Dancing Treasures: Icons from Te Papa

Dancing Treasures

Years 9-11
Level 5
Duration 8-10 lessons

The students will explore personal and Te Papa 'treasures' through dance. They will create and develop motifs to represent personal 'treasures', and combine these into short movement sequences with others.

Using an icon or taonga Māori from the Te Papa collection, the group will create and develop a second motif to communicate the perceived value of the treasure. The two sections of movement will then be combined into one 'treasure' dance.

Access to the digital resources is through Digistore, Te Pātaka Matihiko.

Key Competency

Relating to Others The students will consider what is precious to themselves and realise and respect that people treasure different things for different reasons. They will interact with others, share ideas, negotiate and cooperate to create and perform a dance using personal 'treasure' movement sequences and a Te Papa icon or taonga Māori.

Resources

Te Papa icons:

A large copy of one icon to show the class. (The selected icon could relate to a school-wide theme or to a topic studied in another subject class)
8 copies of the Description information that is supplied with the icon
8 copies of the Educational Value information that is supplied with the icon

Many small pieces of coloured paper or 'Post It' notes

Music suggestions:

Whale Rider: Biking Home (4)
Deep Forest - Pacifique: La Legende Part 2 (2), Night Village (3), La Baiser (6), L'ile Invisible (8)
Oceania - Oceania: He Tangata (People) (5)
Pitch Black - Electronomicon: Reptile Room (1), Unadrumma (7)

Large die

Teacher's treasure chest: a box containing three or four personal items that the teacher is comfortable showing a class of students. It could contain:

An old family photograph
A childhood toy
A special gift
A letter
An item of clothing
A special souvenir

Key Words

Air pathway: a pattern made in the air by the use of body parts (e.g. arm, leg, head).
Augmentation: a choreographic device where movements are made larger in space or time.
Body Base: the part/s of the body supporting a dancer in a balanced position (such as two feet, or one hand and one foot).
Choreographic Device: a specific way of manipulating movement to develop dance choreography.
Embellishment: A choreographic device where detail is added to a move, such as a hand gesture or an arm movement.
Floor Pathway: A direction taken across the floor (zigzag, curved, straight, diagonal).
Level: the height in space at which a dancer is moving (e.g. high, medium, low).
Movement Motif: a movement or gesture that can be elaborated on or developed in a variety of ways in the process of dance choreography.
Pathways: patterns created in the air or on the floor by the body or body parts as a dancer moves in and through space.
Repetition: a choreographic device in which movements or motifs are repeated.

Achievement Objectives (Level 5)

The student will:

Developing Practical Knowledge (PK)
Develop a variety of skills, dance techniques, vocabularies and movement practices.
Developing Ideas (DI)
Manipulate the elements and explore the use of choreographic devices and structures to organise dance movement.
Communicating and Interpreting (CI)
Prepare, rehearse and perform dance with an awareness of production technologies.
Reflect on and describe how choreography communicates ideas, feelings, moods and experiences.

Specific Learning Outcomes

The student can:

LO1: Explore and develop abstract movement (PK)
LO2: Explore and use the dance device of augmentation (DI)
LO3: Explore and use the dance device of embellishment (DI)
LO4: Develop a motif using selected dance devices (DI)
LO5: Create a dance with others using personally choreographed and group sequences (DI)
LO6: Explore and use one type of production technology to enhance a dance (CI)
LO7: Perform in a 'treasure' dance with a group for an audience (CI)
LO8: Reflect on and describe how the idea of a treasure can be communicated through dance (CI)
LO9: Relate to others: Interact with others, share ideas, negotiate and cooperate to create part of a dance

Assessment opportunities for the Learning Outcomes are mentioned at various stages throughout the unit. It is suggested that the teacher selects the most appropriate Learning Outcomes for the students.

All the Learning Outcomes do not need to be assessed.