~ building community through dance and movement ~
Project: Vibrant Rainforest
A Creative Dance Initiative
Designed for elementary grade students
12 distinct Creative Dance lessons
18 hours of interactive experiential explorations
6 creative arts guides to expand the curriculum
4 homework outlines for connecting with community
PROJECT: VIBRANT RAINFOREST
Students explore the vibrant life and ever-changing environment of a tropical rainforest through creative dance experiences, incorporating national arts standards and integrating language arts and science standards. The framework for this curriculum includes 12 lesson plans, encompassing 18 hours of movement experience, and culminating in a final presentation. The curriculum can be coordinated, enhanced and extended in the classroom with language arts, science, creative writing, and visual arts activities.
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Creative Dance
The creative dance experiences in this curriculum are rooted in the movement philosophies of Rudolph Laban, utilizing Laban Movement Elements. Working within this distinctive movement technique allows students to expand their individual movement vocabulary and broaden their perspective for experiencing and viewing dance.
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Building Community through Dance
Creative dance experiences are important to the growth of children, creatively, artistically, physically. The study of the rainforest is the inspirational focus for our creative dance explorations. Children grow creatively through movement experiences, engaging the body-brain connectivity. They develop self-awareness and increase self-confidence through utilizing problem-solving and decision-making skills presented throughout this curriculum. Threading together the study of the rainforest and the exploration of creative dance, students develop a stronger insight for the fragile environment of the rainforest, diversity in our own communities, and for ourselves, as unique individuals who can each make a difference in the world.
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Bring PROJECT: VIBRANT RAINFOREST to your school
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Flexible options include:
~ In School residency (long and short term)
~ In School assembly
~ After school enrichment
~ Professional development - Teacher Training
The Dance Lab provides all the materials to successfully achieve your goals for sharing PROJECT: VIBRANT RAINFOREST
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The Mission:
The mission of PROJECT: VIBRANT RAINFOREST is to expose students to the world of a tropical rainforest through experiential learning, to teach them about other cultures, other environments, and to inform them about the importance of taking care of the world around us and taking pride in our diverse world.
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The content shared within this curriculum will include: plant life, animal life, human life, weather, and the fragile balance of this environment. Students will gain a stronger understanding of the importance of the rainforest as well as exposure to the value of the arts, particularly, dance, within our lives.
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Experiencing this rich material through creative dance provides students with a full body-mind-spirit approach to learning and discovery.
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Sample lesson themes:
Plant Life: THE STRANGLER FIG
Twist, Reach, Grow
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Animal Life: BIRDS
Fly, Perch, Soar
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Weather: RAIN
Drip, Jump, Spiral
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Creative Arts Standards
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Creating
Explore ~ Plan ~ Revise
Performing
Express ~ Embody ~ Present
Responding
Analyze ~ Interpret ~ Critique
Connecting
Synthesize ~ Relate
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Let's talk ...
Tell us your name, email address, school or organization name, your preferred option, phone number, and all questions and details to help us get PROJECT: VIBRANT RAINFOREST to your students.
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