Julie Nybo

Granger High School

TWS #7
Places! Cue music and roll Camera. Who knew creating choreography could be so fun?
Setting the scene for success in making choreography more interesting by using dance and film
started with a discussion on camera angles. My students knowledge about different angles used
in film was very limited. We discussed certain ways that film makers portrayed things by using
these different angles. The discussion was insightful because I realized how much I could teach
these students about using film in different ways to enhance their choreography. The first day
they just explored with different angles and gained knowledge of how different angles might
make a certain dance movement more striking or beautiful. The next day I gave them the
challenge to create a solo based on an initiation from one body part. Some of my students
internalized the concept quickly and others struggled on the first day. I decided after viewing the
solos the first day that my students would need more time to solidify and create their solos on
another day so I worked it into a later lesson plan. Next, we created duets for our videos. I taught
them an initial sequence. I modeled how to mix two people together to create weight being and
connections to a partner. After my modeling I asked them to create a sixteen count phrase to tack
on the end of my movement. This was successful because they had a specific model to follow
and conceptually could grasp the ideas I was trying to teach them by seeing an example. As we
progressed to the group portion of the dance I asked them to run with either the theme of body
parts or weight bearing since these were the two concepts I taught them for their choreography. I
was surprised to see the success that this gave them. Since they had already created solos and
duets based off of these ideas their group portions were more meaningful and originally created

with the exception of one group of students. This group of students were high performers and felt
that they didnt need to take the time to create like the other students. The reason I deducted this
opinion from them was because when I asked them about their choreography for the group
portion and they told me they had already figured it out after about two minutes of working.
When I asked to view it the movement was things I had already seen a dozen times before either
from them or from other performances I had seen previously. I challenged them to change levels
and direction so that it would make it more interesting. They corrected some of the unoriginal
work but looking back I could have challenged them to take out all the steps that have a name
given by the genre or challenged them to do something with their movement that they had never
done before. The movement still looked beautiful because they are wonderful performers but for
the sake of the goal of the project to create choreography and enhance it with film I would have
liked to see more creative options in their movement. Finally, we reached the filming portion of
the unit. All my students were excited for this moment to actually apply all the knowledge they
had learned and had been creating. First, I asked them to write out their camera angles that they
would be using and the formation they would have on their scene by scene paper. This was to
allow the person who was filming their project to have their concept in their head before they
tried to film it for them. They had a few trial runs each before they shot their final product. One
thing that was a struggle on these days was the lack of supplies for sound. Most of the locations
they picked were not conducive to speakers and ability to hear the music. Some were shot in the
student commons area so it was difficult to hear the music. I wish that I had more resources to
have movable speakers. Groups were creative and figured out ways to have the music playing on
someone elses iphone and lined up the speakers to the filming iphone so it was loud for the
viewer but then the dancers were sometimes not able to hear it. Finding a better way for sound

would be one thing I would rework if I did this unit again. Another way I would rework this unit
would be to assign different partners to each person instead of partners they are already
comfortable working with. It would have maybe broken up circles of friends but also allotted for
more creative work instead of the same things I have been seeing all semester in their
choreography. Overall, this unit was successful and gave opportunities for growth in every
student whether the challenge was creating the choreography or figuring out what angles would
best fit their choreography each student progressed in their dance and film skills. They all now
have a better knowledge of what is capable with dance and film because of the videos that I
showed them of dance and film artists. They also were able to have a hands on experience of
how to create a project from start to finish and collaborate with other students as they move
through the project. It was interesting to hear the students as they watched themselves and see
the work they had accomplished. On one of the filming days my professor came to observe my
teaching and she gave me a few suggestions that would have made this unit better as well. Some
of her suggestions were to have them explore more with the camera angles as the choreography
progressed. That they needed to find different ways to use the camera instead of just front, low,
or high. She also thought it might be interesting to teach them about editing software and how to
edit film on their iphones. I would have had them download and app and teach them how to
place the shots into the program to fit them together in different ways to make more of an artistic
work with the camera instead of just with the choreography. One last thing I would have added to
this lesson plan is finding specific locations and using the surrounding in the location in the film
such as benches, lights, walls etc. They used the location for the setting to their choreography but
not as an element in the dance itself. I am pleased with how this unit turned out and for the film

projects that my students produced. It was meaningful and a fun way to explore new ways to
choreograph in dance.