Safe dance practice
Duration
10 weeks
Driving question
What is the importance of safe dance practice?
Overview
Students investigate safe dance practice, developing knowledge, understanding and skill in both theoretical and practical forms. Students will explore warm up and cool down, stretching, alignment, body awareness, body capabilities and limitations, and the causes, prevention and treatment of injury. Students will explore a PowerPoint presentation, literacy and research tasks and practical workshops within safe dance practice.
Outcomes
Stage 4
A student:
- 4.1.1 demonstrates an understanding of safe dance practice and appropriate dance technique in the performance of combinations, sequences and dances
- 4.1.2 demonstrates aspects of the elements of dance in dance performance
- 4.1.3 demonstrates an understanding of aspects of performance quality through the performance of locomotor and non-locomotor combinations, sequences and dances
Stage 5
A student:
- 5.1.1 demonstrates an understanding of safe dance practice and appropriate dance technique with increasing skull and complexity in the performance of combinations, sequences and dances
- 5.1.2 demonstrates enhanced dance technique by manipulating aspects of the elements of dance
- 5.1.3 demonstrates an understanding and application of aspects of performance quality and interpretation through performance
Dance 7-10 SyllabusExternal link NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2003.
Content
Students will explore safe dance practice through appreciation tasks in the Safe dance practice presentation (PPTX 10.42MB)External link and coinciding practical tasks based around correct dance technique. The connection of theory to practical work will further engage students, creating deeper understanding within safe dance practice.
Cross-curriculum content and key competencies
Literacy
Assessment
All activities require students to demonstrate their learning and are all formative assessment activities.
Teaching and learning activities
Students are to work both individually and as a group through discussion based activities throughout this unit, investigating safe dance practice, in written and practical forms. The Safe dance practice poster (PDF 1.87MB)External link can be displayed in your classroom when completing this sequence.
Suggested student learning activities include:
- practical workshops throughout the entire sequence, linking the theoretical components to the practical;
- practical contemporary classes exploring:
- warm up
- stretching
- strengthening exercises in the centre including core, arms and legs
- technique exercises including turning combinations, kicking combinations and jumping combinations
- locomotor exercises travelling across the room exploring correct technique
- development of contemporary routine throughout lessons, exploring performance quality and the elements of dance
- cool down
- reflections on practical lessons in process diaries
- discussion and literacy strategies around safe dance practice elements;
- TEEEC structuring to form sophisticated paragraphing, working with the TEEEC scaffold provided (4.27MB);External linkresearch and investigate safe dance practice through the activities below.
Warm up
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation (PPTX 10.42MB)External link, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 1-4
- complete the activity below
- slide 4 ? brainstorm a list of warm-ups that have not been previously mentioned and write in their books
- design a poster stating the 10 most important reasons for warming up.
Cool down
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 5-6
- complete the activity below
- use the internet to research 5 alternative cool-downs
- develop a cool down exercise in pairs and teach it to the class.
Body awareness
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 7-10
- complete the activities below
- slide 8 ? test how long they can balance on rise and note the times in their process diary. They will test each of the areas below
- two feet
- right foot
- left foot
- slide 9 ? complete the body awareness tests below
- How long can you hold the plank position for? How long can you hold a side plank for?
- Right side:
- Left side:
- How long can you balance for on both feet with your eyes closed?
- How well can you touch your toes standing? Hands in line with: Knee, Shin or Toes.
- How well can you touch your toes sitting? Hands in line with: Knee, Shin or Toes.
- How long can you hold a V-Sit for?
- How long can you do a wall-sit for?
- Can you do the right leg splits?
- slide 10 ? complete the body awareness tests below
- Can you do the left leg splits?
- Can you do the middle splits?
- How many push ups on your knees can you do without stopping?
- How many push ups on your feet can you do without stopping?
- How many times can you rotate between a plank extended on your arms, changing to your elbows, and back up to your arms? Each change is worth 1 rep. Count the reps:
- How many dips can you do?
- How many burpees can you do in 1 minute?
- write a reflection in their process diary, in a TEEEC structure, on their capabilities and limitations.
- slide 8 ? test how long they can balance on rise and note the times in their process diary. They will test each of the areas below
Stretching
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 11-15
- research and discuss the reason for stretching. Write a definition in their process diary
- research the various definitions of flexibility
- complete the activities below
- slide 12 ? list the types of static stretches they do in dance classes
- slide 13 ? list the dynamic stretches they do in dance classes
- slide 14 ? list the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretches they do in dance classes
- physically perform examples of each stretch.
Alignment
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 16-18
- slide 16 - choosing of the 10 most important words and create their own sentences
- slide 18 - analyse their posture in pairs, checking the correct levels and write a reflections in their process diary.
Muscles
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 19-27
- write definitions for
- trapezius
- latissimus dorsi
- pectoralis major
- biceps
- triceps
- rectus abdominis
- transverse abdominis
- internal and external oblique
- gluteus maximus
- medius and minimus
- quadriceps
- hamstrings
- gastrocnemius.
- Slide 27 - write a stretching and strengthening program to build and develop these muscles
- work in pairs or small groups to develop a stretch for each of the muscles explored.
Environmental factors
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slide 28
- explore factors including temperature, floor construction and floor surface, and how they could impact a dancer
- write a TEEEC paragraph on the importance of environmental factors
Causes, prevention and treatment of injury
Working through the Safe dance practice presentation, students will:
- summarise the information on slides 29-35
- explore the following causes of injury
- inadequate warm up
- lack of specific warm up
- poor pre-season conditioning
- scheduling of classes
- rehearsals and performances
- improper performance of technique
- haematoma
- muscle and tendon strain
- ligament sprains and tears
- tendonitis
- stress fracture
- bursitis
- and development of muscle imbalances
- discuss and investigate other causes of injury
- research one of the injuries above in further detail and present a report to the class.
When structuring the lessons work through the above sections across the entire unit. Couple these appreciation lessons with practical lessons exploring a contemporary style and exercises as stated above.
Performance and appreciation
Students are to:
- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of safe dance practice
- explore performance opportunities within a contemporary style, building their understanding and skill within safe dance practice.
Communicate
Written responses are documented and shared within collaborative discussion facilitated by the teacher.
Process Diary
Students are to:
- document the process through practical classes in a process diary. This should be a journal, exploring reflections of each practical lesson or element within safe dance practice. This can be their class workbooks, a dance process diary, or an online blog through sites such as Class NotebookExternal link or Google classroom.External link
- investigate safe dance practice through a literacy lens, embedding discussions, summarising and TEEEC paragraphing in written form. These processes used follow literacy structures, language forms and features, as seen in the DoE text type support document.External link
Differentiation
Extension
Students could:
- complete a research task on the elements of safe dance practice
- investigate a dance injury in further detail, completing a research task exploring causes, prevention and treatment of the injury
- write a treatment plan including strengthening exercises for a dance related injury.
Life skills
Life skills outcomes
A student:
- LS3.1 experiences a variety of dance performances
Students could:
- perform the body awareness test
- participate in the practical classes of warm up, exercises, learning a routine and cool down.
Evaluate
Feedback is formative for the duration of the unit.
This sequence and accompanying worksheets are available as word documents below.
- Safe dance practice sequence (DOCX 57.75KB)External link
- TEEEC scaffold worksheet (DOCX 45.48KB).External link
Reference list and resources
- Dance 7-10 SyllabusExternal link � NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2003.
- Safe dance practice presentation (PPTX 10.42MB)External link
- TEEEC scaffold provided (4.27MB)External link
- Safe dance practice poster (PDF 1.87MB)External link
- AusdanceExternal link
- Safe in Dance International External link.