Tips and Ideas for Teaching The Elements of Dance
Do you need to teach the elements of dance but don’t know where to start? The elements of dance are the “building blocks” of dance and form the foundation of many dance education curriculums, such as the Ontario Dance Curriculum.
The Elements of Dance are:
Body – zones of the body, shapes, base
Action – locomotor & non-locomotor movements
Space – levels, directions, pathways, size of movement
Time – tempo, rhythm, freezes, acceleration/deceleration
Energy – quality, force, effort
Relationship – partner, groupings, interconnected shapes, following/leading, use of props/objects
Teach the elements of dance by breaking them down
- Start with an overview of what each element of dance means, and then go into it in more detail.
- Use Examples: Teaching dance without watching examples of dance is like teaching music without listening to examples of music. Make sure you are providing lots of opportunity to appreciate the art of others. If you have no idea where to find quality examples, here are a few Youtube channels that will get you started:
– The Royal Opera House Youtube Channel - Which dance elements to teach first? Body, action, and space should always be taught first as they are concrete concepts and easier for students to grasp. Time, energy, & relationship get increasingly abstract and more difficult to explain, especially for younger students.
- When assigning dance work to students, focus on only one element at a time for assessment.