Lesson Plans

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Overview

Afro-Brazilian dance class is movement based, staged through stretching, exercise, dance, and self-defense training. We start class training movements in staggered line formations and positions. During class we may also play percussion instruments and sing in the call and response tradition. In the second half of class we make a circle to perform in it the movements we trained during the first part of class. Students perform the folkloric expressive arts of Capoeira - the dance /self-defense from Brazil, Maculele - the warrior stick dance, and Samba.

Our goal is to create the most time playing annenjoyable and stimulating combination of improvazational and technique-based game activity. Our goal is to perform therapy on short attention span, hyper and hypo activity issues. Leadership in the circle work to maintain a safe and accepting environment of physical, emotional, and creative exploration. We use discussions of the experiences to chaperone learners to education through their own free play.

The following movement art activities require clean and consistent floor surfaces as leaners have to put their hands on the floor to perform a lot of the movements. A space with good acoustics and minimum sound interference is important as well. Learners should be properly dressed for physical activity.

Objectives and Outcomes

Objectives

  • To learn to sing traditional songs, acquire skills in percussion instruments, games of Capoeira and Maculele according to folkloric traditions and improvisation.

  • To learn about geographical and social changes in earth history.

  • To engage in activities which build a sense of community and inter-dependency of mutual respect, consideration and compromise.

Outcomes in the mastery of personal skills:

  • dancing, playing musical instruments and singing.

  • knowing vocabulary and simple sentence structure in a second language.

  • self-express, improvisation and non-verbal communication.

  • Stillness and increased ability to transition.

Outcomes in social behavior skills

  • interest in sharing joy and taking an interests in others.

  • empathy and sensitivity to other’s in their community.

  • ability and desire to initiate play and shared activities.

  • better understanding of communicative nuances such as humor or sarcasm.

  • the ability to follow a leader. and the ability to lead.

Additional skills to get through challenges using:

  • confidence and empowered perspectives

  • focus, consciousness and attention.

  • enhanced situational awareness and decision-making.

  • self-regulation and emotional control.

  • increased eye contact, body posture, and facial expression recognition.

Discussion

  • Define the 3 terms - Focus (is eyes on the speaker) Discipline (is staying on track) Decisions (can make the future better)

Warmups

Body Warm-up with Maculele (The Stick Dance)

  1. Individually perform each step 4 times (march --> left --> cross -> jump--> walk --> turn --> legs)

  2. Freeze in a warrior position when the drums give the signal to stop

  3. With a partner perform a game, at drum signal change partners

  4. As a Group perform ("Snake" --> form a circle --> exit--> enterance --> form lines )

Circle Improve (Warm-up Community Spirit)

  1. Begin with listening to silence, Ohm together

  2. Name game, Rymthlic verbal improve -color, food, emotions, stories, messages etc...

  3. Each time we make it around the circle we ring the bell.

Singing

Call and response singing

1 Sing together in chorus and take turns improvising a lead

Combining Movement & Singing

The Artist Mediation:"the zero" (stillness with the breath) "the one" (grounding and proactive) "the 2" distraction la la e

  • What is the first number? the first number is zero, When we (living being) do nothing we still have to do one thing, we have to breathe”. Practice visualization exercise: Breath in and smell the Flowers, breathe out and Blow out the candles.

  • Being proactive: to advance from zero we must be proactive. We sing the yes no song to create conscious initiative and momentum towards living a proactive life. Song chorus: oh yes yes yes, oh no no no

  • The number one is our grounding number. Movement: grounding exercises: In the ready position, balance hands on the ground, elephant walk, crab walk. Grounding is concentrating on the centralization of being.

  • When we are properly grounded, distractions bend but won’t break. distraction song: la la e. We we are grounded,distractions cannot dislodge us. Their energy can pass through and around us without moving us from our chosen stance.

Interaction with the waves

  1. Two is the number of movement, back and forth like the waves. It is a rhythmic back and forth. It is a linear interaction yet can be expanded into every direction

  2. Song: When the wave comes in: the water will rise When the wave goes out the water goes down, and we dance with the waves

Percussion playing

  1. Clapping and breaks

  2. Answering calls to start and stop

  3. Poly-rhythms combining drums, clappers, bells and shakers

Samba Dance

  • hips 2 feet 3 dance with joy

Visual Arts and Crafts

Performances Pages

  • Each student will receive a character sheet for self-evaluations and self-defining

Making Shakers

  • with Plastic water bottles and popcorn kernels