Magnification Lesson Plan

Bare Bones Dance Company GCSE Level Lesson Plan Magnification Choreographer: Garry Stewart

Objective Key Elements Activity Outline

Key Words

To introduce some of the creative ideas behind Magnification by Garry Stewart • The relationship of dance to music • Introduction to contact improvisation • Warm-up based on travelling through space and response to a range of dynamic stimuli • Basic principles of contact work • Creative Task based on relationship between music and dance, improvisation, contact • Cool Down and Reflection Relationship of music and dance: correlation, visualisation, identification or enhancement of mood or character, narrative, mutual coexistence, disassociation, juxtaposition Musicality: texture, dynamics, style, structure, rhythm Choreography: Improvisation, Structuring, Refining, Relationship: body part to body part, complementary and contrasting relationships, person to person, inter-action

Bare Bones Dance Company GCSE Level Lesson Plan

Magnification Choreographer: Garry Stewart

Warm-Up

Focus on travelling through space and weightbearing movements such as press-ups, half handstands, rolling into and out of the floor. Assign movements a number and call as participants start walking in space and then build to running. Add other moves that will encourage the group to move in a more grounded and physical manner. Introduce a range of qualities or sounds that will affect the way they are moving to encourage them to vary dynamic response.

Main Activity Introduction to contact work

Pull – In 2’s Demonstrate in a circle with two people facing each other, holding wrist-to-wrist, leaning back supporting each other’s weight. See how far they can bend through the knees and come back to standing maintaining straight arms and holding each other’s weight. Repeat with opposition single hands and back to back. Start back to back and see if by moving to touch shoulder to shoulder, partners can make a complete circle to where they started - back to back. Push Back to back One Shoulder to shoulder Try pushing each other across the space maintaining the contact point

Creative Task

Manipulating Body Parts In twos – Mover and Manipulator Stand opposite a partner, one manipulates joints and body parts and the other reacts by moving, leading with that part. Swap around. Repeat; as the mover reacts ask them to create a sound that resembles how the body part might sound when moving. Play with exaggerating these sounds. Change roles. Repeat taking in turns, one move each, keeping the sounds going. Try moving with a range of dynamics and styles, such as slow motion, short and sharp Try a new starting point: Overlapping, facing front The floor An intertwined, statue shape Set a duet of around 8 movements each. Try with and without the sound. Vary dynamic. Show duet to another duet for peer feedback Ask each duet to interject with 3 gestures such as: A sharp look in the same direction A short, sharp jab of the elbow or knee