Search the California Content Standards

Enduring Understanding: Dance literacy includes deep knowledge and perspectives about societal, cultural, historical, and community contexts.
Essential Question(s): How does knowing about societal, cultural, historical and community experiences expand dance literacy?
Process Component(s): Relate

Performance Standard(s):
Select and describe movements in a specific genre or style and explain how the movements relate to the culture, society, historical period, or community from which the dance originated.

Enduring Understanding: As dance is experienced, all personal experiences, knowledge, and contexts are integrated and synthesized to interpret meaning.
Essential Question(s): How does dance deepen our understanding of ourselves, other knowledge, and events around us?
Process Component(s): Synthesize

Performance Standard(s):
a. Relate the main idea or content in a dance to other experiences. Explain how the main idea of a dance is similar to or different from one’s own experiences, relationships, ideas or perspectives. b. Develop and research a question relating to a topic of study in school using multiple sources of references. Select key aspects about the topic and choreograph movements that communicate the information. Discuss what was learned from creating the dance and describe how the topic might be communicated using another form of expression.

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):
Define and discuss the characteristics that make a dance artistic and apply those characteristics to dances observed or performed in a specific genre, style, or cultural movement practice. Use basic 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):
Relate movements, ideas, and context to decipher meaning in a dance using basic 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. Find patterns of movement in dance works that create a style or theme. b. Demonstrate and explain how dance styles differ within a genre or within a cultural movement practice.

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. Consider how to establish a formal performance space from an informal setting (e.g., gymnasium or grassy area). b. Identify, explore, and experiment with a variety of production elements to heighten the artistic intent and audience experience.

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. Demonstrate technical dance skills (e.g., alignment, coordination, balance, core support) and movement characteristics when replicating and recalling patterns and sequences of locomotor and non-locomotor movements. b. Execute techniques that extend movement range, build strength, and develop endurance. Explain the relationship between execution of technique, safe body-use, and healthful nutrition. c. Coordinate phrases and timing with other dancers by cueing off each other and responding to stimuli cues (e.g., music, text, or lighting). Reflect on feedback from others to inform personal dance performance goals.

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. Make static and dynamic shapes with positive and negative space. Perform three-dimensional movement sequences alone and with others, establishing relationships with intentionality and focus. b. Dance to a variety of rhythms generated from internal and external sources. Perform movement phrases that show the ability to respond to changes in time. c. Analyze and refine phrases by incorporating a greater range of energy and dynamic changes to heighten the effect of their intent.

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. Integrate static and dynamic shapes as well as floor and air pathways into dance sequences. Establish relationships with other dancers with intentionality and focus. Convert inward focus to outward focus. b. Respond in movement to even and uneven rhythm in both metric and kinesthetic phrasing. Recognize and respond to tempo changes as they occur in dance and music. c. Contrast bound and free flowing movements. Initiate movements from a variety of points of the body. Analyze the relationship between initiation and energy.

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. Recall and execute a series of dance phrases using technical dance skills (e.g., alignment, coordination, balance, core support, clarity of movement). b. Demonstrate safe body-use practices during technical exercises and movement combinations. Discuss how these practices, along with healthful eating habits, promote strength, flexibility, endurance and injury prevention. c. Collaborate with peer ensemble members to repeat sequences, synchronize actions, and refine spatial relationships to improve performance quality. Apply feedback from others to establish personal performance goals.