Dance Appreciation
Leaving Certificate Applied
Sharon Phelan
Table of Contents

Leaving Certificate Applied Dance Appreciation Units

Key Underlying Principles

Sample Dance Appreciation Assignments
Sharon Phelan
Leaving Certificate Applied Dance Appreciation Units
Dance One
Dance Appreciation
The student will be able to:
 Actively notice and pay attention to dance as an art form
 Describe a performer’s/choreographer’s use of the body, timing and
space
 Appreciate other students’ work, and comment constructively, with due
regard for their creative efforts
Dance Two
Dance Appreciation
The student will be able to:
 Identify appropriate/inappropriate use of body parts and shapes, ways of
travelling, space, energy and time in movement pieces
 Appreciate different dance pieces individually and in group situations
and through written and oral work
 Investigate when, how, why and where people dance, through
questionnaires, surveys, interviews, the internet etc
 Present his/her dance research findings to different audiences
 Observe two video recordings of different dance styles and discuss orally
the similarities, and notable differences between them
Sharon Phelan
Key Underlying Principles
Guidelines:
The following are only suggestions where the Key Underlying Principles
of Leaving Certificate Applied can be integrated into the Dance
Appreciation Units of the Leaving Certificate Applied Syllabus
 Teamwork:
Allow students appreciate movement individually or in large and small
group situations and through oral/written work
Students can appreciate each other’s work. [E.g. Did Group A use similar
or different floor patterns than your group?]
 Active Learning Methodologies
Students can complement their oral/written description of a piece through
demonstrating parts of the piece themselves
 Basic Skills [literacy]
Encourage students to use basic dance terminology [e.g. rhythm, set
dance, space, waltz etc] when describing a piece
Let Students describe the travelling actions, [jumping, turning, skipping],
the body parts employed [toes, hands, spine], and the body shapes
[twisted, straight, wide] in a dance piece
Sharon Phelan
 Integration across the Curriculum
The student can identify the stimulus/stimuli behind any dance piece [e.g.
Story, poem, word, and song, custom]
 Links with the Community
Encourage students to attend local dance shows and to provide oral /
written reports of their evaluations
Sharon Phelan
Five Steps in Learning To Appreciate Dance
1. Perception
Asks the person to actively notice and pay attention
2. Description
Asks the person to give substance to their perception
3. Analysis
Asks the person to examine relationships, characteristics,
amounts…
4. Interpretation Encourages speculative [tentative] thinking
5. Evaluation
Enters into preferences, opinion, and subjective layers of
response
Sharon Phelan
Case Study:
A Visit to a Theatre Performance
Siamsa Tíre
The National Folk Theatre of Ireland
Before embarking on a dance appreciation exercise, the class should always explore the
background of the performing company:
Siamsa Tire is the national folk theatre of Ireland. Broadly speaking, it is a theatrical
representation of Irish folk culture. Based in Tralee, Co. Kerry, it also has two training
centres – one in Finuge, near Listowel in North Kerry and one in Carraig near Dingle.
Pupils complete a three-year course in traditional Irish dance, music, singing and mime.
During springtime each year a show opens especially geared towards school pupils in the
theatre in Tralee.
One show, Ding Dong Dedero, examines the life of Jerry Molyneaux a famed North
Kerry dancing master. It explores his life and the legacy of dance that he left behind. The
curtain opens with a prophet, who forecasts fame for the new–born blacksmith’s son
[Jerry Molyneaux]. Later in the first act, dancing spirits emerge from the fires in the forge
to perform a ritualistic dance around Molyneaux and he awakens into manhood.
In the second act, the ringing of a mass bell interrupts the men’s pagan ritualistic dance.
The cast drift off stage holding rosary beads but the priest is not seen. As the chant of the
rosary grows louder, Jerry Molyneaux dances to the rhythm of the rosary on the anvil.
There is a suggestion that for this man his dance is his prayer and the anvil his alter.
These scenes are reflective of the pagan influence already mentioned with reference to
the Celts.
In The Chair Dance –the dancer, a piece devoted to the memory of Jack Lyons, [one of
Molyneaux’s finer pupils], the dancers perform in Molyneaux’s unique style. It is a style
often described as earthy, as the dancer performs close to the ground. [Molyneaux was
said to write on the floor with his feet.] These steps are currently in Siamsa tire’s archives
because Jack Lyons agreed to have them videotaped in 1983. Then he could only dance
with the aid of a chair. The stage reflects this. Five dancers either sit or stand with the
support of chairs.
Dance Appreciation Exercise
‘The Chair Dance’
Siamsa Tíre


Can you name the dance form, the choreographic structure, the accompaniment,
and the type of stimulus employed by the performers?
Description
Examine the use of space and the relationship between the performers.
Analysis

Investigate the use of lighting, sound and costume?
Analysis

Were there original movements used that you had never seen before?
Analysis

Why does the choreographer use periods of silence?
Interpretation
Sharon Phelan
Dance Appreciation Exercise
‘Fire Dance’
Riverdance
Like the sun, fire is a source of heat and comfort, also something to be feared. Maria Pages
represents fire – while her dance is attractive, it is still dangerous. Michael Flatley
represents the early Celtic Settlers. While he is cautious at first, he eventually embraces and
fully connects with the flame.
Sample Questions

Michael Flatley and Maria Pages use space [personal/general, levels, and
pathways] in different ways. How?

What does Maria Pages’ dance style tell us about her?

What does Michael Flatley’s dance style tell us about him?

Describe the dancers’ relationship to themselves, their environment and to each
other.
 Is this a contemporary or traditional piece? Why?
Sharon Phelan