Faculty of Education Education News Spring / Summer 2013 Page 15
He converted a throwing-of-a-ball motion into an arabesque and our swimming motion into a pirouette . Jaime further demonstrated turns , arabesques , and jumps in the ballet style . These demonstrations inspired the young dancers so much that they practiced during recess and included some of his movements in their dances .
Our Final Dances
One of the aims of this Arts Education project is to create dances that the groups can share with each other and perhaps with their parents . Consequently , in the following sessions , the groups shaped their dances . We explored forces that made us whirl through space , join together like magnets , fall to the ground , and explode into the air . We experienced different ways of travelling , creating different terrains , such as hot lava , mud , whirlpools , tunnels , and icy surfaces . We examined group relationships that had everyone moving in unison , in canon , in small areas , and in the whole room . After our sessions of exploration , we organized the final dance : The dance began with the 80 dancers entering the space cautiously , a sudden force scattered them in all directions ; they found
their groups and explored the place they found — each group was moving at a different time in a specific space in the room . At the end of the session , the Sports Dance and the group dances were performed one evening for parents . It was evident that both the university students and the Arcola students were proud of their dances . They had formed good relationships with each other and worked joyously to create their dances and write about their dance experience .
Dr . Ann Kipling Brown introducing Jaime Vargas and Robin Poitras
Students dancing together
Students experimenting