This is an excerpt from Dance
Improvisations: Warm-Ups,
Games and Choreographic Tasks by Justine Reeve.
You can use this improvisation as a warm-up for many of
the improvisations in Dance Improvisations. It is a quick way to
get dancers to work in groups. It gets them moving in the space with an
awareness of where the other dancers are.
1. Ask
the dancers to walk around the room anywhere they want to go. Encourage them to
be creative and careful with the pathway that they are making; they can make
curves and straight lines whilst paying attention to where the other dancers
are so that they do not bump into them.
2. As
they travel, give them a series of commands such as walk, run, gallop, change
direction, travel in a straight line, travel backwards, stop or jog on the
spot.
3. Next,
ask them to form groups of a given number with a given number of body parts
touching the floor for that whole group. For example, groups of 4 dancers have
24 of their body parts in contact with the floor. Once they can achieve this
goal, they can go back to walking around the space as before.
4. Then,
add more commands as they travel. For example, low levels work well for this
task. Also, try having dancers dodge around each other or not let others pass
them by.
5. Again,
give them a number of group members and a number of body parts that they can
have on the floor, making it more challenging each time. For example, have them
try 3 dancers and 2 body parts; then 6 dancers and 3 body parts; then 2 dancers
and 14 body parts. Have them travel on their own between each try.
6. To
add another challenge, require that the number of body parts touch each other.
This time, the more body parts that are involved, the harder it is to succeed.
7. Now,
combine both challenges: The dancers must quickly form groups of a certain
number, have a number or body parts in contact with the floor and a number of
body parts in contact with other dancers. For example, try groups of three with
two body parts on the floor and four body parts touching each other. This
combination is challenging, but eventually dancers come up with an appropriate
answer.
