Gallim Dance

     The idea of technology and dance is starting to really evolve within the performance aspect of the art form. I just recently saw Gallim Dance company perform at Kasser Theater right on the Montclair state campus. The show the dancers performed was titled Fold Here. I was extremely intrigued by not only the way the dancers moved but the way the show integrated technology in such a beneficial way. The dancers were absolutely phenomenal and at times moved like they were being operated by a machine. This already brought a technological feel to the stage. The piece was based around the idea of a cube. The dance started with an abstract view of the cube, and then evolved into a more narrative feel. It was clear that the company did a lot of research and found many great ideas using technology. Within the process the company developed an extremely creative movement vocabulary. While creating the piece the company members worked with Tal Rosner who is a well known film maker. He helped Andrea Miller the artistic director figure out a way that they could successfully translate the idea they were going with onto the stage so that an audience could appreciate it. There was a screen in the background with visual aids that would change throughout the piece supporting the strong intent Miller was working toward. Another resource that the company used to guide them through the process was the famous photographer MuyBridge. His work portrays the motion in which things happen. His work is somewhat repetitive but beautiful. The company created there own type of picture that MuyBridge may have created at sometime during his career. This show was extremely successful, the company clearly put a lot of work and effort into the show. I was extremely impressed by the uses of technology not only in the show, but behind the scenes and the process that went into it. Andrea Miller and her company are a group of extremely talented dancers that took the simple idea of a card board box and evolved it into an extremely powerful piece. Andrea Miller is an extremely talented choreographer with really interesting ideas. If anyone is interested in the process behind the piece, this link is extremely interesting and explains in greater detail the intent of this amazing piece. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-VVTDsK218#t=167

Technology and Pedagogy

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         I felt the lesson plan I chose would be an extremely successful way to teach about the elements of dance within locomotor and non-locomotor movement. Since dance is very hands on and physical it is important to keep the activity filled with excitement so the students are constantly engaged. Within this lesson plan the author uses the theme of the jungle. This to me was amazing because the students are not only being taught locomotor and non-locomotor movements but they are using their imaginations as if they are animals in the jungle. I will use The Lion King DVD to show clips of the movie and the Lion King soundtrack. This will keep the theme of the jungle up and running the entire class period creating a mood for the students. This activity will challenge the students critical thinking skills along with their creativity. There were many core standards within this lesson plan that were covered. The first part of my lesson will be an introduction of the vocabulary and a warm up where the students will have to follow a short sequence phrase. This will challenge students to grasp movement at a quick pace. I will provide students with locomotor and non locomotor movements using the idea of animals in the jungle. The students can explore through improvisation and create their own phrases based off of the vocabulary they just learned. This portion allows for the students to explore their creative minds and use self expression. The last part of the activity is the performance aspect. I will challenge my students to create a movement sequence using the vocabulary within groups of three or four. They will have to portray a jungle animal that we have not used in class. This will challenge the students to work together in groups, share ideas, and create a movement phrase on their own and more importantly memorize the phrase to perform for their fellow classmates. I feel this lesson will be exciting for students and challenge them in many ways. I felt that this lesson was missing certain aspects. I will try to incorporate technology in more ways, then the author of this lesson did. I will constantly incorporate the Lion King Soundtrack, and clips of the dvd. Not only will this be exciting because most students have already seen the lion king, but we can make connections and find locomotor and non-locomotor movements seen in the movie. I also felt that from the start of the lesson the author talked about the theme of the jungle but the warm up drifted away from the theme. I will change the warm up and incorporate the jungle theme. I also feel like she didn't use classroom discussion as much as she should have, so I will incorporate that a bit within each activity. I feel this lesson will reach out to all different learning styles, and overall was an excellent lesson. It is important to make connections to life outside of the classroom, the elements of locomotor and non-locomotor movements not only apply in dance but we use these movements on a daily basis.

Dance and Video

             After reading an article I found online about different ways to incorporate the use of the camera and video camera in the classroom, I have come up with ways that I can use it in my dance classes to challenge my students. I want to work to my best potential to incorporate technology in a beneficial way for my students, rather then just choosing an activity because the curriculum requires the use of technology. The video camera can be an extremely beneficial tool for self correction in the classroom. From my past and current experiences of being a dancer constantly learning and taking classes, it can sometimes be hard to fully understand what it is I am doing wrong and how to fix it. When you are taking a class it can be difficult to stop and self evaluate yourself while going through the motions of class. In my classroom when I teach I will constantly be focusing on alignment and correct posture, therefore I want my students to be able to fully understand the correct placement of their body at all times. I plan to use a video camera once a week to video tape my class doing an exercise pertaining to my lesson. After I video tape the class as a whole, I will have the class sit down with a notebook and pen and take notes on what they need to work on. This is really helpful for students so they can see exactly how they move. Sometimes we don't realize that we were doing something incorrectly, and by simply watching and observing themselves we can use self correction. This activity has always been extremely beneficial for myself because there are times where my alignment is completely off and by watching myself on tape I can self correct my mistakes and begin to really understand how to properly use my body.

           Another activity I will play with is taking still pictures. So I will put my students in pairs and have them take still pictures of one another, standing in a natural parallel position, and a turned out first position. Each student will take notes on their partner, dissecting what they were doing wrong and ways to fix the position so we can avoid possible injury in the future. I want my students to use their partners pictures to articulate not only with their bodies but verbally express how they can fix their alignment. Talking with peers and getting another persons feedback can be very useful. Then for the second part of the assignment I will have the students take a new set of pictures doing the exact same positions. This time in the same groups I will have the students compare and contrast the picture that was incorrect alignment with the picture that is correct. I will print out these pictures and hang them up around the room, and towards the end of the year or semester do the same exact activity so students can see how much they are growing and learning. The camera and video camera can be an excellent use of technology because students can really learn from their mistakes and self evaluate.  

"Strategies to Incorporate Technology"

           I feel that it is extremely difficult to figure out ways to integrate technology into a dance class. I have been researching and trying to thoughtfully figure out ways to incorporate technology into my classroom. The reality of dance is that the body is the instrument and the tool being used, along with live accompaniment. In my everyday dance classes at Montclair State University I am fortunate enough to have professional dance teachers, and live accompainment. We almost never use music, film, or any other potential technological device. Since I am not given the opporunity of using technology on a daily basis in my classes, I am struggling to find ways to use it when I teach. The upside of this situation is I hope to teach kindergarten through high schoolers and will have to provide my own accompaintment that will not be live. This will give me the opportunity to try and incorporate technology. I feel that even though it is important to incorporate technology within the classroom the idea of using it at home, or in the library can be a great factor.

           After reading some articles on strategies and technology, I came up with some ideas of my own. I feel that the majority of class time should be focused around hands on dance techniques by simply using the body. Wthin my classroom I am expecting my students to be extremely diverse and come from many different financial backrouns. I will not expect my students to all own a computer, but I will provide a way for each student to access a form of technology after school. I will require my studnets to have a technology dance log. Within this dance log 2-3 times a week I want my students to do very minimal research on something they learned in class, or a topic that we are currently focusing on. I will ask them to reflect on something that they observed in class. The format will be: 1.)Simply find a form of technology whether it is a computer, radio, television, and any other forms of media. 2.)To make a comparison about something they learned in class with something they heard on the radio, television ect. This will challenge the student to use creative thinking and try to compare dance as an asbract to something more structured using technology. Their will be no right or wrong within this excersise just simply encouraging my students to further their research using technology outside of the classroom. 

"The History of Technology in Dance Education"

The Radio: Encouraging students creativity and imagination, while stimulating the brain and creating structure.

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