We did the Chicken Dance, the Heel Toe (1,2,3), the Butterfly, the Two Step, the Waltz, Saskatchewan Pirates, and the Polka. I think as an Arts Ed teacher these dances will be important to incorporate into my teaching. I think that students should be familiar with all of these social dances in order to keep the traditions alive. These dances are very basic, so bringing them into the classroom at any age level will be easy enough to do. For younger students one could keep the waltz and polka pretty simple and slow. Older students can try to do more difficult things like spinning, faster steps, and different arm positions. By giving the students a basis to these social dances they will be able to be participate in wedding dances and other social functions. Some other dances that we talked about but didn’t do were the bunny hop, YMCA, locomotion, and the hokey pokey.
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I am taking that dance class this semester and it is probably the funnest class i have! Who thought you could get three uni credits by line dancing for three hours every week. i was really surprised that a class of 45 students could click so fast and have so much fun dancing around. I absolutely love it and i am probably the most opposite of a dancer EVER!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's much of a secret; I'm not the greatest "organized" dancer. But I have so much fun in dance class. My favourite dance is the polka (the crazy jumping one). The Hokey Pokey will always have a place in my heart, I taught 8 different classes when I was in Shanghai, and I can confidently say all my classes were masters of the Hokey Pokey. I would teach the students "faster" and "slower", so after each round they would yell faster, it would get intense sometimes. I would remix the song a bit, with "you put your bum in, and you shake it all about" That always got the kids going.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Dani!! It makes my week a bit easier to get through. Our class has clicked too! Everyone seems pretty comfortable and easy to get along with which makes it easier to let loose and have fun.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mickey, it is a pretty simple step to master. Thats pretty cool about teaching in Shanghi. Did any of the students know previously how to do the hokey pokey before you taught it?!
Amber
I agree that class is a-lot of fun. We laugh so much, all I need to do is mention the polka video. I learned so much so quickly in that class it really is worth it.
ReplyDeleteAmber, I think that is really neat that you are in your first year and already questioning how you are going to use what you are learning in your classroom - bravo! I do have a question for you though... Do you think that those dances pose Canadian culture? I am always confused as to what different people believe "Canadian culture" is... Or would you believe that it is more of a focus on different cultural dances? I was just wondering why you want these traditions to be passed on. Why do you believe they are very important??
ReplyDeleteI'll be waiting for your response!
I am not sure I would say Canadian culture exactly, but more specifically Saskatchewan culture. It is hard to define such a large country in one way especially a place as diverse as Canada. I think we have a good mix of dances that are interpreted and done with our own spin on them making them unique to our province. Even within Saskatchewan there are different adaptations of the dances that we learned.
ReplyDeleteI think these dances should be passed on because they are fun! And also they are a good way to be social and active with ones family and friends. I guess it doesn't really matter if these traditions are passed on, but it would be cool. It would be fun to have everyone at a dance (from the old grandparents to the grade two kids) being able to participate and enjoy the same dances no matter the age difference. I guess I am a pretty traditional small town girl who likes to see the things I enjoy doing being passed along to the generations after me. I am glad that I have been able to learn some of these dances and I suppose that is why I find them important!
Hope that answered your questions!
Amber