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"Lines that wiggle.....lines that bend....wavy lines, from end to end."
These are the first few lines from Candace Whitman's playful picture book. The book is poetically written, and the text can be your "script" for a dance with many sections for students in grade 1, 2, and 3. Use the book to explore lines and pathways.
Have fun!
While vacationing on the big island of Hawaii, we like to stop into the library to load up on books for my two young sons. Of course, I couldn't resist checking out their dance collection while there.
I found a book on tap dancing that I would like to share with you today. Tap is an amazing percussive dance form, and there are few books on the form. Tap by Lisa Dillman is part of the "Get Going! Hobbies" series that Heinemann publishes. This informative book is ideal for school libraries and is geared towards students in 2nd-5th grades.
The text includes history, alignment and balance, safety tips, and how to produce "single sounds" and "multiple sounds." Throughout the book there are great photos of famous tappers over the years - Sammy Davis Jr., Fred Astaire, and Gregory Hines. (Photos of some more female tap dancers would have balanced out the book more....)
For lovers of tap, I would also recommend the joyful picture book about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles - Think of That!. There is also the autobiography of Savion Glover, Savion!: My Life in Tap.
Today I would like to share two books that work nicely with a prop - ribbons.
I have done these lessons with students in preschool, kindergarten, and first grades. My students have always loved lessons with props - ribbons, hula hoops, fabric, elastic loops, and such.
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman is an older book, but still holds its magic. I first heard of this book while co-facilitating a workshop many years ago with Carol Flanagan at Saint Mary's College. In the story, a little boy imagines playing with a rainbow. In my preschool classes, I have first read this book, and then provided the students with silk ribbons in rainbow colors, about 1.5 yards long. (I purchased this beautiful ribbon at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley, CA. You can also purchase individual ribbons on sticks through many catalogues, including Nova Natural.) With the students, they can improvise and play with the rainbows or you can create a dance together as a class - deciding how the rainbow moves (over, under, around, through, etc).
The Squiggle by author Carole Lexa Schaefer and illustrator Pierr Morgan is also a playful book to inspire ribbon dances. In the squiggle, a red string/ribbon becomes many things in a child's imagination. I love to read this to students and then create a dance together, where each student contributes one idea for the dance. Our red ribbons can be snakes, ocean waves, rainbows, and much more. I have used a variety of red ribbons over the years, but in particular love organdy ribbon. I purchased mine at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley,CA, and here is a link to purchase some on the internet.
In part 3 of this series, I want to share about two books I love to use when my middle school students explore symmetry.
One Hundred Flowers by Harold Feinstein is a gorgeous photography book of flowers up close. The images are bold, elegant, and eye catching. The students eagerly work together to create group shapes. The images inspire the students to think about symmetry, line, shape, and inner/outer.
With a totally different feel and look, I also love exploring symmetry with the images in the photography book Manhole Covers by Mimi Melnick and Robert A. Melnick. I am an explorer in the world for inspiration, and I love finding details in nature and in the city that I can bring into our dance classes. The students find the manhole covers to be fun and quirky; the images again inspire the students to explore and play with symmetry, line, shape, and group work.
I found both books used on amazon.com at great prices. Looking today, I see that you can get One Hundred Flowers for around $19 and Manhole Covers for only $12.
Following up on my previous post, today I want to share about the fabulous glass artist Dale Chihuly. My middle school students love looking at his work and using the images as inspiration for group shapes.
I will place several books are the room and put the students in small groups. They will browse the books, select about 4-6 images, and mark the selected images with Post-It Notes on the pages. As a group they create a shape to represent each sculpture, and then must also choreograph the transitions between each one.
Exploring these sculptures in the body encourages students to experiment with group shapes, lines, pathways, levels, size, and varied qualities.
I saw an exhibit of Chihuly's work about ten years ago, and one phrase sticks in my mind from that exhibit. Chihuly strives to strike a balance "between fluid and fixed" in his work. I love that description.
I encourage dance teachers of students in 4th-8th grades to explore the work of glass artist Dale Chihuly.
On my shelf I have:
There are great prices on used books on amazon.com. Whenever possible, having 4-5 different books on hand will allow for small group work. Check out your local library as well.
At work the other day, I was browsing through my books and thought that I would share some of my tried and true art books I use with middle school dance students. I have also used these books with students in 4th and 5th grades.
Sculptures are great springboards as students explore shape, level, size, and lines in their own bodies.
Andy Goldsworthy's works of art are simply magical, elegant, and inspirational. I love having a few books on hand to allow for small group explorations. The two on my shelf are:
Looking at amazon.com today, I see that you can find many of his art books at great prices used (in the $15-$20 range).
Check out your local library as well to have 3-4 books on hand for a lesson.