A Tale of Two Villages 

Materials:   

Tale of Two Villages, Music for Creative Dance: Contrast and Continuum, Volume 1, Eric Chapelle

Objectives: 

• Locomotor vs. Non-Locomotor Movement
• Expression of Beat
• Binary Form (AB)
• Improvisation 

Process: 

• Students scatter in space, encourage various ways of moving a singular body part; move arm only, or leg, or head, etc., teacher plays drum for 8 beats as students move.
• Say, “Let’s try it a different way; if you moved standing up, try it sitting or bending knees, or laying down”.  Change levels, add shapes (triangle, circle), and expressive movements (slither, sway, melt, bend, etc.), non-locomotor only.
• Introduce temple blocks (or a different instrument), students respond with locomotor movement as teacher plays for 8 beats.
• Discuss words to describe movement, discuss the activity; lead to discovery/labeling of same/different as “A” and “B” sections of music.
• In small groups or as a whole class, brainstorm a list of creative movement, both locomotor and non-locomotor.
• A Section:  Non-locomotor movement
• B Section:  Locomotor movement  

Extension Activity with Ribbon Wands and Unpitched Percussion.   

• Divide class; half with ribbon wands, half with hand drums.
• Ribbon wands will watch as teacher changes shape cards below on A section (mbira/kalimba playing on recording).
• UPP players will improvise on B section (drums on recording).
• Perform, then switch jobs. 

Click here to download and print this set of movement cards.

Title Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle