and then during the summer of 2020 she moved dance camps outside where students could socially distance themselves. Liz’s studio offers classes in creative dance, ballet, modern, jazz, and tap. There are currently 65 students, and the studio is located in a historic building that is shared with a local children’s theater company. There are 14 students in her MOTUS dance company. “A large part of our company mission is to benefit our surrounding community through sharing the art of dance. We hope to reach populations of people who may not get to experience a dance performance otherwise. Along with performing for people in the community, our company will also share the learning process and invite audience participation, truly reaching out and becoming arts ambassadors.” Liz is optimistic for the future of her organization and feels that “students are still getting their groove back.” She is hopeful for the future of the arts in the Vancouver area where there is encouraging discussion about more support for the arts. She is glad to part of that page 02 discussion. 11
DANCING THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS SPRING Author: Deborah Lipa-Ciotta | Tapestry Charter School | Buffalo, NY Grade Level: 1st Grade Length of lesson: 60 Minutes Tapestry Charter School, an Expeditionary Learning School, is a public school located in Buffalo, New York. All K-4th graders receive instruction in dance based on the New York State Standards for the Arts. Our 1st graders celebrate and dance all things related to the four seasons. This year-long curriculum blends an exploration of the elements of dance, improvisation and composition inspired by nature, weather, and the changing seasons. This lesson is one example of our celebration of spring with the beautiful poetry by Carl Sandburg, and dancing of Gene Kelly. This lesson is easily adaptable for all ages and fun for all! Essential question: Where do choreographers get ideas for dances? (spring season, nature, poetry) Learning Targets: I can improvise in my own unique style demonstrating the 8 patterns of the BrainDance inspired by spring images and poetry. I can improvise movement ideas inspired by spring images and poetry. Equipment: music device, computer, projector, enlarged printed copies of “Lines Written for Gene Kelly to Dance To” by Carl Sandburg, photo images relating to vocabulary in text YouTube film of “Lines Written to Dance To” performed by Gene Kelly and Carl Sandburg
1. Warming-up Quick Warm-up: Students take a “gallery walk” outside and around the school grounds to look for signs of spring in nature.
12
BrainDance: inspired by spring images and text from “Lines Written for Gene Kelly to Dance To” Breath -- breathe in the fresh spring air through our nose and out through our mouth Tactile -- brush off winter and wake up our skin and muscles with spring taps and pats --“Hey, hey! Hey, hey!” Core-Distal -- rounded bulbs/seeds/buds/ (core) blooming/reaching upward (distal) Head-Tail -- spring animals returning (head) and (tail) Upper-Lower -- the spring wind, “wind is pushing you” “you are pushing the wind” (upper) “tell your feet where to go and watch them come back” (lower) Body Side -- birds returning in spring, can you fly one body side like a bird’s wings and then the other Cross Lateral -- skipping in the spring grass Vestibular -- “be dizzy now” turning movements “and bring it to a finish with a period” Music: Vivaldi “The Four Seasons (Spring)” I Allegro, II Largo, III Allegro
2. Introducing the Concept We will discuss the essential question: Where do choreographers get ideas for dances? Dancers and choreographers can be inspired by nature, spring seasons, etc. Today we will create movements inspired by nature, photo images and poetry.
3. Exploring the Concept Students take a “gallery walk” in the dance classroom of scattered photo images that relate to spring and to the text in “Lines Written for Gene Kelly to Dance To” (example: Gene Kelly, spring flowers, grass, child looking down, cartwheel, earth, alphabet, multiplication table, feet, question mark, exclamation point, commas, period, wind pushing, wooden heel shoes, silver heel shoes, feet, children dancing). Click here to get access to a folder of images you can use for the "gallery walk". Then, I read the poem “Lines Written for Gene Kelly to Dance To” by Carl Sandburg slowly as students work together to gather and place the photo images in the order in which they appear in the poem. Next, I share a short introduction of Carl Sandberg (poet) and Gene Kelly (singer, dancer, choreographer). Artists can work together (collaborate) to create performances. Students watch the first section of the YouTube film of Gene Kelly dancing as Carl Sandberg recites his poem from the “The Gene Kelly Show” in 1959. 13
Lines Written for Gene Kelly to Dance To by Carl Sandburg Spring is when the grass turns green and glad. Spring is when the new grass comes up and says, "Hey, hey! Hey, hey!" Be dizzy now and turn your head upside down and see how the world looks upside down. Be dizzy now and turn a cartwheel, and see the good earth through a cartwheel. Tell your feet the alphabet. Tell your feet the multiplication table. Tell your feet where to go, and, and watch ‘em go and come back. Can you dance a question mark? Can you dance an exclamation point? Can you dance a couple of commas? And bring it to a finish with a period? Can you dance like the wind is pushing you? Can you dance like you are pushing the wind? Can you dance with slow wooden heels and then change to bright and singing silver heels? Such nice feet, such good feet. This poem is in the public domain.
Creating Improvisation/Creating: I then re-read the poem slowly as students improvise movements inspired by the text, images and choreography by Gene Kelly. (If time permits students can repeat this improvisation and perform in groups for each other.) Music: George Winston, Blossom/Meadow from Winter Into Spring
Across the floor and Cooling Down Goodbye Dance: Students will free dance across the floor (leaping, turning, locomotor movements) inspired by spring and the poem. Class will end with spring cool down breaths and debrief of the lesson. Where did we get ideas for creating our dances today? Charlie Hope, I'm Me! & Spring from I'm Me! & George Winston, Many Clocks from Spring Carousel
14
LANDFORMS: M IS FOR MOUNTAIN Author: Chara Huckins Age range: 2nd – 5th grade Curriculum Integration: Science, Social Studies, and Dance Overview:
Students will learn and dance about the different types of Earth’s landforms. They will focus on kinesthetically learning about the various parts of a mountain and create a related dance.
Lesson Materials and Resources: Drum, Wilderness Wonders and Scientia by Tristan Moore, landform pictures, and stretchy fabric loops. Instructional Activities: 1. Gather the students in a group before the warm-up. 2. Introduce the lesson by providing basic information about landforms. Landform definition: A landform is a feature on the earth's surface that is part of the terrain. Moving/Warm-up: Landform Game: 1. Show images of a mountain, island, glacier, and cave. Landform Mountain
Definition Glacier A natural elevation of the earth’s surface, a high and often rocky area of a land mass with steep or sloping sides that rise to form a peak.
A large body of ice moving slowly down a slope.
Island
A piece of land surrounded by water.
A large hole that was formed by natural processes in the side of a cliff, hill, or underground.
Cave
2. Now, let’s move and create shapes with our bodies that represent the various landforms. Example: 16 counts to create an island - make a low, long, connected shape with a partner. 16 counts to form a mountain - create a pointed shape by self or with others.
15
16 counts to make a cave - create a shape with a hole in groups. 16 counts to compose a glacier - slowly move together in groups. Explore/Investigate: Mountain Landforms: As we travel across the United States, there are many different landforms that are unique to their region. Let’s explore, investigate, and learn about the various parts of mountains. 1. Mountain definition: a natural elevation of the earth’s surface, a high and often rocky area of a land mass with steep or sloping sides. Ask the guiding questions: What shape would you make for a mountain? Can you make a jagged shape by yourself? Can you make a jagged shape with one other person?” Have the students explore and create jagged shapes by themselves. Then, they can create small group mountain shapes. Remind the students that it is only one mountain shape that they are creating together as a group. It needs to have steep or sloping sides. 2. Next, there are specific parts to a mountain. Let’s explore movement demonstrating the various mountain parts. Peak: the top of a mountain (summit). Show an image of a peak. Ask the guiding questions: What shape would you make for a peak? Can you make a balancing shape by yourself? Can you make a balancing shape on different levels?” Have the students explore different balancing shapes on different levels and using different body parts. Now, let’s imagine that we can leap from peak to peak. Find a beginning balancing shape on top of a mountain peak. When the music starts, you can leap from peak to peak finding different balancing shapes to hold for a moment and then continue to leap. When the music ends, find a balancing finishing shape. Slope: the side of a mountain that is at an angle. Show an image of a slope. Skiers ski on the slopes. Ask the guiding questions: What shape could you make for a slope? Can you make a tilted shape by yourself? Can you make a tilted shape on different levels?” Explore different tilted shapes. Try a tilted shape on a low level, on a medium level, on a high level, an upside-down tilted shape, and a tilted shape balanced on one foot. When skiers go down the hill they slide on their skis. Start in a tilted shape and when the music starts you will slide to the opposite side of the room and find a tilted shape to hold for four counts. Count in your head and then slide back to the other side of the room and finish in a tilted 16
shape. Have the students try this dance several times. Now, do this dance as a duet. Create a tilted slope shape with one other person. When the music starts, slide to the opposite side of the room together and make a slope shape, hold it for four counts and slide back across the room to finish in a slope shape. Canyon: area where water has cut down the side of a mountain (gulley, ravine, gorge). Show an image of a canyon. Ask the guiding questions: “What type of movement would you create for a canyon?” Let’s create a stream of water in movement. Let’s move slowly up and down, following one leader, in a weaving pathway. Foothill: a hilly region at the base of a mountain. Show an image of a foothill. Ask the guiding questions: “What type of a shape would you create for a foothill?” Let’s find a low-level shape. “Who likes to roll down a hill in the summer?” Everyone, spread out and make a low-level shape. When you hear the music, begin your rolling movement like you are rolling down the hills. Roll, jump, and stretch through the room on a low level. End in a low-level shape when the music stops. Mountain Range: a series of interconnected mountains forming a line. Show an image of a mountain range. Ask the guiding questions: “What type of a shape would you create for a mountain range?” Let’s create a mountain range with everyone. Have the students create a jagged shape that connects to two other students. When you hear the music, move in a stretching way through the space for 16 counts to finish in a linear, jagged group shape. Everyone in the class must end in a line that stretches from one side of the room to the other. Let the students explore and try this multiple times. Mountain System: a connected group of mountain ranges which were created by the same geologic force at roughly the same time. Show an image of a mountain system. Ask the guiding questions: “What type of a shape and movement would you create for a mountain system?” Let’s create a mountain system with everyone. Have the students create a jagged shape that is connected to other 17
jagged shapes but only two, three, or four students in a group. All of the different mountain groups can be spread out over the whole room. Find a shape to begin in and when you hear the music, you can move together with your group in a bound, stretching way. Finish in a small, connected shape. Let the students explore and try this multiple times. Creating: 1. Create a dance sequence incorporating all the elements of a mountain. Ask the students which part should come first, second, third, etc. Use the mountain images for the students to see the order of the dance. The movement sequence should include: Peak: a balancing shape Slope: tilting sideways Canyon: connected to two other people, traveling slowly in a weaving pathway Foothill: low level movement Mountain Range: a jagged shape and connect to two other shapes Mountain System: slowly move and connect with other groups until the class is one large group shape. 2. Try this movement sequence with the whole class to model and assess their understanding of the different mountain parts. Movement sequence idea: Beginning shape is the Mountain Range Roll into the Foothills Slide into a Slope Leap to the Peak Weave into the Canyon Stretch into an ending Mountain System shape 3. Practice and perform it as an entire class. 4. Now, as a small group you will create a dance. Divide into groups of four. As a group, use the mountain images and decide which part will be first, second, third, etc. Use all of the parts. Memorize your dance sequence. Make sure that your dance has a beginning shape and an ending shape. 5. Perform in groups Contextualizing/Connecting/Reflecting: Ask students’ performance assessment questions to evaluate the dances and check for the student’s level of understanding. 1. Did the mountain dance have a clear, beginning, middle, and end? 2. Was there an interesting spatial relationship between dancers? 3. What did you like about the dance that was performed? 4. Why did you like it? 5. Were the performers focused and engaged? Chara Huckins is a dance educator with the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, Salt Lake City, UT.
18
RECOMMENDATION ZONE daCi members share what they are reading, viewing and listening to, related to dance and dance learning. Send your favorite picks to newsletter@daciusa.org
The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez, illustrated by Lauren Semmer Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini
The Dance Edit is an aggregating site for articles, interviews, trends, and essays on dance from all over the world of media. A list of links lands in subscribers’ email inboxes at whatever frequency is requested. Good for scanning and browsing for dance topics of interest. https://thedanceedit.com/ Mady Cantor, Philadelphia, PA
Here is a link to the Arts Playbook from the BYU ARTS Partnership. It identifies simple arts activities for teachers of any content to use in their classroom to help children relax and learn. http://advancingartsleadership.co m/node/62#artsplaybook Cally Flox, Draper, UT
Amazing documentary on the Nicholas Brothers: https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=67K5-9xcKwg Anne Green Gilbert, Seattle, WA 19
From several members comes the recommendation to check out the work of the masterful and witty dance filmmaker Mitchell Rose, at mitchellrose.com. Watch the spiffy new 20th-anniversary version of his “Deere John,” a duet performed to The Dying Swan, and the wry “Learn to Speak Body.” Enjoy!
I had the chance to watch the Alvin Ailey documentary which aired in January in the American Masters series on PBS. I especially enjoyed the way they trekked through Alvin Ailey's life via the creative process that Rennie Harris went through while working on Lazarus, his piece on the Ailey company. It was a really informative and deep dive into his life -- so great to hear Alvin Ailey's voice throughout the documentary along with a number of people who worked with him over the years. Available at https://www.pbs.org/wnet/american masters/alvin-aileydocumentary/16671/ From Liz Borromeo, Vancouver, WA
Submitted coincidentally by both Judith Nelson from Rhinebeck, NY and Katherine Teck from VA.
Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker with pictures by Grant Snider is a beautiful book about the water cycle. It’s perfect for preschool through 2nd grade. It offers opportunities to explore group shapes, flocking, and changing size, and the themes of growing up, positive attitude, and transformation. My students and I had great fun dancing this book. From Chris Roberts, Springville, UT 20
There's a lovely book written by Gavin Larsen called Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life. Her stories in the book are pertinent to dancers' lives and really just for anyone who pursues something that they are passionate about. From Liz Borromeo, from Vancouver, WA
I came across something called the Hoffman Feelings List, published by the Hoffman Institute Foundation, a nonprofit that offers retreats for personal transformation. What is most interesting about the list is at the bottom of the page where there is an inventory of 72 words under the heading of Body Sensations. Some of the words are quite evocative and motivating. Perhaps it could be useful to have such a collection close at hand when exploring movement qualities. https://www.hoffmaninstitute.or g/wp-content/uploads/PracticesFeelingsSensations.pdf Mady Cantor, Philadelphia
“Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It,” the PBS documentary on musical theater phenomenon Rita Moreno is now on Netflix as well. She is amazing, and is at the forefront of the film, offering an engaging and very honest look at her life. Judith Nelson, Rhinebeck, NY
Keep an eye out for a group called The D.O.M.E. Experience. D.O.M.E stands for “Dance, Orchestration, Music, and Environment.” It is a group of NYC jazz musicians who work with dancers Erika Lisaku and Franceska Harper to artistically advocate for environmental justice. http://thedomeexperience.com From Carol Day, Park City, UT 21
VOICES OF YOUNG DANCERS
CELEBRATING THE YOUNG ARTIST Send submissions to newsletter@daCiUSA.org
Reflections, drawings, poems, essays, and perspectives from young dancers around the country.
22
As a whole and emotional being, I have often felt the desire to be understood. I crave the validation that that comes from someone really “getting it." I want to know that my feelings are ok and safe, not too big, not too scary. However, I have also found that it can be very challenging to verbalize the complex whirlwind of thoughts, ideas, and feelings swirling around in my mind. This is where dance and choreography come into play. When words might not be enough, or don’t have the capacity to express the way I need them to, I turn to my body to help me with that expression. Dance is a form of nonverbal communication that can make you feel in ways that words cannot. It is different, and whatever you want it to be. Feelings, whether excited or happy, sad, or enraged, and anything in between have a way of presenting themselves in the body. For example, when I feel scared or anxious, I often feel constriction, or a tightness in my chest, or a hollowness in my stomach. I know many people (I think maybe everyone) also can feel some emotions present themselves in the physical body. It would make sense then that moving your body might help to move the feelings, and release tension. Dance makes me feel alive, present, and free like nothing else. It can be an escape from reality or an outlet to feel and express the weight of reality through moving and choreographing.
Lily, age 17, Barefoot Dance Center, West Park, NY
23
PATHWAYS CELEBRATED Long narrow straight wide Never without a purpose Curved, zig-zag, high, low All have a job which may be slow People, trees, plants, animals All have pathways Some created in the past All have a job which may be fast Pathways need their own celebration They hold together all of creation Neurons are linked by pathways Dendrites are the connectors Messages are sent with speed Which my mind might misread
Group collage on the theme of community by members of MOTUS Dance Company (ages 8 – 17) at Liz Borromeo Dance, Vancouver, WA
Movement is key For my pathways to work for me Dance is the best way to train The pathways in our brain Pathways need their own celebration They hold together all of creation During covid we all used Fiber-optic pathways we made it work, glitches and all It’s even better than the mall.
Joel, age 20, non-speaking student, Creative Dance Center, Seattle, WA
Project based on dance study of shape and groupings by student, age 9, at Liz Borromeo Dance, Vancouver, WA
Responses from students at the Creative Dance Center, Seattle, WA to the following question: Reflect on what you appreciate about dancing in person in the studio, after taking class on zoom for 15 months. What new things have you noticed, or appreciated more, about dancing with others in the studio? I enjoy how much more real everything and everyone feels now. People exist. I have to remember to not crash into them. I can talk to people without the awkwardness of muting and unmuting. People hear me when I laugh. – Vivian, age 14 What I appreciate about being back in person is being in the same space and being able to reach out and not have to stare at a screen. Also having live music. – Eve, age 14 I missed relating and reacting to the other dancers in the room. Also being able to talk to other dancers throughout the class makes choreography more enjoyable because I’m more connected to people. I really enjoy having more space and live music. – Harper, age 14 I appreciate having the space to move around and being able to dance with other people. Being able to dance in groups in a 3D space is much nicer than a 2D zoom square. – Hannah, age 14 I can use physical contact with other people, move around in the same space, and I am able to create dances that can use different places in the space. – Marlaina, age 14 I really enjoy being able to feel everyone’s energy and being able to dance according to that. And having live music again is really nice. – Ihara, age 15 25
NEWS & EVENTS
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
International News The 15th international conference is coming up soon, July 10-15, 2022. It will be held virtually this year. USA members are encouraged to gather and take part in local or regional groups. Funding is available for organizing these gatherings from daCi USA. An ALL-ACCESS pass includes: Keynote address by Santee Smith, Indigenous choreographer, activist and researcher Keynote address and dance workshop by Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli Historical panel of dance scholars from daCi Dance workshops of various styles Children and youth performances from throughout the world Creative gatherings for children and youth from various cultures to collectively choreograph a dance to be performed Twinning projects that pair groups of children to learn and share dance, leading to a performance Scholarly gatherings, which include research papers, panels, posters, lecture/demonstrations, movement workshops and discussions after each Opening and closing ceremonies, which include dance performances Further details here: https://www.daciconference2022.yorku.ca/registration
More news from the International: Anna Mansbridge, former chair of daCi USA, has been elected to the International board and will serve as secretary. Congratulations and thanks to Anna for serving! She joins Nicki Flinn, who is the US National Representative on the board. Heads up! The 16th conference of the international organization will be held in July 2024 in Slovenia.
26
National News Our daCi Youth Leadership Team held its first session of 2022 on Saturday, Feb. 19. We enjoyed catching up, getting to know each other better, and discussing our plans for this year. We also talked about how to humbly but confidently acknowledge our successful leadership in and out of dance. We are so excited about this excellent start! In this session, we discussed how good leaders ask good questions as part of our preparation for Arizona daCi Day of Dance, bringing guest presenters in the future. Each of our sessions has a focus topic and is facilitated by Kathryn Austin, Jen Florey, and Sara Malan-McDonald with support from our Chair-elect, Heather Francis. At the top of each session, we host a dance educator to talk about the ways they have been called to leadership roles in their teaching careers. We are excited that next month we will hear from daCi member Judith Nelson! More to come on her leadership and dance experience. The daCi Leadership Team is open to all rising 6th graders up through college-age students of any daCi member or group member. We learn, we grow, we plan and we network! This is a great FREE benefit of daCi membership! Tell your students or join them for a session to see what it is all about. Make it a group "outing"! Our next meeting is on Saturday, May 21 on ZOOM 2 pm PST, 3 pm, MST, 4 pm CT, 5 pm EST. Please email any of our Team Leaders for more information. Kathryn Austin kwadance@gmail.com Jen Florey jennifer.florey08@gmail.com Sara Malan-McDonald sm027cow@gmail.com • Organize a daCi Day of Dance as a freestanding event or in conjunction with the daCi International conference in July 2022. Funding is available to members. • Stay tuned for news on the in-person 7th daCi USA National Gathering in Michigan, July 2023.
DACI USA BOARD Joy Guarino (New York) – Chair Heather Francis (Utah) – Chair-Elect Carol Day (Utah) – Treasurer Deborah Lipa-Ciotta (New York) – Secretary Nicki Flinn (Michigan) – National Representative Chris Roberts (Utah) – Past National Representative
Madeline Cantor (Pennsylvania) – Newsletter Editor Chara Huckins (Utah) – Membership Liaison Members at Large: Kathryn Austin (Florida), Cally Flox (Utah), Amy Munro Lang-Crow (Arizona). Sara MalanMcDonald (Arizona), Jennifer Florey (Arizona), Vincent E. Thomas (Maryland)
VISIT US AT DACIUSA.ORG
