Feel The Beat

Monday, 13 March - to Friday, 24 March, 2023

Mentors- Ms. Yaavi Khanna & Ms. Ruby Gandhar

Mentees- Pradyumna Minhas, Riddhisha Joshi, Nyra Bora, Sadhika Gandhi, Nida Raheja, Aarna Rana, Arihaan Choudhry, Aadira Reddy, Nirukt Sharma, Pearl Arora and Kavin Arora

Central Idea- Diversity of cultures can be expressed through performing arts

Lines of Inquiry

Dance and music in different cultures (form)
How dance and music express cultures (connection)
Preservation of dance and music in cultures (responsibility)

Activity-1

Provocation to the central idea was done through an audio visual in which we watched elements of culture. We did a prior knowledge assessment using the VTR (Visual thinking routine)- SEE THINK WONDER, where we interpreted our understanding of different elements of culture.

Activity 2

We worked in groups and chose one culture/ country. We researched the dance and music along with the other elements of the chosen culture/ country. We shared our understanding with our peers.

Activity 3

Ashish sir was invited as a guest speaker and he gave us an understanding of different forms of music. He also told us about the difference between traditional and folk music. He also introduced us to different genres of music and associated them with various cultures.

The second guest speaker was Vaishak sir, MYP dance facilitator. He shared how we can express ourselves through dance. He connected dance as a medium to narrate stories and express various feelings and ideas.

Activity 4-

As a home task we were given some guiding research questions to explore various cultures and their related dance and music forms and we presented the same to our peers. We also researched the props used in the various dance forms. Later, we created the various props with the help of our art facilitator.

Activity 5

We were tuned into 2nd line of inquiry through warrior dance of 3 different cultures/countries. We observed their expression, costumes, props, music etc to understand how dance and music express cultures.

We continued our work and researched about the dances & genres of music of different countries. We used the OPV strategy (origin, purpose and values) to reflect on our understanding.

We also watched an Indian folktale. We learned that facial expressions, emotions and hand gestures are important for dance and telling stories. We learned some hand movements such as a tiger, snake, deer, bow and arrow.

Activity 6

We attended a guest speaker session on dance therapy wherein we understood how movement and dance can help us express different emotions. We played some fun games and understood non verbal form of communication to convey feeling like jealously, happiness and disgust. We later wrote a reflection on the session.

Activity 7

Through a think pair square strategy, we chose one dance form and genre of music and researched about its form, origin, purpose and value in pairs. Then we squared up with another partner and used a Venn diagram to find out similarities and difference between the chosen cultures.

Activity 8

We attempted a Formative assessment on the 1st and 2nd line of inquiry- wherein we chose a culture and wrote about its dance form and music genre and shared our understanding with our peers.

Activity 9- Provocation to the 3rd line of inquiry was done through a discussion wherein we brainstormed why it is important to preserve our cultures and listed ways in which we could take the necessary actions at the personal, local and global levels. We also researched about some famous artist and their contribution to cultures and genres of music. We read some autobiographies and understood how promoting various local artists can help preserve different cultures.

Activity 10- We delved deeper into the 2nd LOI How dance and music express culture. We wrote a reflection about how different cultures come together through dance and music. We also found out how different perspectives connect dance and music to cultures. Some of the common points that came across were :

human heritage
beliefs and values
perspectives
diversity
empathy

Activity 11- To assess our understanding of the 3rd LOI preservation of dance and music in cultures, we wrote poems to preserve dance and music in different cultures

Throughout the week we practised our dance, music and skit performances in the auditorium. We learnt to work in sync with others. We learnt to manage the space on the stadge and also learnt to module our voices for an effective presentation. We worked on our panel displays and practised writing the script which we will speak to explain them.

During the process, we also enhanced our presentation, communication and speaking skills. We are extremely excited to show our learning journey to our parents and peers.

Showcase

We performed a skit to understand each person's perception is limited by their experiences and perspectives, and only by combining those perspectives we have a more complete understanding of reality. We expressed ourselves through dance performances. We composed a beautiful harmony and sang to express ourselves through it.

All our research work was complied and exhibited on panels. We confidently exhibited our findings with parents, and students of Grade 4 DPSI and Prometheus School, Noida.

Skit

Warrior Dance

Fan dance

Cheraw dance

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