Develops technical proficiency and creative movement skills across various styles. Examines choreographic principles alongside the historical and cultural origins of diverse global dance forms.
A global musical journey for Kindergarten students to explore traditional folk music, instruments, and rhythms from West Africa, East Asia, the Andes, and North America. Students build cultural awareness and musical skills through hands-on drumming, melodic improvisation, and storytelling songs.
A graduate-level sequence exploring creative movement as a rigorous Practice-as-Research (PaR) methodology. It bridges phenomenological philosophy and somatic practice to investigate academic questions through the body.
A high-level graduate sequence exploring the transition from solo improvisation to complex ensemble instant composition, utilizing Viewpoints, Contact Improvisation, and indeterminate scoring.
A graduate-level sequence exploring advanced pedagogical frameworks for creative movement facilitation. Students deconstruct somatic cues, developmental patterns, trauma-informed practices, and neurodiverse scaffolding to design inclusive and effective movement workshops.
This sequence introduces Pre-K students to the expressive power of creative movement. Students learn to use their bodies to communicate animals, weather, emotions, and stories, developing physical empathy and creative confidence through guided improvisation and play.
This Pre-K dance sequence explores how students can use their bodies to tell stories and express emotions. Students move from identifying feelings and simple actions to choreographed nature cycles and character studies, culminating in a collaborative narrative dance performance.
Students explore movement dynamics including speed, weight, and texture to understand how energy changes choreography. This Pre-K unit uses imagery and play to build foundational dance skills and creative expression.
Kindergarten students explore the foundations of dance composition through creative play, investigating how to link movements into coherent patterns and sequences.
A Pre-K sequence focused on exploring emotions and storytelling through song, dynamics, and facial expressions. Students learn to identify musical moods and adapt their vocal performance to convey different feelings.
A vibrant and active introduction to Hispanic music and culture for Kindergarten students. Students explore the Spanish guitar, maracas, dance steps like Salsa, and concepts of tempo through hands-on making, movement games, and collaborative performance.
A first-grade introduction to global dance traditions, exploring dance as communication, storytelling, community building, and performance art. Students learn basic movements from Hula, folk dances, and ballet while developing cultural appreciation and creative expression.
A Kindergarten dance unit exploring global traditions, storytelling through movement, and community celebration. Students learn how different cultures use dance to express feelings and history.
A high-energy dance sequence for Pre-K students focusing on body isolations, dynamics, rhythm, and stylized movement through a 'Neon Jungle' theme. Students will learn the building blocks of jazz dance while developing coordination and musicality.
A whimsical introduction to spatial awareness and body control for Pre-K dancers, using the 'personal bubble' concept to teach safety, levels, pathways, and the art of the freeze. Students progress from static space-making to dynamic obstacle course navigation.
A high-energy introduction to Jazz dance for Kindergarteners, focusing on rhythm, isolations, parallel alignment, and movement dynamics. Students learn to find the beat, move individual body parts, and perform a basic jazz combination.
This sequence introduces Kindergarten students to Contemporary and Creative Dance. It covers breath-led movement, safe floor transitions, the concepts of contraction and release, emotional expression through shape, and guided improvisation.
A foundational dance sequence for Kindergarteners focusing on personal space (kinesphere), levels, pathways, and locomotor movements like skipping and galloping. Students learn to move safely and creatively while developing body control and balance.
A high-energy Jazz dance unit for 1st graders focusing on body isolations, parallel alignment, stylized walking, and dynamic movement quality. Students progress from isolated movements to a choreographed 8-count phrase.
A project-based sequence for 12th-grade dancers to explore the relationship between musical structure, texture, and choreographic intent. Students move from analytical mapping to expressive performance, culminating in a piece that visually interprets complex musical layers.
This sequence investigates how timing manipulation and spatial relationships influence the visual aesthetics of dance. Students move beyond unison timing to explore concepts like canon, rounds, and cascading movement, analyzing how these timing structures change the viewer's perception. through inquiry and experimentation, learners discover how delaying or anticipating movement relative to peers creates dynamic visual effects.
A 5-lesson sequence for 3rd graders exploring the music and instruments of West Africa, Asia, the Andes, and North America, focusing on how geography and culture shape sound.
A comprehensive 12th-grade dance sequence investigating how rhythmic structures shape body mechanics across West African, Latin, Urban, and contemporary dance forms. Students engage in physical practice and cultural analysis to understand dance as a global percussive language.
This 10th-grade sequence explores the intersection of globalization, technology, and dance culture. Students analyze Bollywood's fusion, K-Pop's global marketing, the ethics of cultural appropriation, and the impact of social media on choreography, culminating in a respectful cross-cultural fusion proposal.
A comprehensive exploration of the African Diaspora's influence on global vernacular dance, tracing movement traditions from West Africa through the plantation era to the birth of Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. Students analyze how rhythmic innovation served as a tool for cultural preservation and resistance.
A comprehensive 10th-grade dance history unit tracing ballet from its origins in Renaissance courts to its 20th-century neoclassical evolution. Students analyze how political power, social structures, and technological innovations shaped technique and aesthetics.
A comprehensive 10th-grade sequence exploring the evolution of modern dance from the early 20th century to the post-modern era. Students analyze the philosophical and social drivers behind movement revolutions, connecting dance to psychology, politics, and the definition of art.
A 10th-grade dance history sequence exploring the anthropological roots of dance. Students investigate how ancient and indigenous cultures utilized movement for ritual, social cohesion, and martial purposes, eventually analyzing the ethics of modern preservation.
This sequence explores the evolution of dance in the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on how globalization and the African Diaspora have reshaped the concert dance canon. Students analyze Hip Hop, Butoh, and contemporary fusion to understand the shifting boundaries of 'high art'.
A deep dive into the 1960s-70s avant-garde dance movement, exploring how Merce Cunningham, the Judson Dance Theater, and Steve Paxton dismantled traditional virtuosity to redefine dance through chance, pedestrian movement, and physics.
This sequence explores the radical shift from classical ballet to modern dance in the early 20th century. Students will analyze the philosophical, psychological, and sociopolitical drivers behind the movement theories of pioneers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey.
An 11th-grade dance history sequence exploring how globalization, technology, and site-specific performance redefine contemporary dance. Students analyze hybrid identities, digital media's impact on choreography, and the ethics of social media trends.
A comprehensive investigation into how political power and statecraft shaped the technique, hierarchy, and aesthetics of classical ballet from the French court to the Russian Imperial stage. Students analyze the evolution of the 'ideal body' as a reflection of political absolutism, gender dynamics, and modernist rupture.
This sequence explores how the African Diaspora shaped American vernacular and theatrical dance, from West African polyrhythms to Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. Students analyze the impact of minstrelsy, the Harlem Renaissance, and the codification of jazz while tracing the lineage of modern pop culture moves back to their historical roots.
This sequence explores the evolution of Modern Dance as a rebellious philosophical movement. Students track the journey from early expressive freedom to codified techniques and post-modern dismantling of rules, investigating how movement serves as a political and social statement.
A comprehensive exploration of ballet's evolution from the 17th-century French court to 20th-century American neoclassicism, focusing on the intersection of political power, social values, and aesthetic form.
A comprehensive 11th-grade dance history sequence exploring the anthropological foundations of ritual dance, the impact of colonialism on indigenous traditions, and modern preservation efforts for intangible cultural heritage.
This sequence explores rhythm as a primary tool for choreography, moving from literal synchronization to complex counterpoint, silence, and temporal manipulation. Undergraduate students will develop the ability to justify rhythmic choices through composition and performance.
A project-based dance sequence for 11th grade focusing on the sophisticated relationship between musical structure and choreographic timing. Students move from analytical music mapping to creating complex choreographic works that utilize motifs, counterpoint, and intentional stillness.
This sequence explores the generation of movement through improvisation and structured play. Undergraduate students build trust, spatial awareness, and real-time composition skills, moving from internal somatic sensing to complex group scores and ensemble weight sharing.
A foundational ballet sequence for Kindergarteners exploring posture, turnout, basic movements, and balance through creative imagery and playful instruction.
A primary introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet for 1st graders, focusing on postural alignment, turnout, and basic movements like pli\u00e9 and relev\u00e9. Students develop core strength, discipline, and graceful control.
A somatic foundation for undergraduate dance students focusing on skeletal alignment, breath support, and kinetic efficiency. The sequence moves from static anatomical understanding to dynamic movement phrases, emphasizing injury prevention and longevity.
This undergraduate dance sequence explores the relationship between musical structure and movement. Students move from basic theory and meter to complex polyrhythms, phrasing across measures, and creating independent choreographic counterpoint.
This high school dance sequence deconstructs movement into its core elements of space, time, and energy. Students transition from technical analysis of pathways and levels to the expressive manipulation of dynamics, culminating in a performance that demonstrates intentional artistic variation.
A comprehensive unit for 10th-grade students focusing on the technical mastery of rhythm, from basic time signatures to complex polyrhythms and ensemble synchronization. Students explore how timing influences the aesthetic and communicative power of dance.
A comprehensive introduction to the fundamental building blocks of dance (Body, Energy, Space, and Time) for 9th-grade students. This workshop-style unit moves from individual movement exploration to the synthesis of these elements into expressive movement phrases.
A comprehensive 5-lesson sequence for 4th graders exploring the foundational elements of dance: Space, Time, and Energy. Students progress from basic spatial awareness to collaborative choreography, learning how movement choices express meaning.
