
Session 1 · CREATE: Exhibit
Dress rehearsal
- 8 minWarm-up and focus exercise: stand in stillness for 30 seconds, eyes up, breathing low.
- 15 minPlan the show together: running order, who introduces each piece, where dancers wait, entrances and exits, who runs the lights and music.
- 10 minWrite and practise your 30-second spoken introduction: what the dance is about and what to look for.
- 22 minDress rehearsal in the performance space. Run each group once in full, with music, costume and props, as if the audience were there.
- 5 minCool-down. Last notes: one thing to keep, one thing to remember.
Session 2 · CREATE: Exhibit
Performance and reflection
- 10 minWarm-up backstage and a whole-class focus circle.
- 25 minPerformance: each group gives its introduction and performs. Audience members fill in a response card: 'The dance made me think of… The moment I remember most is…'.
- 15 minReflection: read the response cards. Did the audience read the idea as you intended? What would you change? Write a short choreographer's reflection in your score.
- 5 minThank the audience and any community visitors properly (manaakitanga).
Getting started
Use the introduction frame: 'Our dance is called… It is about… Watch for…'.
Stretch
Film the performance (with consent) and add it, with your programme note, to a shared class page or a partner-school exchange.
Checkpoint
The group performs the whole dance with focus, gives a clear introduction, and each dancer writes a reflection that links audience responses to choreographic choices.
Useful this week
- Development and resources ↗ How New Zealand supports artists and dance makers to share their work.
- The Arts in Year 8 ↗ What whānau can expect their child to learn in the performing arts.