Teacher: Jennifer Landa
School:  Ridgewood High School
Location: Ridgewood, NJ
Grade: 9-12
Subject: Dance
Lesson: Limited Physicality Study

One Semester Course – PEARLS Project Unit

1. Limited Physicality Study
2. Poem Study
3. Portrait Study
4. Solo Portrait Study
5. Group Piece

Objective:

• Students will be exposed to handicapped dance
• Students will be able to create movement using limited physicality
• Students will be able to create a short dance study using limited movement vocabulary
• Students will be able to recognize the beauty and power in dance with limited physical capability

Duration: 4 Class periods

Materials: Music, Props as necessary, Mirror, Video

Procedure:
Intro

• Students are exposed to the idea of handicapped dance
• Students view video of different handicapped dance – dancers in wheelchairs, dancers with missing limbs, dancers who are deaf, etc.
• Students reflect on what they have seen

Body

• Students create movement with limited physicality
• Students create a movement vocabulary within a physical limitation
• Students are paired up to create a duet using their limitation and vocabulary
• Students perform duets

Finish

• Students and teacher give feedback on performance of duets.
• Students reflect on the beauty of this type of dance and what it means to have a physical handicap.

Student Outcomes/Assessment: By the end of the lesson the students will have created a duet study using limited physicality. They will be able to create choreography for students with limited physical ability and they will be able to use a limited movement vocabulary to create dance. They will be assessed through verbal and written feedback, both self-assessed and teacher assessed.