Visual & Performing Arts · 7th Grade · Body Language: Dance and Movement · Weeks 10-18

Body: Actions, Shapes, and Relationships

Students will investigate how individual body parts, overall body shapes, and relationships between dancers contribute to choreography.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Performing DA.Pr4.1.7

About This Topic

The body is the dancer's primary instrument. In 7th grade, students investigate three dimensions of how the body functions in choreography: the specific actions the body performs (gestures, locomotor patterns, axial movements), the overall shapes the body creates in space (curved, angular, twisted, symmetrical, asymmetrical), and the spatial relationships between dancers when performing in groups. This topic aligns with NCAS performing standards that ask students to demonstrate movement skill and body control in increasingly complex choreographic situations.

Body shapes are a particularly powerful tool because they are visually readable even by audiences with no dance training. A symmetrical shape suggests balance, order, and stability; an asymmetrical shape suggests tension, dynamism, or conflict. Students who understand this visual vocabulary can make intentional choices that communicate to an audience and also read professional choreography with greater insight.

Active learning is essential for body awareness development because the body itself is the site of learning. Students who are physically exploring shapes, actions, and relationships in space are developing proprioceptive awareness that cannot be built through observation alone. Peer feedback that draws attention to specific physical choices accelerates this development by giving students external information about what their body is actually doing versus what they think it is doing.

Key Questions

1. Differentiate between symmetrical and asymmetrical body shapes in dance.
2. Construct a duet that explores different spatial relationships and interactions between dancers.
3. Analyze how specific body actions (e.g., twisting, leaping) can convey narrative elements.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between symmetrical and asymmetrical body shapes in dance, providing specific examples of each.
• Construct a short duet that demonstrates at least three distinct spatial relationships between dancers.
• Analyze how specific body actions, such as a twist or a leap, can convey narrative elements in a movement phrase.
• Compare the visual impact of symmetrical versus asymmetrical body shapes in conveying different emotions or ideas.
• Design a brief choreographic sequence using varied body actions and shapes to communicate a simple story.

Before You Start

Basic Body Awareness and Control

Why: Students need foundational control over their bodies to explore and create specific shapes and actions.

Introduction to Spatial Concepts

Why: Understanding basic directions and levels in space is necessary before exploring complex spatial relationships between dancers.

Key Vocabulary

Symmetrical Shape	A body shape where both sides are mirror images of each other, creating a sense of balance and stability.
Asymmetrical Shape	A body shape where both sides are not mirror images, often creating visual interest, tension, or dynamism.
Spatial Relationship	The distance and connection between two or more dancers in space, including proximity, opposition, and mirroring.
Body Action	A specific movement performed by the body, such as a turn, jump, bend, or gesture.
Axial Movement	Movement that occurs around the body's center of gravity without changing location, like twisting or bending.
Locomotor Movement	Movement that travels through space, changing the dancer's location, such as walking, running, or leaping.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Symmetrical shapes are more beautiful or correct than asymmetrical shapes.

What to Teach Instead

Both symmetry and asymmetry have distinct expressive uses and neither is universally preferred. Many powerful moments in choreography use asymmetry precisely because it creates visual tension that symmetry then resolves. Students benefit from analyzing choreographic works from multiple traditions to see that the choice depends entirely on what the moment calls for.

Common Misconception

The body actions in dance are just the steps , movement from place to place.

What to Teach Instead

Body actions include all movement initiated by any part of the body, including non-locomotor actions like rotation, elevation, individual body part gestures, and axial movement. Many highly expressive moments in dance involve no locomotion at all. Expanding students' action vocabulary beyond 'steps' dramatically increases their expressive resources.

Common Misconception

In a duet, both dancers should always be doing the same thing.

What to Teach Instead

Unison is one spatial relationship among many, and while it can be powerful, it is not the default or preferred relationship. Choreographers choose between unison, contrast, call-and-response, and various supportive relationships based on the meaning of the moment. Students who default to unison in every duet are limiting themselves to a single tool when many others are available.

Active Learning Ideas

Shape Museum: Freeze and Observe

In groups of five, students improvise movement through space. On a signal, they freeze in a deliberate shape. The group observes each person's shape and categorizes it: symmetrical or asymmetrical, high or low, curved or angular. Then they create a group tableau that combines contrasting shapes for visual interest.

30 min·Small Groups

Action Word Cards: Move This Verb

Each student receives a card with a movement action (spiral, collapse, dart, melt, float, shatter). They develop an 8-count phrase built around that action, incorporating at least two different body parts leading the movement. Groups of four share and peers identify which body part was leading each phrase.

25 min·Small Groups

Duet Lab: Spatial Relationships Toolkit

Pairs practice six specific spatial relationships: mirroring, shadowing, converging, diverging, one leading/one following, and call-and-response. For each, they develop a 4-count phrase that makes the relationship visible, then create a short sequence that transitions through at least three relationships.

40 min·Pairs

Video Analysis: Body Choices in Context

Show a 60-second clip from a choreographic work. Students individually record five observations about body choices using class vocabulary. In small groups, compare observations and note where members identified different body choices or interpreted the same choice differently.

25 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Choreographers for musical theater productions, like those on Broadway, use body shapes and relationships to visually tell stories and convey character emotions to large audiences.
• Physical therapists guide patients through specific body actions and shapes to improve range of motion and rehabilitation after injuries, focusing on controlled and intentional movements.
• Animation artists create character movements by defining key body shapes and actions, then using principles of spatial relationships to show how characters interact within a scene.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Present students with images of dancers in various poses. Ask them to label each pose as either symmetrical or asymmetrical and write one word describing the feeling each shape evokes.

Peer Assessment

In small groups, students perform a short, pre-choreographed duet. After each performance, group members provide feedback using sentence starters: 'I noticed you used a ______ spatial relationship when ______. This made me feel ______.' or 'The ______ body action you used clearly showed ______.'

Exit Ticket

Students write down one specific body action (e.g., reaching, falling) and describe how it could be used to convey a specific emotion (e.g., sadness, excitement) through its execution and the resulting body shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I teach body part isolation to students who are resistant to looking 'weird' in front of peers?

Start with whole-group simultaneous exploration rather than individual performance. When everyone is exploring shoulder isolations at the same time, social risk is minimized. Build from there to small-group observation, gradually introducing the expectation that peers will be watching and offering specific feedback about what they observe.

How do I help students understand symmetry and asymmetry as choreographic tools rather than just definitions?

Have students create a symmetrical shape, describe it, then shift one element to make it asymmetrical and compare the visual and physical difference. Then ask: which version fits this specific moment better and why? Moving between the two versions physically makes the expressive distinction immediately available rather than theoretical.

What is the best way to introduce spatial relationships in group work without it becoming chaotic?

Use a structured progression: mirroring in pairs, then add shadowing, then introduce a third person with assigned roles. Building relational complexity gradually while keeping each configuration clear prevents the chaos that comes from asking a group to improvise complex relationships without scaffolding.

How does active learning approach body awareness differently than direct instruction?

Body awareness is developed through proprioceptive feedback, not through explanation. Active learning structures that ask students to notice specific physical sensations, compare their experience with a partner's observation, and revise movement based on that feedback create direct access to physical learning. This embodied feedback loop is what builds the body control that performing standards require.