The Arts · Foundation · Body Language and Movement · Term 2

Communicating Emotions Through Dance

Using facial expressions and body tension to communicate emotions without words.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9ADAFE01
• AC9ADAFR01

About This Topic

Dancing Our Feelings focuses on the expressive power of dance to communicate emotions. Foundation students learn that they don't need words to tell an audience how they feel; instead, they can use facial expressions, body tension, and the quality of their movements. This topic aligns with the ACARA goal of using dance to express ideas and feelings, helping students develop both artistic skills and emotional literacy.

Students explore how 'sharp' movements might show anger or surprise, while 'soft, flowing' movements might show happiness or peace. By observing their peers and professional dancers, they learn to interpret the 'body language' of others. This topic comes alive when students can physically model different emotions, experimenting with how a 'sad' walk feels different from a 'joyful' leap in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how a 'happy' knee might appear in a dance.
2. Construct a method to convey sadness using only shoulder movements.
3. Explain how musical changes influence the movement of one's feet.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate how specific body parts, such as shoulders or knees, can convey emotions like sadness or happiness through movement.
• Identify facial expressions that communicate emotions like joy, anger, or surprise without verbal cues.
• Analyze how changes in tempo or rhythm in music influence foot movements and overall dance expression.
• Create a short dance sequence that communicates a specific emotion using only body tension and facial expression.

Before You Start

Exploring Personal Space

Why: Students need to understand their own body and how it moves in space before they can use it to express emotions.

Identifying Basic Emotions

Why: Students should have a foundational understanding of common emotions like happy, sad, and angry to connect them to movement.

Key Vocabulary

Body Tension	The feeling of tightness or relaxation in your muscles, which can show how you feel. Tight muscles might show anger, while relaxed muscles might show peace.
Facial Expression	The look on your face that shows an emotion. For example, smiling shows happiness, and frowning can show sadness.
Movement Quality	How a movement is done, such as fast and sharp, or slow and smooth. This quality helps show different feelings.
Non-verbal Communication	Sharing feelings or ideas using your body or face, instead of using words.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

You only use your face to show feelings.

What to Teach Instead

Students often focus only on making 'sad faces.' Encourage them to think about their 'sad knees' or 'angry elbows' to show how the whole body carries emotion.

Common Misconception

All happy dances must be fast.

What to Teach Instead

Children often equate speed with joy. Use slow, graceful music to show that happiness can also be calm and steady, helping them broaden their expressive range.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: The Emotion Mirror

In pairs, one student acts as the 'dancer' and the other as the 'mirror.' The dancer moves to show a specific feeling (like 'brave' or 'shy'), and the mirror must copy the movements and facial expressions exactly.

15 min·Pairs

Gallery Walk: Dancing Statues

Half the class creates a 'frozen' dance pose that shows a feeling. The other half walks through the 'gallery,' trying to guess the emotion before switching roles so everyone gets a turn to perform.

20 min·Whole Class

Simulation Game: The Magic Music Box

Play different snippets of music (e.g., a fast fiddle, a slow cello). Students must change their dance style to match the 'feeling' of the music, focusing on how their faces and hands show the emotion.

15 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Actors in silent films, like Charlie Chaplin, used exaggerated facial expressions and body movements to tell stories and convey emotions to audiences worldwide.
• Mime artists, such as Marcel Marceau, train extensively to communicate complex narratives and feelings through gesture and posture alone, without any spoken words.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Ask students to stand and show 'happy' with their whole body, then 'sad'. Observe if they use facial expressions and body tension effectively. Ask: 'What did you do with your face to show happy?' and 'How did your shoulders move to show sad?'

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a drawing of a face. Ask them to draw the eyes and mouth to show 'surprise'. On the back, ask them to write one word describing how their body felt when they made the 'surprise' face.

Discussion Prompt

Play short clips of music with different tempos. Ask students: 'How did your feet want to move when the music was fast?' and 'What emotion does that fast movement make you think of?' Then ask: 'How did your feet move to the slow music?' and 'What feeling does that slow movement suggest?'

Frequently Asked Questions

How can active learning help students express emotions through dance?

Active learning provides a safe space for students to 'try on' different emotions physically. Through role play and mirroring, they observe how others use their bodies to communicate, which builds their own expressive vocabulary. This student-centered approach moves beyond 'mimicking the teacher' and instead helps students to find their own unique ways to move, making the connection between internal feelings and external movement more personal and profound.

What if a student is too shy to dance their feelings?

Start with small movements, like just using hands or fingers behind a screen or desk. Gradually move to whole-body movements as they become more comfortable with the group and the activity.

How do I explain 'body tension' to five-year-olds?

Use the 'Uncooked vs. Cooked Spaghetti' analogy. Uncooked spaghetti is stiff and tense (showing anger or strength), while cooked spaghetti is floppy and relaxed (showing calm or tiredness).

Why is emotional expression important in the Arts curriculum?

It allows students to process their own experiences and develop empathy for others. In the Arts, this is the foundation of 'performance', the ability to connect with an audience on an emotional level.