The weather here has been all over the place. 30 degree temperature shifts in a single day. 25 degrees one day and 60 the next.
With the unpredictability we’ve been having here it seemed like the perfect time to share a movement activity that explores the 4 “traditional” seasons and introduces the concept of LEVEL.
In dance, the movement concept of Level refers to height: high, middle, low.
In this activity, dancers explore LEVEL along with the seasons of the year. You’ll notice that the movements for Winter and Summer are very similar. Also, the dancers experience the levels for Winter, Spring, and Summer in SELF SPACE and the levels of Fall in GENERAL SPACE. That makes the format of this activity an ABAC choreographic structure: A (Winter/Summer), B (Spring), C (Fall). Not sure what any of that means? No worries. The activity below is written so that if you read it aloud, it will tell you and anyone you’re dancing with exactly what to do.
Seasons of Level
Song Suggestion: The Flying Suite by Rene Aubry (Room on the Broom)
Winter - Snowman melting
It’s winter and there is snow all around. Turn your body into a snowman. Make the lowest and biggest snowball with your legs (you can let dancers envision this on their own OR dancers can stand in second position with feet wide apart and knees bent). Make the middle snowball with your arms and belly (you can let dancers envision this on their own OR dancers can round their arms to the side with fingers/hands on their hips). The highest snowball is your head. Take a breath and feel the sun warm your body. Oh no! The sun is making you too warm. The snow on the top of your head starts to melt. Drip, drip, drip. Your head melts down to your middle level, by your belly and arms. Now it’s so warm that the snow of your belly and arms starts to melt down to a low level, by your legs and feet. Oh no! It’s getting too hot for even your biggest, lowest snowball to stay snow and it melts to the lowest level - the ground. Now you are a puddle on the ground.
Transition: Staying on a low level, splash in your snowman puddle. Then roll away to a new spot in the room. It’s time for Spring.
Spring - Seed to Flower
Get down on a low level on the floor and curl your body into a tiny seed. The outside of your seed is hard and strong - a protective shell. The inside of your seed is soft and ready to grow. Imagine the dirt like a gentle hug all around you. Imagine the rain pitter-pattering on you, giving you the water you need to grow. And now the sun comes out and you are ready to begin. Poke your head out of the seed. Wiggle your spine as you soak up the warmth of the sun. Now stretch your arms up toward the sun. Your body is now on a middle level. Grow even taller by standing up, letting your legs become strong roots, anchored into the ground to keep you steady. When you’ve grown as high as you can, your flower is ready to bloom. Use your arms and chest to open into a big, wide blossom. Feel the breeze gently rocking your upper body back and forth as your lower body stays rooted to the earth. Look around and see the other flowers in the room.
Transition: Take your flower for a high level dance around the room. Leap, jump, reach, and sway. Shake off all your petals. Find a new spot in the room. It’s time for summer.
Summer: Ice Cream Cone melting
Turn your body into an ice cream cone. With your lower body, bring your toes close together and stay balanced on the tippy point of the bottom of your ice cream cone (more advanced students can balance on tiptoes here for extra on-balance practice). Now make a big round scoop of ice cream up with your upper body, arms stretching high above your head. At first, your ice cream stays where it is, but then the sun comes out from behind the clouds and it is HOT! Your ice cream arms melt down to the middle level by your sides. Soon your head melts too. Now everything is melting, melting, melting, smoothly moving lower and lower until you are a puddle of ice cream on the floor.
Transition: The ice cream is sticky. Pull your body parts away from the low level floor and toward the middle level. Pull up your arms, your knees, your belly. Unstick your legs, your back, your fingers. Unstick your feet and do a sticky walk to a new spot. It’s time for Fall.
Fall - Falling Leaves
Stand tall and use your body to create the shape of a leaf hanging on a tree branch way up high. Does your leaf have smooth edges? Rough? Is your leaf pointy or curvy? What color is your leaf? In a moment the wind is going to come and blow you off the tree. Ready? *WHOOSH* The air is pushing you through the sky. As you travel through the room, through general space, you start to sink lower and lower in the sky. The wind sends you forwards and backwards, but all the time you are floating down, down, down until you settle onto the ground.
Which season is your favorite to dance? Is it the same as your favorite season to experience? Let me know in the comments below and share any other ideas for Seasonal LEVEL dances!
Happy Dancing!