Description

This lesson offers a number of compositional centres to guide students when creating their own combinations using the technique previously studied in this unit. These centres will allow students to experiment with jazz improvisation. Students will work in small groups for this activity.

Learning Goals

  • Demonstrate an understanding that experimentation is a foundational concept in Jazz dance
  • Demonstrate collaboration in the creation of combinations

Materials

  • Prepare resource kits for compositional centers:
    • Jazz movements written on cue cards
    • Envelops with 5 coloured shapes plus chart of jazz movements
    • Blank paper

Minds On (Approximately 10 minutes)

Pick from a Hat

  • Students select 5 jazz movements that are written on individual slips of paper from a hat, arrange them in any order, and create a jazz dance sequence based on that order of movements.

Action! (Approximately 50 minutes)

Compositional Centres

  • Provide compositional centres for students to explore.
  • Use one centre at a time, focusing the class in their small groups on one particular compositional approach or use more than one centre at a time to increase the variety of compositional experiments.

Centre #1 Coloured Shapes

  • Select 5 coloured shapes from an envelope.
  • Arrange your shapes in any order.
  • Shapes would be compared to a chart that indicates specific jazz movements (e.g., circle represents a step ball change, triangle represents a pivot turn.)
  • Colours of the shapes would be compared to a chart that indicates quality of movement (e.g. red represents percussive, yellow is sustaining) or colour could represent a type of movement (e.g. red is a locomotor movement, yellow is an isolation, blue is a turning movement.)

Centre #2 Create a Rap

  • Choose three partners and create a rap.
  • Create movement to go with the rap, focussing on the attitude, the movement and style of hip hop.

Centre #3 Follow the Leader

  • Starting in group formation (e.g. “V”, circle, line, etc.),
  • Create a travelling sequence maintaining the group formation (compositional form “A”.)
  • Stop travelling and engage in a “follow-the-leader” improvisation alternating leaders (compositional form “B”.)
  • Stop “follow-the-leader” and engage in solo jazz improvisation (compositional form “C”.).
  • Return to original group shape and repeat first sequence (return to compositional form “A”.)
  • The compositional form of this exercise is ABCA. Students can experiment with this form once they have mastered it.

Consolidation (Approximately 15 minutes)

  • Students share their dances any of the compositional centers.
  • Observe and provide feedback throughout the activities and using checklists.

Notes/Assessment/Differentiated Instruction/Resources

  • Extend the lesson as needed in order for all students to experiment with all the compositional centres.