Phil Bertelsen’s documentary Beyond the Steps wonderfully captures Ailey’s triumphant return to …
Phil Bertelsen’s documentary Beyond the Steps wonderfully captures Ailey’s triumphant return to St. Petersburg, Russia in 2005. Here’s a short video clip of the Company performing Love Stories – featuring the choreography of Robert Battle – with commentary by veteran Ailey dancers Matthew Rushing and Guillermo Asca, and interviews with members of the audience after the performance.
In this activity, students will connect the idea behind a choral piece …
In this activity, students will connect the idea behind a choral piece - change - with its musical characteristics, using appropriate musical terminology such as rhythm, tempo, and dynamics. They will then work in groups to create short pieces that express similar feelings.
This unit affords teachers with opportunities to lead children in active singing …
This unit affords teachers with opportunities to lead children in active singing games and dances from Quebec, Canada. These lessons will offer young singers and players an opportunity to listen to, discuss, sing, play games, and create.
With the rumble of a train and the toll of distant bells, …
With the rumble of a train and the toll of distant bells, a cast of vividly-drawn characters from the barrelhouses and fields of Alvin Ailey’s southern childhood are summoned to dance and revel through one long, sultry night. Ailey’s first masterpiece poignantly evokes the sorrow, humor and humanity of the blues, those heartfelt songs that he called “hymns to the secular regions of the soul.â€
In this exhilarating work by Kennedy Center Honoree, McArthur Grant awardee and …
In this exhilarating work by Kennedy Center Honoree, McArthur Grant awardee and Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones (Fela!, Spring Awakening), rigorous formalism and musicality embody resilience and triumph over loss. The piece captures the infectious energy, innocence and will to survive of a beleaguered generation, and though it deals with sorrow, it maintains a defiantly celebratory tone.
Pas de Duke is Alvin Ailey’s spirited modern dance translation of a …
Pas de Duke is Alvin Ailey’s spirited modern dance translation of a classical pas de deux, originally created in 1976 as a showcase for Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The work is comprised of five solos and duets that require extraordinary technical facility, flawless timing, and strong acting skills. Since its premiere nearly 40 years ago, it has been performed by generations of dancers who have each put their own unique twist on the choreography, and it has stood the test of time in part for how perfectly it captures the timeless sophistication of Duke Ellington's jazz music.
Alvin Ailey’s Streams is an abstract exploration of bodies in space, danced …
Alvin Ailey’s Streams is an abstract exploration of bodies in space, danced to a percussion score by Miloslav Kabelac. The movement is a highly structured yet fluid compilation of solos, duets, and group passages. Each section is inspired by a body of water, from gentle brook to turbulent ocean, representing the changing emotional tides within us.
Students will be able to compare and contrast two songs from the …
Students will be able to compare and contrast two songs from the Civil War. Through a storyboard, students will be able to read and write information from different research sources to support their findings.
Students will learn to recognize a five-tone scale. Students will sing or …
Students will learn to recognize a five-tone scale. Students will sing or perform known American folksongs together in class. Advanced students will be able to identify all five pitches and even discern the actual pentatonic scale being used.
Arcade type game that has students press specific letter keys on the …
Arcade type game that has students press specific letter keys on the keyboard to play songs. The game requires students to hold down the letter key for the correct number of beats, or length of the bar, thus training them to keep a steady beat when playing. If pitches move by step, letters are adjacent. Pitches that have larger intervals are further apart. There is a free play option where students can create their own melodies which would be great for improvisation.
This is a demonstration analysis of an excerpt of "Auld Lang Syne", …
This is a demonstration analysis of an excerpt of "Auld Lang Syne", breaking down chords and their progressions along the way. Visual and auditory examples are given. Extremely useful for advancing composition students and theory students.
This lesson site gives a breakdown analysis of an excerpt of "O …
This lesson site gives a breakdown analysis of an excerpt of "O Canada". This is a great visual and auditory example of how analysis is performed in music theory. Great for intermediate composition students and theorists.
In this lesson, students will select one piece of Islamic art from …
In this lesson, students will select one piece of Islamic art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art website and complete an art analysis worksheet. Students will be able to recognize characteristics of Islamic art, compare them to non-Islamic art, and explain why Islamic art often looks different from non-Islamic art.
Students will be able to identify architectural elements in paintings; compare different …
Students will be able to identify architectural elements in paintings; compare different vantage points in paintings; discuss methods of representing a three-dimensional building in a two-dimensional painting; and write an essay exploring the use of spaces or perspective in a painting.
Students will learn about ancient art and civilizations including ancient Rome, Greece, …
Students will learn about ancient art and civilizations including ancient Rome, Greece, China, Egypt, other various regions of Africa, Native North America, Polynesia, and Native Central/South America. In groups, the students will research one of the cultures, create a google presentation, and then present their culture to the class. During the research and presentation process, students will be working on Chromebooks in the classroom. One major resource that the students will use is Khan Academy. Students will also apply their knowledge of ancient art to create a clay project inspired by a civilization of their choice.
Students are introduced to the life and art of Andy Warhol as …
Students are introduced to the life and art of Andy Warhol as a way of considering photography as a self-portrait medium. After viewing and discussing other artists' photographic self-portraits, students create their own digitally manipulated photographic self-portrait and then write a poem to describe the point of view taken in their digital work of art. Through links included in the resource, students view more of Andy Warhol's self-portraits at The Warhol museum, take a photo with a virtual camera and experiment with editing tools in NGAkids Photo Op, and listen to the brief podcast “In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age.
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