Search the California Content Standards

Enduring Understanding: Criteria for evaluating dance vary across genres, styles, and cultures
Essential Question(s): What criteria are used to evaluate dance?
Process Component(s): Critique

Performance Standard(s):
Use artistic criteria to determine what makes an effective performance. Consider content, context, genre, style, or cultural movement practice to comprehend artistic expression. Use genre-specific dance terminology.

Enduring Understanding: Dance is interpreted by considering intent, meaning, and artistic expression as communicated through the use of the body, elements of dance, dance technique, dance structure, and context.
Essential Question(s): How is dance interpreted?
Process Component(s): Interpret

Performance Standard(s):
Select a dance and explain how artistic expression is achieved through relationships among the elements of dance, use of body, dance technique, dance structure, and context. Cite evidence in the dance to support your interpretation using genre-specific dance terminology.

Enduring Understanding: Dance is perceived and analyzed to comprehend its meaning.
Essential Question(s): How is a dance understood?
Process Component(s): Analyze

Performance Standard(s):
a. Describe, demonstrate and discuss patterns of movement and their relationships in dance in context of artistic intent. b. Explain how the elements of dance are used in a variety of genres, styles, or cultural movement practices to communicate intent. Use genre-specific dance terminology.

Enduring Understanding: Dance performance is an interaction between performer, production elements, and audience that heightens and amplifies artistic expression.
Essential Question(s): How does a dancer heighten artistry in a public performance?
Process Component(s): Present

Performance Standard(s):
a. Demonstrate leadership qualities (e.g. commitment, dependability, responsibility, and cooperation) when preparing for performances. Use performance etiquette and performance practices during class, rehearsal and performance. After the performance, accept notes from choreographer and apply corrections to future performances. Document efforts and create a plan for ongoing improvements. b. Collaborate to design and execute production elements that would intensify and heighten the artistic intent of a dance performed on a stage, in a different venue, or for different audiences. Explain reasons for choices using production terminology.

Enduring Understanding: Dancers use the mind-body connection and develop the body as an instrument for artistry and artistic expression.
Essential Question(s): What must a dancer do to prepare the mind and body for artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Embody

Performance Standard(s):
a. Embody technical dance skills (e.g., functional alignment, coordination, balance, core support, clarity of movement, weight shifts, flexibility/range of motion) to replicate, recall, and execute spatial designs and musical or rhythmical dance phrases. b. Evaluate personal healthful practices in dance activities and everyday life including nutrition and injury prevention. Discuss choices made, the effects experienced, and methods for improvement. c. Collaborate with peers to discover strategies for achieving performance accuracy, clarity, and expressiveness. Articulate personal performance goals and practice to reach goals. Document personal improvement over time (e.g., journaling, portfolio, or timeline).

Enduring Understanding: Space, time, and energy are basic elements of dance.
Essential Question(s): How do dancers work with space, time and energy to communicate artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Express

Performance Standard(s):
a. Sculpt the body in space and design body shapes in relation to other dancers, objects, and environment. Use focus during complex floor and air patterns and/or pathways. b. Analyze and select metric, kinetic, and breath phrasing and apply appropriately to dance phrases. Perform dance phrases of different lengths that use various timings within the same section. Use different tempi in different body parts at the same time. c. Direct energy and dynamics in such a way that movement is textured. Incorporate energy and dynamics to technique exercises and dance performance. Use energy and dynamics to enhance and project movements.

Enduring Understanding: Space, time, and energy are basic elements of dance.
Essential Question(s): How do dancers work with space, time and energy to communicate artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Express

Performance Standard(s):
a. Develop partner and ensemble skills that enable contrast while maintaining a sense of spatial design and relationship (e.g., through lifts, balance, or other means). Use space intentionally during phrases and through transitions between phrases. Establish and break relationships with others as appropriate to the choreography. b. Use syncopation and accent movements related to different tempi. Take rhythmic cues from different aspects of accompaniment. Integrate breath phrasing with metric and kinesthetic phrasing. c. Connect energy and dynamics to movements by applying them in and through all parts of the body. Develop total body awareness so that movement phrases demonstrate variances of energy and dynamics.

Enduring Understanding: Space, time, and energy are basic elements of dance.
Essential Question(s): How do dancers work with space, time and energy to communicate artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Express

Performance Standard(s):
a. Dance alone and with others with spatial intention. Expand partner and ensemble skills to greater ranges and skill level. Execute complex floor and air sequences with others while maintaining and breaking relationships through focus and intentionality. b. Perform dance studies and compositions that use time and tempo in unpredictable ways. Use internal rhythms and kinetics as phrasing tools. c. Initiate movement phrases by applying energy and dynamics. Vary energy and dynamics over the length of a phrase. Transition smoothly out of one phrase and into the next phrase, paying close attention to its movement initiation and energy.

Enduring Understanding: Space, time, and energy are basic elements of dance.
Essential Question(s): How do dancers work with space, time and energy to communicate artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Express

Performance Standard(s):
a. Modulate and use the broadest range of movement in space for artistic and expressive clarity. Use inward and outward focus to clarify movement and intent. Establish and break relationships with other dancers and audience as appropriate to the dance. b. Modulate time factors for artistic interest and expressive acuity. Demonstrate time complexity in phrasing with and without musical accompaniment. Use multiple and complex rhythms (e.g., contrapuntal and/or polyrhythmic) at the same time. Work with and against rhythm of accompaniment or sound environments. c. Modulate dynamics to clearly express intent while performing dance phrases and choreography. Perform movement sequences expressively using a broad dynamic range and employ dynamic skills to establish and maintain relationships with other dancers and project to the audience.

Enduring Understanding: Dancers use the mind-body connection and develop the body as an instrument for artistry and artistic expression.
Essential Question(s): What must a dancer do to prepare the mind and body for artistic expression?
Process Component(s): Embody

Performance Standard(s):
a. Embody technical dance skills (e.g., functional alignment, coordination, balance, core support, clarity of movement, weight shifts, flexibility/range of motion) to retain and execute dance choreography. b. Develop a plan for healthful practices in dance activities and everyday life including nutrition and injury prevention. Discuss implementation of the plan and how it supports personal performance goals. c. Collaborate with peers to establish and implement a rehearsal plan to meet performance goals. Use a variety of strategies to analyze and evaluate performances of self and others (e.g., use video recordings of practice to analyze the difference between the way movements look and how they feel to match performance with visual affect). Articulate performance goals and justify reasons for selecting particular practice strategies.