A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance: Space, Time, Energy and Making Dance Phrases

A1.2 A1.3 A2.2 A2.3About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can move at high, middle and low levels and along straight, curved and zigzag pathways.
I can move fast or slow, and freeze.
I can move with strong or light energy, and smooth or sharp energy.
I can dance alone, with a partner, near or far, and mirror a partner.
I can join moves together to make a dance phrase about a song, story or poem.
I can say what I did well as a dancer and as an audience member, and what I want to get better at.

Words to know

level
How high or low you are: high (on tiptoes, reaching up), middle (standing) or low (near the floor).

pathway
The path you make on the floor or in the air, like straight, curved or zigzag.

tempo
How fast or slow you move.

energy
How a move feels: strong or light, smooth or sharp.

mirror
Copying your partner's moves at the same time, like a reflection in a mirror.

dance phrase
A few dance moves joined together, with a beginning, middle and end, like a sentence made of moves.

audience
The people who watch a show.

Let's be a snowflake

Imagine a snowflake falling from the sky. Does it fall fast or slow? Light or heavy? Straight down or twirling around?

Now imagine a snowplough pushing snow down the street. How is it different?

A snowflake is light and slow and twirly. A snowplough is strong and steady and goes in a straight line. Dancers use these differences to tell stories!

An orange snowplough pushes a pile of snow along a snowy street. — A snowplough moves in a strong, steady, straight line. How would you dance like a snowplough? How would you dance like a snowflake? AI-generated image

Space: where do I move?

Levels: You can dance at a high level (on tiptoes, reaching up), a middle level (standing), or a low level (near the floor, rolling or crawling).

Directions: forward, backward, sideways, up and down.

Pathways: the lines you make as you travel across the floor.

Dancers move at three levels: high (up on tiptoes), middle (standing) and low (near the floor).

Three pathways across the floor: straight, curved and zigzag.

Time: when and how fast?

You can move fast or slow. You can pause or freeze. How fast you move is called the tempo.

Energy: how does it feel?

The same move can feel very different:

Strong (like stomping like a moose) or light (like a floating feather).
Smooth (like melting ice cream) or sharp (like popping popcorn).

Relationship: who or what do I dance with?

You can dance alone or together, near or far from a partner, over or under something. You can lead, follow or mirror a partner.

Element	Try this	Then try this
Space (level)	Reach up high like a maple tree	Melt down low like a snowman in spring
Time	Run in place fast like a squirrel	Walk in slow motion like a turtle
Energy	Stomp strongly like a bear	Tiptoe lightly like falling snow
Energy	Glide smoothly like a skater	Pop sharply like popcorn
Relationship	Mirror your partner	Move far apart, then come near

Contrasting moves for each element

Making a dance phrase

A dance phrase is a few moves joined together. It is like a sentence, but made of moves. It has a beginning, a middle and an end.

We can connect moves in different ways:

Repeat a move.
Go from fast to slow, or slow to fast.
Go from low to high.
Freeze between moves.
Use contrast: a strong move, then a light move.

Just for fun

Funny but true: A snowflake can take about an hour to drift from a cloud down to the ground. Now that is a slow, light dance!

Worked example

Example: A dance phrase from a poem

Let's make a dance phrase for this little poem:

Snowflakes falling, soft and slow, Spinning, swirling, down they go. Then the wind blows, WHOOSH! Hooray! All the snow blows far away.

Beginning: Start in a high, light shape on tiptoes. Let your fingers flutter down slowly and lightly. ("Snowflakes falling, soft and slow")
Middle: Turn around gently in a curved pathway, sinking to a low level. ("Spinning, swirling, down they go")
Then jump up with a sharp, strong move and a wide shape. ("WHOOSH! Hooray!")
End: Run lightly on tiptoes to the other side of the room and freeze in a curved shape. ("All the snow blows far away")

Our dance phrase goes: light and slow from high to low, then sharp and strong, then a run and a freeze. It uses space (levels, pathways), time (slow, then quick), energy (light, then strong) and body (shapes).

Worked example

Example: Being a good audience and dancer

Jai showed his snowflake dance to his family. How can Jai think about how he did?

Jai asks: "What did I do well?" He says: "My freeze at the end was very still."
He asks: "What do I want to get better at?" He says: "I want my slow parts to be even slower."
His sister was the audience. She watched quietly, then clapped. She said: "I liked when you jumped up on WHOOSH. It looked like a strong wind."

A good dancer can name a strength and a next step. A good audience member watches quietly, claps at the end and says something kind and specific.

Hands-on activity

Make a weather dance

You need: a little open space and a grown-up to read.

Choose a weather: snowstorm, gentle rain, sunny day or windy fall day with leaves.
Pick 3 moves for your weather. Use at least one level change (high to low) and one energy change (strong to light).
Join the moves into a phrase with a beginning shape, a middle and an ending freeze.
Practise it 3 times so you remember it.
Show your family. Then tell them one thing you did well and one thing you want to try next time.

Audience job: watch quietly, clap at the end, and say one thing you noticed.

Your turn

Move at a high level. Then at a low level.

Walk a zigzag pathway across the room.

Show light energy, then strong energy, with the same arm move.

With a grown-up, play mirror. Who leads? Who follows?

What three parts does a dance phrase have?

Name one way to connect two dance moves.

Say one thing a good audience does.

More practice: warm-up

Show a middle level.

Move fast, then freeze.

Is a turtle fast or slow?

Is popcorn popping smooth or sharp?

Walk in a straight pathway.

More practice: on your own

Dance like a leaf falling from a maple tree. Which levels, tempo and energy did you use?

Dance like a moose walking through deep snow. How is it different from the leaf?

Make a dance phrase with 3 moves: one slow, one fast, then a freeze. Do it twice the same way.

Tell one thing you did well in your dance and one thing you want to get better at.

Your partner moves far away from you, then comes near. Which element of dance is this?

Challenge

Make a dance phrase for "The Three Little Pigs": the wolf huffs and puffs and the straw house falls down. Use strong energy for the wolf and a level change for the house falling.

Your grown-up dances a smooth, slow move. Then a sharp, fast move. Which elements of dance changed?

Why might a dancer use a low, slow, curved shape at the end of a lullaby dance?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Crawling on the floor is a ___ level.

Which move has light energy?

A pathway shaped like the letter Z is ___.

A dance phrase is like a sentence. It has ___.

Copying your partner's moves at the same time is called ___.

Which is the best thing to say after watching a dance?

Which element of dance is about how fast you move?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Dancers use all five elements (body, space, time, energy, relationship) and join moves into short dance phrases with a beginning, middle and end. Grade 1 dancers use songs, stories and poems as ideas for dances.

How to help:

Read a favourite picture book or nursery rhyme and ask: "How could we dance this part?"
Use contrast words while moving around the house: "Tiptoe lightly to the bathroom. Now stomp strongly back!"
After a dance, ask two questions: "What did you do well?" and "What will you try next time?" This builds the habit of reflecting.

Common difficulties:

Everything is fast. Practise slow motion like a movie. Count slowly to 5 for one move.
Forgetting the order of moves. Keep phrases to 3 moves and practise each one, then join them. Say the moves out loud: "Melt, spin, freeze."
Mirroring is hard. The leader must move slowly. Start with just the arms.