Are you looking to switch up your classroom activities this week?
It's that time of year when exercises become mundane and students become restless. The holiday season is over and it's a long stretch until spring break. Your main focus is now on recital dances but you can't work on them the whole class hour. So, you want to introduce a new activity that emphasize technique and creativity to liven your students back up. This blog will introduce a new activity called "the alphabet dance". You may have tried a similar version before, but that is what makes it so great. It is very versatile and with just one little change your students are rejuvenated. As an added bonus, it promotes literacy and critical thinking development!
Alphabet Dance
Directions: Students complete the motions to fulfill the prompt.
Prompt Options:
1) Beginner: As a class, complete the entire alphabet (also try the alphabet backwards).
2) Intermediate: Draw a letter out of a hat and then complete the movement that corresponds.
3) Intermediate: Spell out your name with the corresponding movements.
4) Advanced: Guess the word. Draw a simple word out of a hat. Complete the corresponding movements. Other students try to guess the word. (Example: HAT - hop, arabesque, turn)
Movement Options in alphabetical order
(Some letters provide multiple options depending on curriculum or age abilities.)
A - assemblé, arabesque, abs, arch
B - bourrée , bounce, balance in a pose
C - curtsy, crawl, crab walk, creep, contract, circle
D - demi-plié, degagé, donkey kicks, dig, drop, dart, downstage
E - échappé sauté, explode
F - flex, float, frog jump
G - gallop, glide
H - hop, halt
I - inchworm, inhale, injury (fall to the ground and pretend you hurt you leg **this is a class favorite but make sure you discuss proper injury etiquette first**)
J - jeté, jump
K - kick, kneel
L - leap, lunge, left
M - march, melt, mermaid pose
N - neutral position, nod head
O - open arms, one foot hop
P - port de bras, parallel, plié, pose, pause
Q - quick movement, quiet movement (like tip-toe)
R - retiré, relevé, right
S - spring pointes, sauté, swing, spin, skip
T - tendu, twist, turn
U - upstage, unwind
V - 1st position, v-sit, vibrate
W - wiggle, walk (ballet style, jazz style, etc.)
X - x-jump, criss-cross jump, jumping jacks
Y -your choice
Z - zig-zag