Visual & Performing Arts · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

Introduction to Ballet and Modern Dance

Active learning works especially well for ballet and modern dance because students build understanding through their bodies first, then connect to historical and technical concepts. Moving and observing movement lets kinesthetic learners grasp the differences between turnout and contraction faster than reading alone.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Connecting DA.Cn10.1.HSProf
• NCAS: Responding DA.Re7.1.HSProf

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Movement Timeline Stations

Set up five stations around the room, each with a video clip and a one-page artist biography: Romantic ballet, Petipa-era classical ballet, Duncan, Graham, and Cunningham. Students rotate in small groups, completing a structured observation card at each station that asks them to describe the movement quality, the relationship to gravity, and the apparent emotional intent. After the rotation, the class assembles a shared timeline chart on the board using their cards.

Differentiate between the aesthetic principles and movement vocabularies of ballet and modern dance.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk set up clear 30-second movement demonstrations at each station so students experience the vocabulary before analyzing it.

What to look for

Present students with short video clips of ballet and modern dance performances. Ask them to identify 2-3 key movement characteristics for each clip and write them down, noting whether the movement appears to defy or embrace gravity.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Rebellion or Extension?

Play a 90-second clip of a classical ballet variation followed immediately by a Graham solo. Students individually write one sentence answering whether modern dance is a rebellion against ballet or an extension of it, citing one specific movement quality as evidence. Partners compare their positions, then selected pairs present their reasoning to the whole class for a structured debate.

Analyze how historical context influenced the emergence of modern dance as a rebellion against ballet.

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share, provide sentence starters on the board to scaffold the comparison between rebellion and extension of tradition.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How did the social and artistic climate of the early 20th century directly lead choreographers to reject ballet conventions and create modern dance?' Encourage students to cite specific historical context and artistic philosophies.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Fishbowl Discussion
• 30 min · Whole Class

Fishbowl Discussion: Who Changed Dance More?

Four students sit in the center and debate whether Graham or Cunningham had a greater lasting impact on American dance, using evidence from readings and video clips. The outer ring of students listens, takes notes, and can tap in to replace a speaker. After 15 minutes, the class votes and defends their choice in writing.

Evaluate the lasting impact of pioneering modern dancers like Martha Graham or Merce Cunningham.

Facilitation Tip

In the Fishbowl Discussion, assign roles to quieter students so everyone contributes and stays on task.

What to look for

Have students perform a simple sequence incorporating a ballet plié and a modern dance contraction. After observing each other, students provide feedback to their partner using a checklist: 'Did the student demonstrate turnout in the plié?' 'Was the contraction clearly initiated from the torso?' 'Was the release visible?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Technique Vocabulary Cards

Divide into three expert groups: ballet terminology (plié, arabesque, turnout), Graham technique (contraction, release, spiral), and Cunningham principles (neutral spine, chance procedures, independence of music and movement). Each group creates illustrated vocabulary cards with definitions and photos. Groups then remix so each new team has one expert from each tradition, and experts teach their terms to teammates.

Differentiate between the aesthetic principles and movement vocabularies of ballet and modern dance.

Facilitation Tip

Have students practice the Graham contraction sequence slowly at the barre first to build muscle memory before adding speed during the Jigsaw Vocabulary Cards activity.

What to look for

Present students with short video clips of ballet and modern dance performances. Ask them to identify 2-3 key movement characteristics for each clip and write them down, noting whether the movement appears to defy or embrace gravity.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should approach this topic by centering lived experience before abstract discussion. Start with movement so students feel the difference between ballet’s verticality and modern dance’s grounding, then layer historical context. Avoid lecturing about technique without embodied examples; students need to physically encounter contraction and turnout to understand their demands. Research shows that movement-based comparisons build stronger retention of technical vocabulary than lectures alone.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying key movement qualities in both ballet and modern dance and explaining how technique reflects historical context. They should also articulate the connections between codified vocabulary and artistic intention.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Jigsaw: Technique Vocabulary Cards activity, students may assume modern dance is freeform improvisation with no codified technique.

  Have students perform a basic Graham contraction sequence followed by a ballet plié, then use their reflections to correct the misconception by naming the specific principles that govern each movement.

• During the Gallery Walk: Movement Timeline Stations, students may believe ballet is purely European and modern dance is purely American.

  Provide a world map at the timeline stations and ask students to plot choreographers like Mary Wigman and Pina Bausch to show the transatlantic exchange during the early 20th century.

• During the Fishbowl Discussion: Who Changed Dance More?, students may think modern dance replaced ballet as the dominant art form.

  Play a clip of a contemporary work that mixes ballet lines with floor work and contractions, then ask students to revise their stance using evidence from the clip.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share
• Fishbowl Discussion
• Jigsaw