Dancer - Fun Activities - Leisure and Entertainment

Leisure and Entertainment - DANCER

#Boysdancetoo

Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

Philosophy
Teacher - you can make this activity into a Community of Inquiry - click here for the process.

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. As a small group of 4 - 5 students, listen to the following interview of Richard Fidler with David McAllister on the 5 November 2019 [50 minutes]

When David McAllister was a little boy growing up in Perth he would tuck tea towels into his undies and dance around in front of the TV.

He watched his own reflection, as he twirled, and leapt around the lounge room.

At 7, David went to his first ballet class at a suburban scout hall, and loved it right away.

But doing ballet was a kind of social death for a boy, in the 1970s in Western Australia.

David says the torment he went through at school helped to spur him on to become one of the best dancers of his generation.

After winning at place at the Australian Ballet School, he joined the Australian Ballet company in 1983.

One artistic director told him his nose was all wrong and he would never be cast as a prince, but he eventually danced many principal roles.

David was named as the Artistic Director in 2001, and he's been the longest-serving director of any in the Australian Ballet.

Next year [2020] he will retire after 37 years with the company.

2. Describe the prejudices faced by David at school and later in life.

3. What did David do [his strategies] to overcome these prejudices and comments from others? Could these strategies be helpful to someone facing the same prejudices today? Why? Why not? Give reasons.

4. In your group, read the following article from The Conversation 29 August 2019 Reading

5. List the steps that people have taken to encourage boys in the West to dance. Do you think they are effective?

6. Why do you think males in Japan are celebrated for their dancing?

7. Discussion

Discussion

Will the #boysdancetoo be effective in changing our culture's attitude to male dancers? What else can be done?

Websites, Games & Apps

Researching Dances

Primary Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Intercultural Understanding

- LEARN A DANCE

Research and learn a type of dance, i.e. Irish Jig, Box Step

- MULITCULTURALISM: research dances from different countries

a. Africa

b. Europe

c. South American

- FESTIVALS: research dance competitions and festivals

a. So You Think You Can Dance

b. Australian Dance Festival

After you have research each of these 3 sections, present an overview of what you have learnt using Prezi.

Triple Step Stomp with video (Years 6 - 12)

Primary Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Gives instructions on how to perform this dance.

Dancing in 3's with video (Years 5 - 8)

Middle

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

(Source: PE Central - there are 150+ dances here)