Teachers can pick from 12 different ways to approach choreography with their students. Studetns will get an opportunity to explore the creative process with their fellow dancers.

This article from 1914 covers the Paris Opera House perfromance of dancers from the Imperial Theatres of Moscow and St. Petersburg. It contains quotes from Serge Diaghileff.

This article in the New York Times covers this year's DanceAfrica festival and it's "revered and beloved" founder and master of ceremonies, North Carolina's own, Chuck Davis.

After losing costumes and sets to Hurricane Sandy, the Martha Graham Dance Company rebuilds, recreates and reinvents itself. It is the companion article to the video, Martha Graham: Myth and Transformation.

In Alchemies, up-and-coming choreographer Adam Barruch transforms everyday gestures – a reach, an embrace, a finger pointed skyward – into a reverie of human interactions. While this is a non-narrative work, the dancers’ characters come to the foreground as they move through the patterns Barruch has created, accentuated by a layered electronic soundscape by the London duo Raime.

What if there were angels moving among us on earth? Rising choreographer Jennifer Archibald explores this intriguing possibility in her new work, Wings -- an unabashedly emotional portrayal of interactions between angels and humans. Set to an ambient score by veteran dance composer Michael Wall, Archibald’s movement is ferocious yet vulnerable, showcasing both the dancers’ athletic prowess and raw honesty.

This 1982 srticle reports on a program in which the late choreographer, Alvin Ailey, taught movement to blind students.

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.

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.”

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.

In Ronald K. Brown's Four Corners, 11 dancers depict spiritual seekers amid four angels standing on the corners of the earth, holding the four winds.

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 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 learn how to find their center of gravity or apply a greater sense of control of center. This study varies the weight and lift of the body in or to maximize the use of the center. Students wil learn how flow, breathe, dynamics and use of space can lead to an enhanced understanding of movement technique.

This site offers a wealth of information about Ballet/Classical Artist from around the globe. Students will find information about dancers, choreographers, and the most influential in this form of dance.

In this vidoe Ohad Nahrin speaks about his work, his dancers and how he approaches choreography.

This video freatures Beam by Japanese perfromance artists Eiko and Koma. Beam was the first of Eiko and Koma's pieces to be commissioned by the American Dance Festival, and they performed it at their ADF debut in 1983. Together they performed this work on top of a 6 foot tall dirt mound built on top of an orchestra pit.

This video is a trailor for the Bill T Jones work, Story/Time. The work combines movement from the Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company's repertoire and 70 minute-long stories written and spoken by Bill T Jones. Inspired by the work of John Cage, all the elements combine by chance, creating a different experience for the audience every time.

This resource is a video recording of a rehearsal for the Siegfried/Giselle pas de duex from the Romantic Ballet, Giselle.

In this lesson students will discuss and demonstrate the concept of general space using a variety of locomotive movements.

Students explore and use two of the fundamental elements of dance (body and space) in creating movement phrases.These elements of dance are building blocks in the creation of dance movements and forms. In this video, the teacher demonstrates effective strategies that allow students to experience dance as an extension of natural physical movement.

Students will create their own phrases to apply cannon to, manipulate the speed and intensity of the canon, combine two or more canons in one performance to show a variety of focus and phrasing, and
apply changes of levels to the canon.

Dancing Dash!
Create a dance for Dash to do along with students to demonstrate mastery of Math (addition/subtraction) and Science (motion/force).

This interactive resource will introduce students to the elements of composition in a real and exciting way.

Making visions of dance come alive requires inspiration, determination and refined craft. A choreographer may have vivid ideas for a new work. However, translating this imagination into dancers' bodies and shaping it into a dance that is ready to be performed is a very challenging, yet equally rewarding, process. This site offers guidance to help make visions become a reality.

In this lesson students will explore emotions through facial expressions, body shapes, and movement. They will create choreography based on selected emotions, discussing what energy, size, level, and speed the body employs to create a particular feeling.

This course emphasizes the development of student's artistry, improvisational and compositional skills, and technical proficiency in global dance genres. Students will apply dance elements, techniques, and tools in a variety of ways, including performance situations; describe and model responsible practices related to the dance environment; and reflect on how the study of dance affects personal and artistic development. The focus of this course is the creative process of dance composition.

In this lesson students will explore action words through a series of improvisations. Then they will choose three or four action words from a list around which they will create a choreographic sequence. Students will vary the levels, energy, and speed they use when performing their sequences. Students will then create short stories from sentences they wrote containing their action words. Students will tell the stories using movement.

In this lesson students will identify action words found in text. They will discuss how dancers use movement to tell a story just as an author uses words. Then students will create word dances with a theme- e.g spring time or under the sea.

Students will research a dance company to create a poster project to share with their class. Students will pair up and decide on a company to dig deeper into. Students will then begin to form a hypothesis or create opinions based on their data on the style, and or choreographic approaches "˜their"™ choreographer uses when creating dance work to begin creating their own work. Finally, students will have to provide evidence of their choreographic process.

Students will take the piece they have created and use teacher and peer feedback to refine their dance work.

This lesson is one example of how you can implement the practice of making connections to history and culture. In this activity, students work in small groups to research and make presentations on folk dances from different cultures and time periods.

Teachers will find several movement ice breakers that may be used at the beginnig of class as a warmup or to review material from the previous day. In these icebreakers students will get the opportunity to explore the elements of dance.

A wide variety of dance forms exist around the world. Here is an introduction to over 40 traditional and contemporary dance forms that you may encounter on stages near you. You'll find 24 major dance styles and additional information on variations within certain forms. Most of these are theatrical dance forms whose primary purpose is artistic presentation before an audience. Some forms play a wider social role but are nonetheless adapted for theatrical performance.

This site offers dance technique terms, theatre terms, staging terms, eras and isms, and general dance and art vocabulary.

Students will learn the "Who's Who's" within a dance company. They will learn the roles of the artistic team, including dancers, choreographers, designers and composers, and the many individuals who work behind the scenes.

William C. Rhoden discusses dance as an athletic endeavor with Alicia Graf Mack, a dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

In this lesson students will experience the cultures of Mexico and the US through music and dance while showing the ability to respect others and their boundaries.

This article by ABT dancer Sascha Radetsky addresses stereotypes about male ballet dancers.

This anatomical image is a profile view of the hip and knee in proper and inproper alignment. It demonstrates lordosis, flatback, and swayback as well as balanced, neutral posture.

In this lesson plan students explore different movement qualities using imagery and improvisation.

This lesson is designed to follow The Element of Energy: Force adn Effort. In this lesson student use improvisation exercises to explore movement qualities and dynamics.

In this lesson, students will review basic elements of dance that will prepare them for creating movement that depict specific emotions.

This video features highlights from Pontus Lidberg's Giselle, danced by Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve. It is the original, romantic storyline with a contemporary setting and a modern movement vocabuary.

Minus 16” is based on excerpts from other pieces in Naharin’s repertory, including “Mabul” (1992), “Anaphaza” (1993) and “Zachacha” (1998). Although the piece has a defined structure, it is tailored differently for each dance group, and features improvisational elements as well as audience participation.

In this lesson students will identify and define curved, straight, zigzaged, and spiral lines. Students will explore the lines using both axial/non-locomotive and locomotive movements.

Students will explore how they can communite gloable issues through movment. Students will use the graffiti method once a global issue has been selected to expand their knowledge about the issue and before they move to experiment using the elements of dance. Students will discover how they can build a dance sequence based on what they discovered about their topic.

In this lesson students will understand the relationship between body lines and shapes. They will participate in teacher guided improvisations exploring shapes using both axial and locomotive movement. Students will also identify shapes as they are demonstrated by other dancers.

This segment illustrates dance as a form of both communication and artistic expression. Elements and conventions of dance are integrated with the math curriculum. Students use their bodies to represent the fundamental concept of symmetry in math and dance.The students show how learning sophisticated concepts can be fun.

The purpose of this lesson is to explore the role of African culture in modern dance in America. The lesson will focus on three key areas. The first area will examine the Afro-Caribbean slave roots that were a part of modern dance and the ways that modern dance movements and themes reflected daily life activities. The second area will focus on how modern dance reflected issues of black pride, self-expression, and identity. The third area will explore how modern dance themes of social justice and activism evolved in response to a racist American society.

This lesson is designed to follow Communication: Expressing Feeling Through Movement. in this lesson students create original choreography expressing contrasting emotions. They are assessed using the provided Performance Rubric. Students then discuss how body movement changes as emotions change.

This site offers a variety of facts to spark conversation, interest or answer questins students may have about dance. Teachers may use this webpage for warmups, open discussion, or a little fun with trivia.

Using a variety of resources, students will explore the impact and implications of personal choices. They will consider the media's role in the choices people make. Students will use the elements of dance in a movement piece to communicate the power of addiction and addictive behaviour. It is recommended that consideration and sensitivity of students within the class be exercised during learning in both lesson one and two due to the nature of the content being explored.

Students will examine important elements of careers in the dance industry. By inviting a guest to speak to the class about Arts Administration, the exploration will begin by looking at non-traditional dance jobs. From there, an examination of what dance grants are available and how an artist applies for one is embarked upon.

In this lesson students pair up to explore mirroring and shadowing (leading and following) with axial and locomotive movements. Student learn the ettiquette of leading and following and apply their knowledge in creating a "Mirror and Shadow" dance. This lesson includes an assessment rubric and a worksheet to facilitate student written responses.

Students use improvisation to vary established patterns and to develop an idea or theme. They combine the basic elements of the dance form(s) into sequences, describe dance works using the language of dance criticism, and reflect on their own work and that of others. Through their compositions, they demonstrate the basic movement skills of the dance form(s) studied.

The teacher will divide the class into small groups. They will collaborate with each other as a group.  Also, they will plan, design, and choose materials for their Power Point project. They will work a Folksong Project together at the school or online in Zoom meetings. The students will find one folksong from a different country other than USA.  

Students will collaborate with a group of students and select a Culture Project to complete together in school.  The group will choose, design and plan and implement what the groups roles will be and what materials are needed to complete the project.  The teacher should allow the students to work on projects in school so that equal participation is taking place and can be observed. The students may select the countries in the folktale unit to research or one of their own as long as the project goals are met and agreed upon by all members in the group.This lesson was developed by Lisa Bruet as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will collaborate with a group of students and select a Culture Project to complete together in school.  The group will choose, design and plan and implement what the groups roles will be and what materials are needed to complete the project.  The teacher should allow the students to work on projects in school so that equal participation is taking place and can be observed. The students may select the countries in the folktale unit to research or one of their own as long as the project goals are met and agreed upon by all members in the group.This lesson was developed by Lisa Bruet as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will collaborate together to choose, design, plan, and implement groups roles to determine what materials are needed to complete the project.  The teacher observe as student groups complete projects during the school day to ensure participation is achieved in an equitable manner. Students will select and research a specific folktale from the unit  Upon completing the group project, students may research a folktale independently provided the group agrees and their project goals are met.This lesson was developed by Lisa Bruet to fulfill requirements of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.