Blog Post 2: Integrating Language Arts & Dance

Within this post, I will be reflecting on the activities and elements of dance that were explored in week 1 of the dance education course. By incorporating dance into
language arts, students draw upon a variety of sources – such as literature, and media texts in order to create dance pieces in a way that communicates their interpretation of personal ideas and feelings. By connecting dance to literature, students are able to fully immerse themselves into the text, where they can express their feelings and emotions of the characters. 

Dance Strategy: Bodystorming, guided Improvisation/ Narrative Form

Body Storming is a dance strategy, that allows students to use their bodies to explore a variety of different poses. Students envision what they imagine the pose looking like then act it out through movement. Moreover, narrative form is where students tell a story through dance. For example, within my PJ dance class, students were provided with a passage from Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel. 

The passage stated:

Sometimes I feel like a bear,

strong and confidant.

I stand tall and growl

and protect those around me.

Working in groups of 3-4, students then had to create a series of poses to go with each line of the passage and then combine the poses to make a dance sequence. Moreover, through integrating dance into this story the students were able to witness how each person derives from a work of art differently based on experiences and connections to the text. Additionally, though incorporating the elements of bodystorming and narrative form, students were able to fully immerse themselves into the story and feel the message that the author was expressing. 

Furthermore, this dramatic strategy can be used within the Grade 1 Language Arts curriculum and The Arts curriculum, where students are asked to achieve the following curriculum expectation listed below.

Language Arts: Reading

1.6 extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them

1.8 express personal thoughts and feelings about what has been read

The Arts: Dance

A1.2 use dance as a language to express feelings and ideas suggested by songs, stories, and poems, with a focus on the element of body, particularly body shapes

Overall, this activity is particularly beneficial for primary students given that it teaches them how to make deep emotional connections to text through movement. Overall, I look forward to integrating this activity into my classroom when exploring short stories and poetry with students.