Three dance sessions inspired by extraordinary buildings and landscapes from around the world.
Wonders of the world
The first dance session visits Asia, starting at the Great Wall of China, where partners synchronise strong but exhausted building movements before linking up with other pairs to create their own class wall. Then the content moves on to northern India where the serene beauty and symmetry of the Taj Mahal are recreated in controlled group shapes and balances, ending in an evocation of Indian folk-dance.
The second session explores themes from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome. The dark, mysterious passages of the Great Pyramid of Giza are explored between group sequences inspired by hieroglyphs and stylised Egyptian wall paintings. Then the massive circular form of the Colosseum in Rome provides a setting for partners to perform a carefully choreographed, slow-motion combat sequence inspired by the gladiatorial games.
The final session crosses the Atlantic further west to the mountains of Peru where, at the mysterious Machu Picchu, we reconstruct an Inca astronomical Temple of the Sun and follow a folk-dance trail to the summit of Huaynu Picchu. Finally, our westward journey continues to the coast of Australia where we explore steps and pathways influenced by Australian aboriginal dances, and create sequences inspired by the natural underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef.
This is a journey of the imagination, so it will be valuable to provide classroom and research opportunities for children to see images of the six settings (before using each session if possible) and to discover relevant evidence for themselves - using books, video and the internet. Finding out about the cultural, historical and environmental backgrounds for each location will add greatly to the rich mix and quality of movement.
Resources
Download / print guidance on using the dance sessions in this unit (pdf)
Other units of KS2 Dance Workshop
Extreme sports. collection
Time to get physical with dance sequences inspired kayaking, rock climbing, snowboarding and sky-diving.
In the gym. collection
Two dance sessions focusing on personal health and fitness inspired by a gym workout.
South American Carnival. collection
Three sessions exploring the samba rhythms and steps of the Rio Carnival.
