Ribbon Dance

[Music, Dance, Grade 8, Performing Arts Learning]

Type and Purpose of Learning

Through free and guided exploration and by applying the creative process, students engaged in Performing Arts Play. They used elements of dance and music to communicate feelings and ideas. Students used pretending, imitation and mimicry to express their emotions and relieve tension in an acceptable way. Play and music create an imaginary world in which children can master a myriad of skills and develop an understanding of their environment as well as other cultures. As students move in new ways they learn there are many answers to a question, many solutions to a problem and many ways to complete a task. For example, students discovered that to make ribbons move as they wanted in the air, they needed to experiment with large body gestures and speed. Students engaged in a physical workout while learning a cultural dance form through play-based learning.

Learning Story (overview)

In celebration of Asian Heritage Month in May, students engaged in a Performing Arts play-based learning to explore various Asian dance forms and appreciate a variety of cultural music. A different culture was profiled every week. Video clips of dancers, pictures of dance moves and traditional cultural music were used as the stimulus, with little to no additional teacher instruction. Students would examine the stimulus and then use their bodies with or without cultural tools (i.e. scarves, ribbons, handkerchiefs, etc.) to try and emulate their observations.

The focus on the Chinese Ribbon Dance was of particular interest to my grade seven class, especially the boys. They enjoyed having an object to hold and manipulate. During class debriefs, some boys commented that they felt the audience was focusing on the ribbons and not on the dancers and this made them feel more comfortable during performances.

The first day the students saw the ribbons, they were awestruck and could not wait to try them out. The students began by listing academic (dance) and learning skills success criteria for the Ribbon Dance experience. They were so excited that they completed this task in record time and were playfully trying to coax me into handing out the ribbons faster because they knew what was to come next — playing with the ribbons!

Each student was given a pair of ribbons and 20 minutes to experiment with how to use them. The students were provided with video clips and pictures of dance moves. It was astonishing to observe the high level of engagement among all students. Ribbons were twirling up in the air, down towards the ground and all around their bodies to create different shapes. Students were experimenting with the use of the Elements of Dance: Body, Energy, Relationship, Space and Time and some students started making up little routines using their knowledge of the Elements and Dance and various dance techniques. Of course there was a little silliness at times but with a quick reference to the success criteria, students were back on track.

There was a creative and cheerful vibe to the room, which caught the attention of those passing by in the hallway. The room’s positive ambiance was enhanced with traditional Chinese music used to set the mood and which prompted students to respond to different energies, tempo and movements. On-lookers could observe students experimenting with manipulating the ribbons; sometimes the ribbons ended up in a tangle which got a good-humoured giggle from the dancer. A teacher across the hall was so entertained by the play-based learning that she devoted most of her prep period to observing the class. When the students noticed her, they invited her in so they could show her the moves they created.

Many of the boys invented martial arts moves and created ‘call-and-response’ phrases with their partners. Most of the girls worked in unison to create phrases that were gentle so the ribbons flowed with grace. In every grouping, one voice stood out as the leader. The leader was typically not a student who took on a leadership role in the classroom but instead was a child who during dance became more expressive and confident enough to take the lead.

Since access to traditional Chinese musical instruments was not possible, the students were given a hodgepodge of percussion instruments. They worked in pairs, taking turns to move the ribbon to the sound or beat created by the musician and their instrument. The sounds of laughter with the addition of the musical instruments made for a very loud yet stimulating session with the students.

Students were so proud of their abilities that they naturally gravitated to forming larger groups of musicians and performers. From this, ensembles were formally established to create performance pieces. Students demonstrated individual confidence and group trust which fostered a successful play-based learning environment for everyone.

Lesson Focus

Students will explore the use of Chinese ribbons in the creation of a variety of dance pieces.

Lesson Plan

Assessment/Reflections for Future Lessons

Assessment as learning: The teacher uses checklists and written descriptive feedback to help students be more successful. Students provide each other with feedback through formal class caucuses and partnered discussions. Students are also asked to write reflective responses to share their learning and feelings during the creative process. They use the co-generated success criteria as their guide during the reflective writing to pinpoint their success level.

Co-creation of Success Criteria

Briefly review the Elements of Dance and the Elements of Music with the class. Review the Creative Process (Arts Curriculum, 2009, page 20) wheel with the class. Explain the tasks for the week. Now ask students to generate a list of Success Criteria for their curriculum learning followed by Success Criteria for Learning Skills. Record all students’ ideas on chart paper to create an anchor chart to which the students can refer.

Curriculum Expectation

(Ref: Ontario Ministry of Education. The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: The Arts, 2009 (revised)

Dance

• Apply the creative process to the composition of a variety of dance pieces using the elements of dance to communicate ideas.
• Apply the critical analysis process to communicate their ideas and understandings in response to a variety of dance experiences.
• Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of dance forms, traditions and styles from the past and present, and their sociocultural and historical contexts.

Music

• Apply the creative process to create and perform music for a variety of purposes using the elements and techniques of music.
• Apply the critical analysis process to communicate their feelings, ideas and understandings in response to a variety of music and musical experiences.

Introduction (MINDS ON)

Chinese Ribbon Dance Moves

Pictures along with written descriptions of nine basic Chinese Ribbon Dances were posted around the room. Students were provided with 10 minutes to examine each picture and description and try to emulate the move. During this time, students were also encouraged to engage in free play using the ribbons and the movement of their bodies. Next, students were grouped under each of the nine stations. Students would become the “experts” of their station’s movement and would (1) name the move, and (2) teach the move to the rest of the class. Finally, students gathered into groups of three and four and chose four moves to string together to creative a movement phrase to share with the class.

Teacher-Directed Lesson

Musical Exploration

Students were presented with a variety of percussion instruments. Working in pairs, one student would create a simple, repetitive movement with the ribbon (one of the nine basic Chinese Ribbon Dance moves) while his/her partner would choose an instrument to create a sound they felt best matched that movement. Both partners took turns experimenting with the moves and musical accompaniment. After about 15 minutes, partners were asked to decide on their three favourite compositions (move + instrumental sound). Students then congregated into groups of nine or 10 and the partners shared their compositions with the rest of the group. These large groups were tasked with creating a two-minute performance piece using only the instruments and ribbons. The only stipulation was that only three musicians could perform at any one time and that everyone must have the chance to be a musician and a performer during the piece.

Student Tasks (WORKING ON IT)

Exploring Traditional Music

Students returned to their groups of three to practice the movement phrase they created during the previous class. The two groups were asked to join together to form a team of six. Each group was tasked with teaching the other group their movement phrase so that the team could string two phrases together to create one large phrase. Each team was then given a CD (and player) with six pieces of traditional Chinese music. The groups had to practice their dance to each piece of music and decide which music was the best choice for their piece.

Every team was asked to record, on chart paper, their reasons for their choice of music. Their written response needed to include the elements of dance, elements of music, key dance and music vocabulary, and group feelings about the experience.

Each group then performed their piece to their chosen music and led a class discussion about their choices. The audience provided each group with two positives and one improvement area (two stars and a wish). Finally, all students wrote a personal reflection of the experience using the same criteria of the group writing activity.

Share and Connect

Traditional music versus contemporary music

Have each group perform their piece to Traditional Chinese music then (without any rehearsal time) to a current/popular piece of music. Have the audience discuss which piece of music they preferred for the dance and why. Draw students’ attention to the Elements of Dance and Elements of Music anchor charts to help them frame effective responses.

Black Light Theatre

If the ribbons are white or fluorescent, consider having students perform once with the lights on and immediately after under black light. Have the audience discuss the differences in quality of movement and how/why the dancer’s body needs to adjust under black light.

Accommodations/Modifications

The very nature of performing arts play, dance and music in this context, allows for students to accommodate or modify as they see prudent for themselves. Students with gross-motor skill difficulties were also successful using the ribbons. They had fun experimenting with moves to find the positions that were most successful for them. Other students in the room were observed by the teacher to also be taking more time and care to assist each other and share techniques that were working for them.

Differentiation

The Performance Arts play-based activities already yields to the strengths of the bodily-kinesthetic learner, the musical learner, the interpersonal learner, the intrapersonal learner and the linguistic learner. Consider asking the visual-spatial learner to storyboard the phrase sequences, while the logical-mathematical learner could be asked to be responsible for identifying patterns in movement and musical phrases, and transitions between them. As well, this learner could be asked to ensure groups perform in a variety of formations.

Impact Quotes (Impact Analysis)

I like working with the different materials because I get to choose what I want to use. …ribbons are my favourite because I can use them to show the different energy words, like twist, float and slither.

This was fun. And we were learning to make different body positions to tell a story. We used the ribbons to add the energies to our piece.

In dance, I get to tell a story with my body language and because nothing I create is wrong, I can change the story or make up my own story.

There is a relationship between the ribbons and the dancer because the ribbons are like longer arms. I can move my arms to make the ribbons move in different ways and this tells the story. … When I dance with the other people in my group, we work together to play different characters from the story.

Research Quotes

Dance can be divided broadly into two categories, namely dances performed for a group of spectators and dances with an emphasis on participation. It is possible to get to know the body and learn how to use it through all kinds of dances that fall under any of these two categories. It is thought that music teachers, although not expected to be professional dancers, would benefit from dance education which will help them get to know their own body and learn how to use it as well as helping them establish a creative learning environment in class and give their pupils the opportunity to experience the creative process they have experienced themselves. Creative dancing where the main concern is participation and not the audience is one of the kinds of dance that can best satisfy this expectation. In creative dancing, the experience, the feelings, the development of the imagination, personality and creativity are considered more important than the output produced and there is no mistake. Creative people are not afraid of making mistakes.

Tokinan, B.O. and Bilen, S. (2011). The effect of creative dancing activities on motivation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and dancing performance. Hacettepe University Journal of Education. Turkey: (40), 363-374.

Establishing a Safe Place to Learn

The teacher used the cafeteria for the Ribbon Dance experience, as using the ribbons require the students to have a little more personal space. All the tables were pushed to the side so that each group had room to move and form various formations. On sunny days with little to no wind, the students worked outside.

The students consistently asked the teacher to go outside, even on windy days, even though the teacher explained that the ribbons would be harder to manipulate and would get tangled by the wind. It wasn’t until the students experienced the frustration of dancing with ribbons on a windy day that the requests subsided.

Resources

Ribbon Dance Support DOC

Ribbon Dance Support PDF