Creative Movement

Overview of content:

Aspects of Creative Movement

What - Basic Dance Actions: Travel, Turn, Jump, Gesture, Stillness

Where – Direction, Level, Pathway, Spatial Awareness

With - whom (Practitioner, partner, small group, whole class) what (props)

How – Dynamics (Energy, Flow, Size, Speed), Quality, Choreographic Devices (unison, canon, repetition)

To what – accompaniment, improvisation

Stimuli - Tactile – using a prop, Ideational – using concepts or issues, Kinaesthetic – using movement patterns, Auditory – using music, words, poems, Visual – using pictures, drawings, designs, video clips

Use of stimuli in learning environment

Making Dances

Planning  creative movement opportunities in order to encourage continuity and progression

How to use the range of resources (e.g. poems, stories, pictures, colours)  to plan, perform, evaluate and assess within creative movement

Progression Maps

Theme Cards 

RECIPE as an approach

Evaluation, target setting and questioning

Resources are not lesson plans or unit plans but can be used as a springboard to stimulate further ideas that can be easily developed to provide differentiated learning experiences.

Progression considered:  ‘As they develop’, ‘As they progress’ and ‘As they become more skilful’.

CD Rom with wider information and electronic version of theme cards and Word Wall

Significant Transferable Features:

Creative Movement contributes to the whole child

Aspects of Creative Movement

What, Where, With, How, To what 

Use of a variety of stimuli

Planning creative movement opportunities. 

Progression Maps

Theme cards 

Where resource currently meets requirements of new curriculum :

Considers developmental needs of learners (e.g. as they develop, as they progress, as they become more skilful) from a stage not age perspective.

Developmental aspects (e.g. layering learning with choreographic devices) can be introduced to individuals, pairs, small groups, whole class as and when learners are ready.

Holistic in nature.

Building on Basic Dance Actions and the stages of developing dance links can be made to most themes / stimuli to consider cross curricular opportunities and wider skills.

Opportunities for learners to express ideas, thoughts and feelings.

Exploring  spatial arrangements gives opportunity to explore relationships in a developmental and safe way.

Development of basic dance actions and progressive nature builds learners’ competence.

Learning key movement skills foster a lifelong enjoyment and engagement in sport and physical activity

Offers subject and methodological experience and exciting classroom skills.

Uses RECIPE as a planning structure guiding teachers to deliver progressive lessons.

Develops independence.

Learners quickly learn basic dance actions and transfer these into quality dances with the specific vocabulary related to these.

Multiple opportunities to use the stories, books, poems, pictures, abstracts (e.g.) colours to develop phrases of creative movement and progressive dances independently and with others.

Multiple opportunities to both lead and facilitate learning using stories, books, poems, pictures ,abstracts

Opportunities to utilise Assessment for Learning approaches and a range of teaching styles.

Links to other AoLE

Principles of creative movement can be applied to any context and any stimulus. Content from any, and every Area of Learning and Experience could offer this context with the theme and stimuli.

Expressive Arts – Creative movement is an opportunity to communicate through movement and create meaning. It is an intrinsic way for learners to express ideas, thoughts and feelings. Range of music to accompany actions and activities. Multiple opportunities to link creative movement to senses and imagination.

Health and Wellbeing – Creative movement can positively impact on learners’ health, fitness and wellbeing and can be a very personal opportunity to explore and express feelings and emotions.  Spatial arrangements develop relationships in a developmental and safe way. Dance can be a lifelong recreational activity 

Humanities – Raises learners’ awareness of different traditions, cultures and beliefs, respecting others’ differences, inspiring curiosity in the world. 

Languages, Literacy and communication – Use of books, stories, poems as stimuli. Creative dance is an opportunity to communicate through movement. Opportunities to discuss and plan e.g. use of Word Walls. Descriptive language used in the creation of dances to expand and develop key words and meaningful vocabulary.All resources are bilingual. Word wall of creating dances is a visual stimulus.

Mathematics and numeracy - numerous opportunities for counting (beats and rhythm), and language related to Variety – speed, direction, levels, pathways. 

Science and Technology – being curious of natural world. Exploring different settings of creative movement

Considerations and suggestions moving forwards:

The Creative Movement would benefit from an unpicking and simplification.

There are numerous pedagogical approaches and teaching ideas evident within the resource however these are so many they become somewhat inaccessible, this prevents teachers and practitioners from using them.

Utilise pedagogy of teachers leading and therefore developing their knowledge of and confidence with the resource and their competence of how to use it.

A simplified less is more approach. 

If led with cards give clear thematic links to AoLE (Pirates, Autumn, Myths and Legends)

Incorporation / links to SMILES and STEP from outset. 

CDs and CD ROM are now difficult for many to use so resources need to be shared via different platform (it is apparent that this is possible due to the successful sharing of resources on the Sport Wales website during the COVID 19 lockdown).