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