Movement and Choreography · Term 2

Exploring Space and Levels

Learning how to move through low, medium, and high levels to create visual interest.

About This Topic

Exploring Space and Levels introduces Year 3 students to the 'canvas' of dance: the stage. Students learn to move through high, medium, and low levels to create visual variety and communicate different ideas. This topic aligns with ACARA's dance standards, which focus on using the elements of dance (space, time, dynamics, and relationships) to create and perform movement sequences.

By experimenting with levels, students discover that being 'low' can represent things like growing plants, hiding, or being heavy, while 'high' levels can represent flying, reaching, or excitement. They also learn about 'pathways', the lines they draw on the floor as they move. This topic is highly physical and benefits from structured exploration where students can see how their individual movements contribute to a larger group shape.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate movement through low, medium, and high levels to create visual variety.
• Analyze how changing movement levels affects the mood or message of a dance sequence.
• Construct at least three distinct body shapes at different levels (low, medium, high).
• Explain how using different levels can help a dancer use the entire performance space effectively.

Before You Start

Basic Body Awareness and Control

Why: Students need fundamental control over their bodies to explore different positions and movements before manipulating levels.

Introduction to Movement Qualities

Why: Understanding qualities like fast/slow or strong/light helps students connect levels to expressive intent.

Key Vocabulary

Level	The vertical space a dancer occupies, categorized as low (on the floor), medium (standing or slightly bent), or high (reaching upwards).
Pathway	The line or shape a dancer creates on the floor as they travel through space.
Shape	The form the body makes at a specific moment in time, which can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, and performed at any level.
Space	The area dancers occupy and move through, including the stage and the air above and around them.

Active Learning Ideas

Simulation Game: The Growing Forest

Students start in a 'seed' position (low level). As the 'sun' (teacher) moves around, they must grow into different 'plants' at medium and high levels. They must maintain their level while moving to a new 'spot' in the forest using a zigzag pathway.

⏱ 20 min·Whole Class

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Inquiry Circle: Level Photos

In small groups, students are given a theme (e.g., 'A Mountain Range'). They must create a 'frozen' dance pose where every student is at a different level (one low, one medium, one high). They then find a way to 'flow' from one pose to another while staying at their assigned level.

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

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Think-Pair-Share: High vs. Low Emotions

Students think about an emotion that feels 'high' (like joy) and one that feels 'low' (like sadness). They share a movement for each with a partner and discuss how changing the level of a movement changes how the audience feels when watching it.

⏱ 15 min·Pairs

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Real-World Connections

Choreographers for musical theatre productions use levels extensively to create dramatic contrast and guide the audience's eye across the stage, for example, showing a character's despair in a low level or their triumph in a high level.

Animation studios, like Pixar, consider character levels when designing movement for animated films; a character might crouch low to show fear or leap high to express joy, impacting the overall storytelling.

Gymnasts utilize different levels during their floor routines, performing low rolls and balances before executing high jumps and tumbles to showcase skill and dynamic range.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Dance is only about moving your arms and legs while standing up.

What to Teach Instead

Students often stay at a medium level (standing). By using 'Level Photos' and floor-work exercises, they realize that the ground is part of the dance space, and moving low can be just as expressive as jumping high.

Common Misconception

You have to move in a straight line to get somewhere.

What to Teach Instead

Students tend to walk directly from point A to B. Introducing 'pathways' (curved, zigzag, spiral) through active games helps them see that *how* they travel through space is a key part of the choreography.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Ask students to freeze in a shape at a low level, then a medium level, then a high level. Observe if they can differentiate and execute movements at each level. Ask: 'What feeling does this low shape give you?'

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a worksheet showing a simple stage outline. Ask them to draw three different pathways they could travel across the stage, using arrows to indicate if the pathway is mostly low, medium, or high. Have them label one pathway with a word describing the mood (e.g., 'sad', 'excited').

Discussion Prompt

After a short movement exploration, ask: 'How did moving low change the feeling of your dance compared to moving high? Can you give an example of a character or animal that moves mostly low or mostly high?'

Frequently Asked Questions

What are 'levels' in dance for Year 3?

Levels refer to the height of the dancer's body in relation to the floor. Low level is on or near the ground (crawling, rolling). Medium level is standing or kneeling. High level is anything above standing (jumping, reaching, being lifted).

How do I encourage boys to engage with dance and space?

Focus on 'athleticism' and 'geometry.' Use terms like 'levels,' 'angles,' and 'pathways.' Framing dance as a way to control space and show strength (like in martial arts or sports) often helps students who are hesitant about traditional 'dance' to feel more comfortable.

How can active learning help students understand space and levels?

Space is something that must be felt. Active learning strategies like 'The Growing Forest' allow students to physically experience the transition between levels. By working in groups to create 'Level Photos,' they also learn to see the 'negative space' around them, which is a crucial concept in choreography that is hard to teach through words alone.

How does this topic connect to Indigenous Australian dance?

Many First Nations dances use a very strong connection to the ground (low level) and specific footwork that creates patterns on the earth. You can discuss how these movements reflect a connection to Country and how 'levels' are used to represent different animals or spirits in traditional storytelling.