Variations on "March"
I like the idea of playing with the "march" in March. Children enjoy the relation of the words, and for classes that began in the Fall, the month of March is a good time to revisit this familiar movement with new variations -- particularly those exploring spatial design, and direction.
Some ideas:
1. Marching with changes of tempo, whether gradual or sudden.
2. Marching in different directions: sideways in one direction and then
another, backwards, turning.
3. Marching in floor patterns that delineate shapes in long lines, as if
they were drawn on the floor: squares, rectangles, diamonds, Z's,
X-boxes (diagonal-across, diagonal-across).
4. For more complex possibilities, have folded cards with numbers on
them set around the perimeter of the room. Give students "combinations"
of numbers to travel to to create various shapes or patterns. (You might
give them in "secret" and challenge other students to name the numbers
or imitate the pattern each turn, or for a challenge, sing or notate
pitch patterns as a way of determining numbers -- or even letter-names
or solfege syllables written on the cards.)
5. Have students march in a floor pattern of their own design for others
to imitate.
6. Combine floor patterns with changes of direction (for example, march
in a square without changing the orientation of head, shoulders and
hips).
7. Keep feet still, but find other ways to "march" -- knees alone,
elbows, head, shoulders, etc... Let children discover their own ways and
show them.
8. Divide the class into pairs for marching across the room together,
with one moving forward and the other backward (upon signal, they switch
roles by changing direction); this could also involve two lines of
people facing each other. Add more interest by having the
forward-marching and backward-marching roles take on two contrasting
levels (forward high, back low, for example), upper body/arm postures,
visual focuses, vocal sounds (high vs. low pitches or melodic phrases,
or perhaps marching cats vs. dogs for little ones with head voices and
chest voices) or even dramatic affect (fear vs. aggression, for
example).
9. Have partners face each other and march sideways across the room;
upon signal, they turn away from each other and continue marching in the
same direction (= a different crossing foot) and upon the next signal,
they turn to face each other again. The goal is to measure space and
time equally on both sides, right and left, so that when they turn
around, they're directly face-to-face again, rather than being ahead or
behind their partner. (Be sure to reverse this exercise.)
10. Have partners, groups, or individuals create marching patterns for a
given number of beats to create a phrase. It could involve any of the
elements explored as above: changes of direction, spatial orientation,
body parts, partner ideas, etc. Then play a composed or improvised
march, and have each pair, group or person move their phrase in turn to
create a form.
(You might even have them teach each other, to create longer phrases,
which can involve interesting problem-solving in spatial design. If
you're concerned about time, break it up: pair individuals, combine
pairs, or merge groups so they all learn a longer phrase; then even if
you don't end up with the whole class knowing the whole "piece," they've
each shared something they helped to create, learned ideas from their
classmates, memorized a larger structure, designed it in space, and
performed it!)
Exercises that
combine a number of seemingly-simple skills and concepts allow
individual children to develop and reinforce just what they need. One
may benefit from repeated locomotive movement of a steady beat; another
may develop the ability to watch others and perceive their movement;
another may find a challenge in memorizing patterns; another may make
connections between linear design in space, shapes, and numbers, etc...
And beyond all of these, students of all ages grow from the experience
of creating and sharing ideas with others, taking a role in a group
project, and finding joy in even the simplest ways of moving with music.
The piece is in simple meter, with binary trochaic rhythms within its subdivisions. So if you tried this with a compound-meter jig, for example, the even "step-hops" would need to be treated as uneven "long-short" trochaic skips.
This is the first time I've tried to notate a dance phrase for others to interpret (I have lots of notebooks of my own peculiar stick figures, abbreviations and rhythmic notation), so please do let me know whether my attempts at clarity have been successful or not! (I haven't included arm or other upper body movements here, except for one "throw" near the end -- but ask me and I'll provide those details as well!)
For ease of interpretation, I've conceived of the piece in two beats per measure. (It's a traditional piece, and probably could be written in different ways -- I'm going on what I hear in the music.) Each of the horizontally-divided rectangles in the chart represents one measure: the first beat in the upper half, and the second beat in the lower half. So the top is "1," the bottom is "2." The rhythmic notation for the movement of each measure is written beneath. Mind you, it's fast! (More explanations will follow.)
Disclaimer: If you try this or any other physical activities from MusiKinesis, you do so at your own risk! The author assumes no responsibility for any results, injuries (or embarrassment) to teachers, students or others caused by following these directions. (I hate to say that, but my sister is a lawyer and I've been well-advised!)
Explanations:
This was designed for a "turned-out" position (legs rotated outward from the hip).
"L" is left, and "R" is right. (You knew that.)
"Plie" refers to a bent standing leg. (Yes I know it needs an accent mark. So do "fouette" and "passe" and "chasse.")
"Rond-de-jambe" in this case (a terre) has a pointed foot describing part of a circle on the floor, with the leg straight -- with the leg's rotation from the hip.
"4th position" has one foot in front of the other -- in this phrase, it's like a "lunge" with the front leg bent.
"2nd position" has feet at least hip-width apart (wider in this case).
"Facing" directions, or directions on lines of movement, are separate from directions in relation to the body itself (in other words, if you're facing the "back wall" and you brush your leg "forward," you're brushing it toward the back wall).
I describe diagonal directions like parts of an "X" -- there's a right half and a left half, a "front" (top) half and a "back" (lower) half. (Dancers: the "top" or "front is downstage, the "lower" or "back" is upstage.)
A "hop" or "step-hop" has two parts: a lift from the floor (whether from a standing leg with the other leg "brushing" or swinging, or with a step followed with the other leg brushing/swinging) and a landing. It's like a rhythmically-even skip.
"Fouette" involves shifting your facing position, rotating an extended leg in the hip socket. In this case, a leg extended to the back becomes extended to the front when you switch your body's position in the air during the hop.
"Demi-pointe" just means you're "on tiptoe."
"Chasse" is a sliding step that leaves the ground (like a gallop in which one foot meets the other in the air) -- in this phrase, it's sideward, so it starts and lands in 2nd position plie.
If you have questions or want arm/upper body
movements, email me.
Finer Points:
If all of that made sense, here are details to consider (especially if
you want to use this in teaching).
The idea of this simple phrase involves changes of energy and direction.
In particular, it combines sustained movement (the first two measures),
step-hop elements inherent in Irish dance (3rd, 5th, and 6th measures)
and little moments of "suspension" (the end of the turn in measure 4,
and the "throw" in measure 7). Two key technical spots: arresting
momentum in measure 7 to move sideways rather than forward (which will
be the inclination), and the shift of weight from the "throw" in measure
7 to the other leg in an aligned, balanced passe.
Want more ideas?
Visit the "Try This" Archive!