Performing Arts

Look what is happening in Performing Arts 

Term 3 and the start of Term 4 has been all things dance and melodic percussion. Year 1s to year 6s have been playing the xylophones, marimbas and metalaphones. They have been learning to carefully set up and pack up the instruments, use the correct technique to hold the mallets and play in time with the class. The older year levels are being challenged by beginning to have multiple parts of the music played at the same time, which has been harder than they expected. The main aim of this unit is to learn a song to play the accompaniment for dancing. 

The Foundation to Year 2s have been learning some popular dances and exploring moving to music in different ways. A particular highlight has been moving with scarves to the song “Blowing in the Wind” by Stefanie Leavell, (you can find it on Music for Kiddos on YouTube if you want to try it at home, it is such a soothing song and a beautiful voice to listen to). The Year 1s and 2s have also been learning to play the song Bow Wow Wow on melodic percussion and learning the challenging circle dance to go with the music.

The Year 3-5s have been introduced to the Charleston as both an individual and partner dance. The students at first found the footwork challenging, but with some practice, they are much more confident to do the basic steps. Once they have mastered the basics, students have been adding “pizzazz” by adding hand actions or turns and considering and changing elements such as direction, space and relationships. They have been so excited to share their creative ideas and perform their movement sequences to the class, even asking “can we do it next week?” so they have more opportunities to practice and perform. 

The next challenge for these students in the next few weeks is to dance the Charleston in time to the music being played by students on the xylophones and marimbas. Wish us luck!