A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance: Dances in Our Communities, Then and Now

A3.1 A3.2 A2.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe dances from communities in Canada and around the world that I have seen in the media, at live performances, at social gatherings or in class.
I can describe what dance does in a community: it celebrates, brings people together, passes on traditions and stories, keeps people healthy and entertains.
I can describe some dances from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, and dances from long ago in Upper Canada, with respect.
I can use dance words to describe what I see.

Words to know

community
A group of people who live in the same place or share a culture, interests or way of life.

role
The job or purpose something has. Dance can have many roles in a community.

tradition
Something a community has done for a long time and passes on to younger people.

social dance
A dance people do together at gatherings, for fun and to be together. Many social dances are open to everyone.

bee
In early Canada, a gathering where neighbours helped one family with a big job, like building a barn, then often shared food, music and dancing.

regalia
The special clothing and items that powwow dancers wear. It is personal and meaningful, not a costume.

Remember from Grade 2

In Grade 2 you learned that people dance to celebrate, tell stories, heal, worship, stay healthy and be together. You met the jingle dress dance, the hoop dance, the smoke dance, the Red River Jig and Inuit drum dancing.

This year, we will look at the role of dance in a community: what dance does for the people in it. We will also travel back in time to Upper Canada (the part of Canada that became Ontario), about 200 years ago.

An empty old wooden barn with a smooth plank floor, hay bales along the walls and big doors open to a farm. — At a heritage village today, a barn like this shows where people long ago gathered for barn dances after working together. AI-generated image

Role of dance in a community	Example
Brings people together 🤝	neighbours dancing at a street festival or a community hall
Celebrates special days 🎉	dancing at weddings, Canada Day, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Vaisakhi, National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21)
Passes on traditions from Elders and older people to children 👵🏽👧🏽	a grandparent teaching a family dance; dance classes at a cultural centre
Tells stories and history 📖	a dance that shows a community's history or a legend
Keeps people healthy 💪	dance classes for kids and seniors
Entertains an audience 🎭	a ballet at a theatre, a dance team on TV, a parade
Shows pride in who we are 🏳️	cultural dance groups performing at festivals

What dance does for a community. One dance can do many of these jobs at once.

The jobs dance does in a community. One dance can do several of these jobs at once.

Dance in Upper Canada, long ago

About 200 years ago, many settler families in Upper Canada lived on farms far apart. Neighbours got together for bees: a barn-raising bee, a quilting bee or a harvest bee. When the work was done, there was often a meal and a dance, with a fiddler playing lively reels and jigs. People danced in lines and squares, with partners swinging and changing places.

Dances helped people who lived far apart meet, celebrate and help one another.

First Nations had been dancing on this land for thousands of years before settlers arrived, and their dances continued. For example, Haudenosaunee communities have many social dances, such as the Women's Shuffle Dance and the Rabbit Dance. They are danced to songs with a water drum and a horn rattle, and these social dances are still danced today.

A square dance seen from above. Each pair of circles is a couple; the arrows show that everyone faces the centre of the square.

Dance	Community	What you might notice (dance words!)	Role in the community
Haudenosaunee social dances (for example, the Women's Shuffle Dance)	Haudenosaunee (Six Nations)	Small, close-to-the-ground shuffling steps that keep time with the water drum and horn rattle. Dancers travel together in a curved pathway.	bringing people together, passing on tradition
Fancy shawl dance (at powwows)	First Nations (danced at powwows across North America)	Fast, light steps, spins and leaps; the dancer's open shawl looks like wings. Many people say it looks like a butterfly.	celebration, pride, sharing culture
Métis jigging and square dancing	Métis	Quick, fancy footwork to fiddle music. Métis dancing mixes First Nations footwork with Scottish, Irish and French dance steps. Square dances use partners and patterns.	celebration, gathering, passing on tradition
Inuit drum dancing	Inuit	A dancer beats a large frame drum on its rim while turning and swaying, as others sing.	celebration, gathering, sharing songs and stories
Lion dance	Chinese communities	Two dancers inside one lion: one works the head, one the tail. They move together, with sudden jumps, shakes and freezes to drums, cymbals and a gong.	celebrating Lunar New Year, wishing good luck
Bhangra	Punjabi communities	Strong, bouncy steps, shoulders shaking, arms raised high, to the dhol drum. It began as a harvest celebration.	celebrating (for example at Vaisakhi), having fun
Highland dancing	Scottish communities	Dancers spring lightly on the balls of the feet, with arms raised in curved shapes.	competitions at Highland games, pride in heritage
Tinikling	Filipino communities	Two people tap and clap long bamboo poles on the ground; dancers hop in and out of the poles, faster and faster. The dance imitates the tikling bird stepping between grasses.	celebrating culture, festivals
Carnival dancing	Caribbean communities (for example at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival)	Large groups parade down the street, swaying and stepping to soca, calypso and steel pan music, in colourful outfits.	celebrating, bringing a huge community together, pride

Some dances you might see in Canada, in person, at a festival, in class or on a screen.

Watching and learning with respect

Remember: powwow dancers wear regalia, not costumes.
Some dances are sacred (part of ceremonies). We learn about them, but we do not copy them as a game.
Social dances are often open to everyone. At a Haudenosaunee social or a powwow intertribal dance, join in only when you are invited.
Learn about a community's dances from people of that community, or from videos and books they have made.
Use the community's own names: say Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Métis, Inuit.

Worked example

Example: Describing a dance I saw

Sam watched a lion dance at a Lunar New Year festival at a mall. How can he describe it with dance words and the dance's role?

Where: "I saw it at a live performance at a Lunar New Year festival."
Relationship: "Two dancers worked together inside one lion. One was the head, one was the tail. They had to move at the same time."
Time and energy: "The lion moved erratically: it shook its head, froze suddenly, then jumped. The drums were loud and strong."
Role: "People said the lion dance brings good luck for the new year, and everyone gathered to watch, so it brought the community together."

Sam told where he saw it, used dance words (relationship, freeze, erratic), and explained its role in the community.

Just for fun

Fun fact: In a lion dance, two dancers share one lion. The head dancer works the lion's head, and the tail dancer spends the whole dance bent over, following the head dancer's feet!

Worked example

Example: Then and now

How is a barn-raising bee dance in Upper Canada long ago similar to a street festival dance today?

Similar role: both bring neighbours together and celebrate.
Similar music: both often have live music. Long ago it was usually a fiddle; today it might be a band, a DJ or a fiddle too.
Different: long ago, people danced after a big job helping a neighbour; today, people often dance at festivals just for fun.
Dance words: bee dances used partners, lines and squares, with lively, fast footwork.

Dances change over time, but the role of bringing a community together has stayed the same.

Hands-on activity

Community dance detective

You need: a grown-up and a device for short videos, or a real community event (festival, powwow open to the public, cultural day, parade).

With your grown-up, watch two dances from different communities. Try one from a First Nation, Métis or Inuit community (look for videos shared by that community or a cultural centre) and one from another culture.
For each, fill in: Where was it danced? Who was dancing? Name two dance elements you saw. What role does it have in the community?
Ask a family member: "Did you go to dances when you were young? What were they like?" Compare their answer with dances today.
Draw a picture of the dance you liked best, and label one element.

Your turn

Name three roles dance can have in a community.

What was a bee in Upper Canada?

Which instrument often played for dances at bees long ago?

Which instruments are used for Haudenosaunee social dance songs?

In a lion dance, how many dancers are inside one lion? What element of dance does this show?

Describe the fancy shawl dance using two dance words.

Name a dance you have seen in real life or on a screen. Where was it? What was its role?

More practice: warm-up

What does role mean?

Which community does Métis jigging come from?

Is a powwow dancer's clothing called a costume or regalia?

Bhangra began as a celebration of the ___.

True or false: dance can help keep people healthy.

More practice: on your own

How did dances at bees help settlers in Upper Canada?

Tinikling imitates a bird. How is that like what you did in the first lesson of this unit?

Compare Highland dancing and Métis jigging. Name one similarity.

Your class learns a Haudenosaunee social dance from a Haudenosaunee dancer who visits the school. Why is this a respectful way to learn?

Name one dance that is mostly about entertaining an audience, and one that is mostly about bringing people together.

Challenge

Choose one dance from the table. Describe it using three different elements of dance (body, space, time, energy or relationship) and its role.

Why do you think Métis dancing mixes First Nations, Scottish, Irish and French steps?

Some dances are open to everyone, and some are sacred. How would you know whether to join in?

Check your understanding

Quiz

What was a bee in Upper Canada?

Haudenosaunee social dance songs are played with ___.

In the lion dance, two dancers share one lion. Which element of dance does this show most clearly?

Which is a role of dance in a community?

Métis dancing is usually danced to ___ music.

At a powwow, when should a visitor join a dance?

Which dance imitates a bird?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 3 students describe, with guidance, dances from communities in Canada and around the world that they have seen in the media, at live performances, at social gatherings or in the classroom (A3.1), and identify and describe the role of dance in the community (A3.2). This lesson links to Grade 3 Social Studies, where children learn about life in Upper Canada (about 1780 to 1850) and about First Nations communities of that time.

How to help at home:

Look for free community events: cultural festivals, National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) events, public powwows, Lunar New Year celebrations, Highland games.
When watching videos, choose ones shared by the dancers' own communities, cultural centres or recognized performing groups.
Share your own family's dance memories.

Common difficulties:

Describing dances as "weird" or "funny". Model curious language: "That's new to me. I noticed..."
Thinking Indigenous dances are only from the past. Stress that First Nations, Métis and Inuit dances are living traditions, danced today.
Saying "costume" for regalia. Gently correct.

Note: we kept descriptions general and avoided teaching sacred or ceremonial dances. If your child wants to learn a dance from a culture, look for a class or event where people of that culture invite others to learn.