The Arts · Grade 11

Active learning ideas

Choreographic Devices

Active learning is crucial for understanding choreographic devices because it moves students from abstract concepts to embodied knowledge. By physically exploring repetition, canon, retrograde, and inversion, students develop an intuitive grasp of how these tools shape movement and meaning in dance.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• DA:Cr2.1.HSII
• DA:Cr3.1.HSII

• 15–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Project-Based Learning
• 40 min · Small Groups

Device Exploration Stations

Set up four stations, each focusing on a different device (repetition, canon, retrograde, inversion). Students rotate in small groups, spending 10 minutes at each station to explore and record movement phrases using the designated device.

Design a choreographic study using at least two different choreographic devices.

Facilitation Tip

During the Device Exploration Stations, circulate to ensure students are not just mimicking but actively experimenting with variations within each device's definition.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Project-Based Learning
• 20 min · Pairs

Canon Creation Challenge

In pairs, students create a short (8-count) movement phrase. One student performs it, and the other immediately begins the same phrase as a canon. They then experiment with variations in timing and spacing.

Analyze how the use of repetition can build tension or emphasize a theme.

Facilitation Tip

During the Canon Creation Challenge, prompt pairs to consider how the timing and spatial relationship of the echoed movement affect the overall composition.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Project-Based Learning
• 15 min · Individual

Retrograde and Inversion Study

Individually, students choose a 4-count movement phrase they have created. They then practice performing it in retrograde (backward) and, if possible, in inversion (e.g., upside down or with reversed limb movements).

Evaluate the effectiveness of a specific choreographic device in conveying a narrative.

Facilitation Tip

During the Retrograde and Inversion Study, encourage students to verbalize the mental process of reversing or inverting their chosen phrase before attempting the physical execution.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach choreographic devices by emphasizing their function as tools for expression and communication, not just as abstract patterns. Focus on how variations in timing, dynamics, and spatial pathways can dramatically alter the impact of a repeated or reversed phrase. Avoid presenting devices as rigid rules; instead, encourage experimentation and discovery.

Students will demonstrate understanding by successfully executing and explaining the application of at least two choreographic devices in their own movement studies. They will be able to articulate how these devices alter the perception and impact of movement sequences.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Device Exploration Stations, watch for students who believe repetition is simply performing the exact same movement identically multiple times.

  Redirect students by asking them to explore variations in dynamics, speed, or pathway for their repeated movements, prompting them to notice how these changes affect the feeling or emphasis during the Repetition station.

• During the Retrograde and Inversion Study, students might assume these devices are only effective for complex or abstract choreography.

  Guide students to apply retrograde and inversion to simple, everyday gestures, asking them to observe how these transformations can introduce humor, narrative, or unexpected emphasis to basic movements.

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Methods used in this brief

• Project-Based Learning