Introducing improvisation to beginner students can sometimes feel intimidating for those dancers that are new to the genre. Approaching your inclusion of improvisation into your lesson plans should be made fun, easy to follow and approachable, so dancers don't feel there is a right or wrong way to, "move."
If you can remove that feeling of self consciousness from the get-go, improvisation can be a wonderful addition to their training. Here, they will be learning to move spontaneously while applying their technique to create new ways of moving; which feels good on their bodies. Improvisation can spark creativity, the feeling of freedom and joy in young dancers, so give it a try with these basic, easy to follow and fun exercises below! If you can build trust and a non- judgemental energy in the room, your students will have a successful improvisation experience!
Good luck!
See you in the dance studio,
Jess
Creating Movement:
Present an image to the dancer and allow them to create movement based on what they see.
Partnering:
Share weight with another person. This activity allows each person to begin feeling comfortable touching and sharing weight with another person.
Who’s Next?:
Stand in a circle. Have one dancer start with a simple movement or gesture. Then immediately after completing the movement, the dancer must look to either side and say the name of the dancer they are looking at. The latter dancer must then immediately do a gesture or movement and repeat the steps of the previous dancer. The dancers that don’t respond immediately must stand in the middle of the circle until the game is over.
Movement Telephone:
Stand in a circle. Have one dancer begin by making a movement with a sound. Each dancer around the circle takes turns to quickly mimic the combination as well as they can until it reaches the original choreographer. Then the next dancer begins. This continues until everyone in the circle has had a turn to make a combination.
Guess the Body Part:
Pick one body part to initiate all movement from.
