Dance
Grade 3: Dance
• Body: body actions, body shapes, locomotor movements (e.g., running, galloping, crawling), non-locomotor movements (e.g., lifting, pulling, marching, waving arms), body bases (e.g., seat as base), use of body zones (e.g., body areas of front and back)
• Space: levels, pathways, directions, size of movement
• Time: freeze, tempo (e.g., slow, sustained, fast)
• Energy: force (e.g., lightness/strength), effort (e.g., pressing, gliding), quality (e.g., smoothly, cautiously, erratically, percussively)
• Relationship: (e.g., interconnected shapes)
"What's the Waggle Dance? And Why Do Honey Bees Do It?" Smithsonian Channel Video
Waggle Dance
Let’s get moving and wiggling our bodies just like the honeybees do!
Honeybees have an interesting dance called the waggle dance that they do to communicate with other honey bees. One bee dances while others watch, the dancing bee is communicating to the other bees where to find a new flower patch.
Start off by watching the video and have a close look at a dancing honeybee.
Now it's your turn to find a space and try it out!
Start by wiggling your body like the honeybee in a straight line. Don't worry, it might take some practice. Pretend your arms are wings and practice waving your arms and wiggling your body.
Next, turn and walk around in a half circle and then follow back onto the same straight line. (Try to imagine a line on the ground)
Now turn your body in the other direction as if you were creating another half circle, walk around it and return again doing your waggle dance up the straight line.
Try it slowly and then try it fast.
Can you create a language or message of your own with your dancing?
How did that feel? Was that easy or difficult?