China 九年级（初三） Arts: Dance
Chapters: 8
1. Sem.1 U1 Extending the body
Dance props; dancing with objects
- Dance Props: Dancing with Objects – A prop is an object a dancer holds or wears. Ribbons, fans and long sleeves extend the arm, so movement reaches farther and draws lines in the air. The dancer's body still leads: the prop follows. Improvising with objects means exploring many movements safely, then choosing the best ones.
2. Sem.1 U2 Dance and aspiration
Dances of integrity, ambition, dreams
- Dances of Ideals: Integrity, Ambition and Dreams – An ideal is a big idea we care about, like honesty, a high goal or a dream. You cannot touch it, so dancers turn it into shape and motion. Integrity becomes a straight, steady line that does not bend when pushed. Ambition becomes steps that climb and a body that reaches up. A dream becomes slow, soft, floating movement with eyes looking far away. The dancer picks one ideal, finds a few clear moves for it, and repeats them so the audience understands.
3. Sem.1 U3 Body memory
Tradition and era in dance
- Tradition and Era in Dance – A dance carries memory in the body. A traditional motif is a small move or pattern that families and communities have repeated for many years, like a circular arm sweep, a special hand shape or a ring of dancers. Each era, the way people live changes the dance. Farm life gave round, earthy moves. Factory life gave sharp, counted moves. Today we have fast, bouncy moves. The motif can stay the same while its style changes, and that is how tradition and new times meet.
4. Sem.1 U4 Movement code
Geometry of movement; centre of gravity
- Geometry of Movement and Centre of Gravity – A dancer draws in the air with the body. Straight, diagonal and curved lines, and shapes like triangles and circles, make a dance clear to look at. To stay upright the dancer controls the centre of gravity, the point where the body weight seems to gather. The body is balanced when a straight line down from this point falls inside the base, the space between the supporting feet. A wider base is steadier. Leaning pushes the point sideways, and an arm stretched the other way pulls it back.
5. Sem.2 U1 Dancing together
Duets; call and response
- Duets: Partner Work, Call and Response – A duet is a dance for two. The two dancers are partners, so they must watch, listen and trust. In call and response one dancer shows a short phrase (the call) and the other repeats or answers it a little later (the response, or echo). In partner work they may lead and follow, copy each other, or share weight by leaning on each other. A good duet feels like a conversation without words.
6. Sem.2 U2 Spirit of China in dance
Yellow River; strong youth
- River Dances and Group Choreography – A patriotic dance work shows love and pride for one's homeland, its people and its history. Choreographers often pick a strong symbol, such as a great river that flows without stopping, to stand for the strength of a nation and its youth. A group dance needs a plan: formations (line, arrow, circle), unison (everyone together, for power) and canon (a wave passing from dancer to dancer, for flow). Rehearsal, timing and teamwork make the group look like one body.
7. Sem.2 U3 Symbols of beauty
Truth, goodness, beauty; significant form
- Truth, Goodness and Beauty in Dance: Significant Form – Dance aesthetics asks why a dance moves us. A dance has a form: its shapes, lines, rhythm and patterns. Form becomes significant (full of meaning) when it carries real feeling. Three old ideas help us judge a dance. Truth means honest feeling, not pretending. Goodness means a caring, positive message. Beauty means a pleasing, balanced and harmonious form. When the three meet in one clear form, we call it significant form.
8. Sem.2 U4 Dance of the future
Dance on screen; crossing boundaries
- Dance on Screen: Dance Film and Crossing Boundaries – A dance film is a dance made for the camera. The camera frame decides what the viewer sees. A close-up shows small details like a face or a hand. Editing joins clips, so the view can jump between wide and close shots. Dance can also leave the theatre and be filmed in a street or on a beach. Cross-disciplinary dance mixes dance with other fields such as music, visual art and technology to make something new.