Mrs. Jenkins' Class Visit 4: I'll Eat You Up, I Love You So!

One of my all time favorite creative dance lessons is based off of a favorite childhood book, "Where the Wild Things Are." by Maurice Sendak. I'd taught this lesson quite a few times while a member of BYU's outreach dance company Kinnect, so I was excited to share this with Mrs. Jenkins class. This book has such good imagery ranging from trees with swinging vines growing in Max's room and a tumbling ocean, to wild things with terribly sharp claws. It's such a perfect book for a dance lesson!

The lesson focuses on teaching students the difference between sharp and smooth. While reading the book, I ask the students to identify different things they see in the pictures that are smooth and sharp. When dancing I use these qualitative terms to guide their movements. I say things such as "can you grow smoothly?" or while they are showing me their terrible claws I ask them to use their whole bodies to show me their best sharp shape.

Using books to create dance lessons are my favorite because not only does it provide great imagery and vocabulary, but it also challenges the students creatively. How can they dance out the book without pantomiming the story? How can they use their entire body to express the story? It's a great way to challenge the student's to think abstractly and artistically.

http://www.muddyingthewaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/where-the-wild-things-are-2.jpeg