Chapter 4

Y15+

60-90 minutes

For the instruments, participants should use everything they find in the nature, but you should also prepare some wooden sticks, sand, paper cups, etc.

This activity should be implemented in parks, woods, fields, mountain picks, wherever suitable for you.

Using their creativity, participants will come up with a new melodies and dancing moves.

Carefully decide about the location for the learning session. Knowing the capacities and preferences of your group should help you decide if it will happen in public space or in not so public open space.

• Start the activity with energizer- Everyone should present their favorite dancing move. Other participants should try to repeat them.
• Open the discussion with participants about the dance and what does it mean to people. Share some historical facts about dancing and traditional dances.
• Divide participants in several groups.
• Participants should get a task to improvise the musical instruments out of natural materials around them. This is the moment when they have to try to prepare their melody for the dance. After they found their sound, they should exercise a bit.
• In next round their task is to come up with new dancing moves and choreography.
• After the presentation of all dances, the whole group should decide which one will be the one that everybody will learn and perform. It can be a combination of several offered choreographies and a musical mix made out of all melodies composed.
• After the end of activity decide if this choreography will be performed at some event and which will it be.
• Start the debriefing part of the session.

Make sure that everyone feels comfortable with the task. If there are participants who are not willing to participate in the dance, they should have a role within the orchestra. Groups should have minimum 8 participants for the effectiveness of choreography and for the reason some of them should be in the orchestra.

Did everyone feel they were able to contribute? How did the groups make the best use of individual talents of their members?

Was it hard to design new dance moves?

Was it easy to make use of the nature products for making the instruments?

How did you decide who will dance and who will be in the orchestra? Was everyone able to take part?

Which moves did people like the most?