Dark Side of the Moon – Performing Arts Dance Unit of work suitable for KS4/KS5 3 x 2 hours Aim: To stimulate movement compositions based on three themes connected to space travel and the history of women in space: “boot camp” training, weightlessness and isolation. Learning Objectives: Students will think about movements with different body parts, at different levels, tempos and directions to create contrasts; Students will consider differing actions, dynamics and effort quality to create three distinct phrases of movement; Students will be encouraged to explore movement at several stages before selecting motifs for composition, rather than choosing first possibility; Students will develop their phrases using a range of compositional devices; Students will perform with clarity and confidence; Students will evaluate the work of others with sensitivity and care Resources Images of space and space travel Flipchart and pens or whiteboard and pens Dark Side of the Moon website www.womenandspace.com YouTube videos of NASA astronauts at work Video clips of space travel in science fiction – eg Alien, Gravity, Contact Selection of music – see suggested playlist below Lessons 1 and 2: Boot Camp Teaching Activities Teaching Points Warm-up Aerobic warmup to increase pulse and raise body temperature; mobilisation to ready joints in sequence. Socks and jewellery off. Why is it important to warm up? Introduce lesson theme Watch “Boot Camp” training video (https://youtu.be/KXirtnmiTxo). What do astronauts need to do to get fit for space? Collect ideas on the board. Teach Boot Camp phrase Jog on spot for 16 Jump feet together for 16 Knees up for 16 Jumping jacks for 16 Repeat Ask students to add an action each time sequence repeats – from board? Suggestions could include actions (press-ups, sit-ups) and words connected to effort (hard work, punchy, working up a sweat). Older students should be able to contribute more technical vocabulary. Saftey points – knees over toes when bending Landing on balls of feet from jumps Looking for strong, athletic movements – squat thrusts, toe touches, burpees etc. Could include some strength activities eg press ups. Exploration On your own, choose four “boot camp” actions to show in a sequence. Think about the keywords we collected on the board at the start of the session. Exploration How else can we show hard work and effort with our bodies? Can we find a movement which is not obviously aerobic/gym-related but shows a similar effort quality? Add this to your sequence. Think about different levels and directions – try a few different actions before choosing. Could some be static? Can we include floor movements as well as standing movements? Play background music for general rhythm. Encourage abstraction away from literal miming/use of aerobic actions. Ask for suggestions from the group before exploring – movements might be gestural or whole body. Think of strong, angular shapes and different ways to show strength – could this mean getting up after collapsing, carrying on no matter what? Composition Teach your sequence to a partner. Join your phrases together and perform in unison at this stage. Performance Half and half with music. Look for clear starting and finishing positions, clear actions, interesting ways to show our effort quality. Composition Develop your phrase using: - Different levels (one partner high, the other low) - Different directions or facings (try facing each other, back to back, on a diagonal etc) - Contrasting actions for part of the sequence (can you fit your movements around one another in space?) Extension task - composition If pairs are working well, join with another pair to develop your sequence into a short group performance. You may wish to select actions from each pair’s phrase to work with. Think about your space and relationships as a group. Performance Two pairs or one group at a time. Cool down and plenary Confident pairs can add devices previously practised such as canon, action-reaction, mirroring etc. Larger groups open up more possibilities for use of space – how will you arrange your group and will this change through your composition? What devices have the groups used? Do the final performances clearly relate to the keywords we collected at the start? Lessons 3 and 4: Weightlessness Warmup Gentle warmup including leg swings, arm swings, whole body swings through plie, joint circles. Emphasise difference between releasing towards the floor (going with gravity) and rising against. Intoduce lesson theme Why do bodies float in space? (Weak gravitational force). See https://youtu.be/N0c1CijmH7o for an example! What else do we think of when we think of floating or weightlessness? Collect idea on board.. Ideas could include objects that float (balloons, feathers, bubbles); names of light elements (helium, hydrogen); words connected to effort quality (light, glide, hover). You may wish to bring images or videos of floating in space. Set phrase Float r arm up above head (to loose contemporary 5th position) for 4 counts Float l arm above head for 4 counts; on count 4 (as arm arrives) relevee up to demi-pointe. Float as gently and weightlessly as you can – how can you give the impression that your arm is floating without your control? Lead from the wrist and elbow rather than the shoulder. Float r leg up in front for 2 counts; drop whole body over a parallel plie on 3 and circle arms to raise torso on 4; gently float arms down 5-6 and degage r leg to 2nd to turn and face back. Repeat to back. Lift leg from the knee, ending in a loose attitude position rather than a straight leg Arms should start a swing then arrest into a gentle float. Teach twice then allow 1 minute for rehearsal and watch group together. Watch for good examples of floating/weightlessness. Feed back on points of technique. Exploration Find four different floating actions using different parts of the body. Actions could be: gestural (single body part); whole body; travelling. Composition Find a clear starting position from your phrase; find appropriate transitions between your floating actions. Teach your phrase to a partner – perform in unison for now. Join your phrases together with a suitable transition. Confident pairs can start to think about spatial relationships at this stage. Performance Explore different possible body parts before selecting and setting Can you find floating actions at different levels? Floating from the floor can be very effective. How can your focus/gaze help give the impression of floating? Let your focus follow the floating limb and extend the line. Have gentle background music playing to encourage light/floating dynamic. See playlist below for suggestions. Half and half with music. Which pairs are most convincingly weightless and why? Composition What happens when two bodies react against one another in space? Exaggerated actionreaction due to reduced gravity and friction. In the same pairs, add at least one movement where demonstrating lack of gravity together (a simple example would be to push against one another and float away) to your phrase. Develop your phrase using different orientations, levels and devices (canon works very well with weightless phrases). Extension task - composition If pairs are working well, join with another pair to develop your sequence into a short group performance. Think about relationships – will everybody start together? Confident pairs can work with internal pulse rather than counts; weightless phrases work vry well without set counts as long as the pairs are very aware of one another. Entering the space one by one can work very well. Think about setting some of the composition in unison and other sections in contrast or canon – how will you use the space for each section? Performance Two pairs or one group at a time. Cool Down and plenary Lessons 5 and 6: Isolation Warmup Joint isolations – head/neck, shoulders, torso, hips, knees, ankles. Work through each joint at differing tempos from slow to fast. Intoduce lesson theme Few people have visited space and mission teams are often small – the first missions were completed solo. Today’s astronauts spend long periods of time away from family and friends. How would that feel? Exploration Find four different isolations using different parts of the body. These will probably be in place and use one part of the body at a time (although you Looking for: interesting and original choices of action, use of space as a pair or group, interesting and successful compositional devices. Take suggestions for other isolations – wrists, elbows, parts of the face? Collect ideas on the board – looking for words like isolated, alone. Some connotations could be positive – peaceful, happy by myself; others might be more negative – lonely, bored. Explore different possible body parts before selecting and setting Students may wish to bring in knowledge of other might repeat an action on both sides) Exploration What actions show emotional/personal isolation? How can you use the body to show you are far from home and other people? Think of at least two whole body actions that show isolation in this sense. Composition Connect your six chosen actions with appropriate transitions and a clear starting and finishing position. Think about your levels and directions. Performance Half and half with music. Which actions suggest isolation most successfully? Composition Add two of your weightless actions to your solo to create a longer phrase – alone and floating in space. Can your solo repeat in different directions? Extension task - composition An isolated solo can work well against a group unison phrase. Groups of 3-4 can create a short, repeating “working” phrase (see YouTube videos of NASA astronauts in the lab for inspiration) to perform behind an isolated solo. Performance Four solos or one group at a time. Solos can be performed twice. dance techniques here: jazz and street dance make substantial use of isolations. Accept all valid actions but encourage a focus on exploring and isolating parts of the body rather than borrowing a set of known material. Refer back to the ideas collected on the board – your movements could show isolation in a positive or negative sense. Take suggestions from the group before exploring – reaching out and coiling in, pacing in circles, perhaps even talking to yourself! When creating solo material, variations in dynamic, level and direction are very important to hold the attention of the audience – think about where you can add variety. Consider performing in silence. If music is added at this stage, be sure to preserve the original feeling created in silence. If groups are working well, students can perform isolated solos in turn against the group background. Looking for: interesting and original choices of action, different ways to capture feeling of isolation. Cool Down and plenary This unit can be used to create material for a performance or end-of-term sharing; use 2-3 groups in each section. The students may wish to suggest their own costumes. Suggested playlist: Boot Camp Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Electric Six – Danger! High Voltage Chemical Brothers – Leave Home Fatboy Slim – Ya Mama Suggested playlist: Weightlessness Nebula - Floating Galaxies Jason Landsell – Floating in Space Brian Eno – For All Mankind Michael Stearns – Chronos Ambient instrumental music designed for yoga or relaxation also works well. Suggested playlist: Isolation Silence works well for these sessions; if you would like music for performance consider Andy Cowton – Two David Bowie – Space Oddity (you may prefer to use an instrumental version) Joy Division - Atmosphere