This document provides guidance for teaching dance composition and choreography. It includes instructions for leading warm-up and cool-down sequences, using choreographic devices like repetition and canon to develop motifs, exploring choreographic structures like rondo and accumulation, and combining elements, devices and structures for large group dances. Students are encouraged to create their own sequences and share them with peers.

1. Chart activities
Safe warm-ups/cool-downs
1. While practicing safe warm-up and/or cool-down sequences, explore the
following actions:
o bend,
o stretch,
o swing.
2. Using these movements, students develop and manipulate them to create their
own warm up and cool down sequences using the following aspects of major
dance elements:
o quality (an aspect of energy)
o tempo (an aspect of time)
o symmetry (an aspect of body awareness).
3. Students take turns at leading the class through their sequences at the
beginning and end of a dance lesson.
Using choreographic devices
Embellishing and fragmenting
1. Teach a short sequence of movement.
2. Students use this to explore some of the choreographic devices listed on the
chart. For example:
o repetition = dancers repeat a movement,
o canon = dancers make the same movement starting one after the other
(such as a Mexican wave)
o retrograde = dances do a movement backwards (like rewinding a film)
3. Students develop a dance using their chosen devices, and share it with others.
Developing a motif
1. Create a movement/gesture motif from a topic common to all the students. For
example:
o exams,
o relationships,
o a school-related issue,
o a current local/world event.
2. Working individually, students develop this movement or gesture in a variety
of ways using one (or more) choreographic device from the chart. For
example:
o augmentation = making the movement larger in space or time,
o embellishment = adding detail to the movement, such as a hand or head
move
o insertion = adding new material into the movement, such as a leap or
turn.
3. Sequence these moves, putting the original motif first followed by the
developments.
4. Students form pairs, and perform their sequences to each other.

2. Using choreographic structures
Learning the structures
1. With the students, read and explain the choreographic structures listed on the
chart.
2. Discuss when a choreographer and/or a particular dance form might use these
structures. For example, how do the structures help to strengthen a dance
performance or idea?
3. Compare and contrast the following terms:
o chance & narrative,
o rondo & accumulation,
o theme & canon.
4. Find and show videos of dances that use any of these structures. (For
example, dances from the Stage Challenge.)
5. Share a story with the class, and then ask them to choose one appropriate
structure to create a piece of dance work based on the story. Encourage
students to keep notes about their creative process.
Rondo dance
1. Teach, learn and discuss a traditional dance that uses rondo structure –
following the format ABACAD.
2. Students create their own social dance for a particular context using the rondo
structure. (Some examples of suitable dance contexts could be greeting and
farewell, harvesting food crops, local/family stories, or myths and legends.)
Accumulation and canon
1. With the students, read and discuss the chart definitions of the choreographic
structures accumulation and canon. Describe the similarities and differences in
the two structures (and between canon used as a device and as a structure).
2. Teach the class a simple movement motif. Call this "A". Try this as a canon
either in a line or a circle formation.
3. Add three more movements, calling them "B", "C" and "D". Practice this as an
accumulation – following the format ABCD.
4. Now ask students to collaboratively find interesting and effective ways to
develop this piece of dance work using both accumulation and canon.
Combining devices and
structures
Making a large group dance
1. Looking at the chart, discuss which of the following could be used most easily
and effectively for a large group dance:
o dance elements, such as symmetry and shadowing,
o choreographic devices, such as canon and repetition,
o structures, such as unison and narrative.
2. Students form groups of eight or more. Each group chooses one element, one
device and one structure, and uses these as the basis for making a dance.
Dancing characters

3. 1. Study the people illustrations in the chart and the words next to them. Have
the students imagine who and where the characters might be, and what they
are doing.
2. Use these ideas to initiate dance movements.
3. In small groups, students use two or three of the character ideas to create a
short dance sequence to share with the class.