Wk 11: Space

-       In this weeks tutorial we explored the use of space. Exploring both the general space, which is the space that is occupied by the performance area, and personal space, which is your immediate space. Exploring personal space in particular was quite challenging because as soon as a movement was made that you stepped forward or transferred your weight from one foot to another you were moving into the general space. This was challenging but it was also fun to consider the amount of way you can move your body without moving from the spot. Just by the different ways you can extend your limbs there are so many shapes and dynamics that can be explored. As we were doing this work initially with a partner it was even more interesting to see how you can explore your own personal space but to do it with another person. This kind of improvisation I think would be extremely beneficial to students in learning the ways their body can move and gaining confidence in those movements, “Students can learn confidence from the way they move by experimenting with unconventional and different methods” (Morgan, 2004, p. 19)

-       In the later part of the tutorial we were split into groups and each given a stimulus to come up with a unit of work based on a specific feature of space. My group was given peg board and we were to explore the concept of the floor and the sky. 

      As  the beads in this stimulus were a range of colour and shapes we decided that they could represent different movements, for instance in there was a small green bead, that meant a small quick movement, a big red bead that was a high slow movement. We also discussed how the beads could be used to represent different things, one was that the colours could be used to explore emotion through movement, another was organizing the beads to represent actual things such as traffic lights and exploring that concept through movement. Lastly we discussed what links this unit could have to other KLAs, which is clearly has a strong link with math and recognizing patterns. This is actually quite a difficult task, but great to see what our group and other groups were able to come up with and how physical things can be incorporated into dance.

Morgan, R. (2004). Improvisation: Another way to move and dance. Strategies: A journal for physical and sport educators , 18 (2), 19-20.