Acclimatizing Familiar Principles: Teaching Folk Dance Kodály-Style
By Bonnie S. Jacobi
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This article originated as a presentation at the 2008 OAKE Conference in Denver, Colorado. Bonnie Jacobi is Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education at Southern Methodist University and taught elementary music in Klein ISD in Spring, Texas. She is a KET member and holds over thirty years of classical dance training.
As Kodály music teachers, we are extremely structured in our approach of teaching musical concepts through folk song and game literature. One of our signatures is the high standards we set for the students we instruct. By adapting (or “acclimatizing”) some of the very same principles advocated by Zoltán Kodály, we can help our students be more successful in their folk dance experience.
Kodály believed that song and movement were to be united.1 While movement may be either choreographed or non-choreographed, dance has much in common with music in that it is typically choreographed and it has structure or form. It requires technique, and has an aesthetic quality. Like music, it is beautiful. Dance is expressive, reflective of a culture or time period, and evocative of character. Commonly set to music, dance, and folk dance in particular, is a natural and enjoyable component of the classroom music curriculum that can serve to reinforce many of the music concepts we teach.
It is unfortunate that only one-fifth of the elementary schools in the United States offer dance instruction. Out of this one-fifth, classroom teachers deliver the dance instruction in forty-one percent of the schools. Only twenty percent of elementary schools hire outside dance teachers and only fifteen percent rely on artists-in-residence to teach dance.2 This leads to an important point: we as music teachers make up a substantial portion of the forty-one percent of classroom teachers who are teaching dance to children. Despite the fact that some of us have never had dance training, are not necessarily trained in how to teach dance, and do not hold dance certification, we must aim to provide the best instruction possible for the benefit of our students. Enter Zoltan Kodály’s philosophy and approach to education.
Following are some of the key Kodály teaching principles that can be helpful in teaching dance:
1. Beautiful, “tuneful” singing
2. Selecting material according to appropriateness of content
3. Breaking down instruction into ordered, teachable steps
4. Prepare, Present, Practice
5. Make a smooth transition within the lesson, and from lesson to lesson
6. Authenticity and preservation
Priniciple #1: Beautiful, “tuneful” singing
In teaching music, we strive for our students to sing “tunefully.” “Tuneful” denotes singing that is joyful, audible, in tune, and expressive. From an early age, we demonstrate “tuneful” singing for our students. Similar to music, dance has specific criteria that can be used to denote whether the student is dancing correctly and beautifully. “Tuneful” dancing may be said to include:
· Moving gracefully with poised, controlled movement, smooth from one step to the next
· Erect posture or “placement” that includes a level chin, tall neck, shoulders dropped down and relaxed, and a long straight spine
· Use of the full body as a goal, with inclusion of the head and upper body and not just the legs
· Joyful expression
We must devote time to explain to students that they must “carry themselves” differently when they are dancing than when they are simply going from place A to place B (i.e. walking from P.E. to the Cafeteria or walking from store to store in a shopping mall). We can compare this to the need to use our voices differently when we sing than when we speak to someone.
Principle #2: Selecting material according to appropriateness of content
There are three important steps we must take in order to select the appropriate type, length, and level of folk dance for our music students. First we must diagnose where our students are at: 1) physically, 2) musically, 3) socially, and 4) mentally. Even if we are teaching four sections of second grade classes, it is likely there will be variations between where each of these classes are at. Second, we must carefully identify the challenges in the folk dance prior to selection. Third, we must set the students up for success by selecting only the folk dances that we know they’ll be able to do and do well. This means we have to be willing to discard or postpone certain dances that are too long or too complicated and in some cases, teach fewer dances than we may have planned.
In dance, children face several unique challenges. Some of these include:
· Moving through space
· Use of direction other than front (i.e. sideways, backwards, diagonal)
· Changes of direction, especially quick changes
o Traveling in a group
o Traveling with partner
o Turning by self
· Stopping momentum
· Turning
o Individually
o With a partner
· Right vs. left (i.e use of foot, arm, hand)
· Balance
· Fine locomotor skills (movement of feet, toes, hands, fingers)
· Social challenges (i.e. selecting a partner, dancing with a partner)
Musically, there are also some unique challenges that children face while dancing. For example, it is not always easy for them to move to the beat of the music, never mind perform the steps of the dance to the tempo of the music. Another challenge they face is remembering what step is next in the sequence while the music continues playing. Lastly, children often have trouble recovering from a missed step while the music (and class) continues.
Principle #3: Breaking down instruction into ordered, teachable steps
Part of our initial preparation for teaching folk dance should be determining the form of the dance. Most folk dances are strikingly similar in form to musical compositions with either binary, ternary, or rondo forms. Each part of the form (i.e. “A” or “B”) can then be divided into smaller segments in which several steps are linked together. Take “Rural Felicity” (from Sashay the Donut, New England Dancing Masters)4 as an example, which is written in Binary Form.
Example: A1 = Forward and back, top couple sashay down
A2 = Forward and back, top couple sashay back
B1 = Dosido partner, two-hand turn partner
B2 = All make arch, head couple pass through
We can then select which steps need to be introduced and taught first based on the level of challenge they present to students. It is important to build student understanding through gradual steps over several class sessions. To our students, learning a whole folk dance at one time would be as tiresome as listening to an entire symphony or opera!
Principle #4: Prepare/Present/Practice
There are many ways we can prepare folk dance concepts but we should choose the type and length of preparation based on the students. Following is a list of possible ways to successfully prepare folk dance concepts:
· Demonstrate for the students (teacher models “tuneful” dancing)
· Introduce and try out steps without using music. Call out the steps or count.
· Teach the steps and sequences at a slower tempo than the music. Anticipate which steps will be difficult at the tempo of the music and begin them slowly.
· Teach turning steps in a straight line first, without turning. Face the students and mirror the steps for them. If mirroring is difficult, you can have the students watch and follow you from behind, although it is always better to be able to see your students for behavior management purposes.
o Examples
a) Two-hand turn. This step requires students to turn and can be practiced in place. Have the students walk the appropriate number of counts with arms extended.
b) Circle to the left. Circle to the right. Although some classes may be accustomed to working in a circle, young students can benefit from learning this step in a straight line so they can experience the directions of right and left without a turn before trying it in a circle.
· Anticipate change of direction or change of place with a 1 or 2 count pause. You can build this pause in by ending the previous step 1 or 2 counts early.
o Example: 8-count walk to left, 8-count walk to right. It is easier for students to walk 7 counts to the left and do a “touch” with the ball of the foot on count 8, so they have sufficient time to anticipate the change of direction and adjust their balance.
· Teach partner steps without a partner at first. Have the students work with an imaginary partner. Then allow them to watch you demonstrate with a partner before they work with a partner.
o Examples:
a) Two-hand turn. Because the two-hand turn involves walking while turning with partner, students can benefit from initially learning this step while walking the appropriate number of counts in place with arms extended (to an imaginary partner).
b) Sashay. This is a difficult step (essentially a sideways gallop) so it is helpful to provide students the opportunity to try it out solo in a straight line before adding the partner. If the students already know how to gallop, you can have them gallop first and then explain the sashay as a sideways gallop. Always demonstrate first. Once students can do the sideways gallop in a straight line, invite them to extend their arms, as if holding hands with an imaginary partner.
· Use vocal inflection to regularly emphasize the anacrusis (“AND one”) as preparation for the downbeat. Students can be asked to “wiggle” the foot they will use first. Eventually, they will begin to associate the “AND” with the foot that is in the air, with “one” being their first step.
· Use visual aids. Examples might include a list, a drawing of the dance formations on the board or on a poster, or a chart linking 2 or 3 steps together or depicting the complete form of the dance.
When presenting the steps, it is helpful to present only one step at a time. To present the step, follow the demonstration of the step by announcing its name and showing its spelling on the board. On the following class date, give your students a simple assessment:
1) Can they recall the movement when you announce the name of the step?
2) Can they recall the name of the step after you perform the movement?
When you see that students have mastered this recall of steps, plan to link two steps together on the next class date to create a segment. For example, in “Rural Felicity,” dosido and two-hand turn need to be linked to form a segment of the B section. Allow the students sufficient time to learn the sequence (i.e. which step comes first, which steps comes after it?). Quiz them at the next class and create another new segment. On another class date, link the segments together to make a complete section of the Form (i.e. the entire B section) and finally link parts of the Form to create the dance.
The “practice” part of the Kodály approach is inherently somewhat different in dance than it is in music because the experience of dance is kinesthetic. In a sense, it is necessary that students “practice” the dance step from the very beginning of the learning process. Practice begins just as soon as students see the steps demonstrated. However, Kodály’s educational approach5 inspires several creative ways we can continue to reinforce student learning of dance steps using different contexts. For example:
· Inner Hearing – can you do the whole “A” section without the music playing? Can you do the whole dance standing in place with your eyes closed?
· Memory – can you do part of the dance without the teacher’s help? All of the dance?
· Improvisation – how could we change the Form of the dance? What if we wanted to change just one step and replace it with another one we know?
· Part Work – Split the class into two groups. Do a folk dance “canon” of the “A” section with the teacher calling out the counts (no music).
· Listening – [essentially “watching”] Have students watch a DVD or internet clip of professional folk dancers in performance. What do you see? Are they doing any of the same steps as in our dance? How is their dancing like yours? How is it different?
Principle #5: Smooth transitions
Within the Lesson: As we integrate folk dance instruction into our music curriculum, the transition between the music and the dancing must be smooth. For example, if we begin the class with music, we must give consideration to how we progress into and out of the folk dance part of the lesson. Early in the lesson, we need to make sure that:
1) the children are given an opportunity to move
2) the children are given the opportunity to work together as a group
Also within each lesson, it is helpful to try to coordinate elements of the dance as much as possible with music concepts the children are learning. In the lower grades, for example, elements such as steady beat, duple meter, same/different, fast/slow, musical phrase, and even rhythms can serve as links between the dancing and music parts of the lesson. In the upper grades, you might tie together elements such as dotted rhythms, upbeats, fermatas, or changing meter in order to move from the music to the dance or vice versa. By avoiding dances that use triple meter*, assymetrical meter, uneven rhythms/syncopation, triplet rhythms, hemiola, and music containing unlearned pitch material, we can unify the dance and music concepts being taught and ensure greater confidence and success among our students. Even though we may choose to expose our students to some of these concepts musically, particularly in a listening context, these concepts are too difficult to “move” successfully in a complete dance context.
From Lesson to Lesson: The same strategy of “prepare, present, practice” that we use in our music teaching also works well in teaching dance. It is critical for us to decide which dance steps should be prepared first and which dance steps are particularly challenging and will need more extensive preparation.
A strong teacher knows his/her students well. If we watch our students carefully in class, we will be able to detect their “readiness” to begin dancing steps when called by name and linking steps into segments, etc. Too frequently, we overestimate how much the class can learn in one class period, and also how much time is necessary to reinforce the order of steps we have linked into segments. The “musician” in us tends to want to put the steps to music before the students are actually ready (particularly given the fact that many folk dance tempos are quick). It is helpful to keep the Gestalt theory in mind when teaching dance: the students must understand how smaller steps and segments combine to form the whole Form.
From Unit to Unit: In selecting a folk dance for one of your grade levels, consider selecting two instead. When the children have successfully learned one folk dance, follow it with another similar one containing several of the same steps the children already know. If you can introduce even one new step in your instruction, it does not matter if the dance is not more challenging as a whole. The transition will be smooth, the children will learn this second dance more quickly, and most importantly, they will look and feel confident and successful.
Principle #6: Authenticity and preservation
Folk dances are of the people; they are traditional. Passed down from one generation to another, most are not even written down. For these dances to remain a tradition, it is necessary that we teach them. Learning a folk dance can be an interdisciplinary experience if we also teach our students about the people, cultures, and traditions from which the dance originated. Kodály believed that music, and choir in particular, could be an instrumental force in creating a united society.6 Folk dance also has this potential in that it not only connects generations but also creates an interactive bond between students in the classroom. Whereas many times we instruct our students to “find” or “choose” a partner, Peter Amidon, of New England Dance Masters, suggests we coach our students to politely “invite” a partner to dance with them, to explain the special nature of an invitation to them, and to teach them the importance of gracefully accepting an invitation from a peer.7 Certainly, these are all skills our students will put to use later in life.
Kodály devoted many years of his life to collecting, notating, and preserving folk songs in their most original, authentic state. If folk dances, like folk songs, are to be considered part of a heritage, we should teach and perform them correctly and authentically, as close to their original format as possible. This is not always easy when the very fact that we are teaching them to children means they must be simple enough for children to learn. In her article “Folk Dancing for Young Children,” Francis Wardle emphasizes the importance of instilling a love for dance as our main goal and she gives the example of modifying the right or left-handed swing into a two-handed swing for the purpose of simplification.7 However, we do need to be cognizant of the point at which the integrity of the dance, as it has traditionally been performed, becomes sacrificed and we might as well be choreographing a new dance.
If we are as selective about choosing folk dances for our students as we are about selecting song literature, then there should rarely be a need to adapt choreography. By being more discriminative in our selection of folk dance repertoire, we can help our students be successful in what they are doing at the same time we are maintaining the integrity of the dances. In doing so, we will continue to be distinguished by our work as “Kodály teachers.”
Notes
1. Erzsébet Szőnyi, Kodály’s Principles in Practice: An Approach to Music Education through the Kodály Method, London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1973.
2. Anne Dunkin, “Gliding Glissade Not Grand Jeté: Elementary Classroom Teachers Teaching Dance,” Arts Education Policy Review, Vol.105, No.3, 2004.
3. Sashay the Donut: Even More Dances for Just About Anyone, New England Dancing Masters Productions (Brattleboro, Vermont, 2007).
4. Ann Eisen and Lamar Robertson, An American Methodology, (Lake Charles, LA: Sneaky Snake Publications, 2002).
5. Klara Nemes, (Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary). Guest lecture at McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA, June 29, 2008.
6. Peter Amidon, (New England Dancing Masters). Kodály Educators of Texas Workshop in Plano, TX, January 26, 2008.
7. Francis Wardle, “Folk Dancing for Young Children,” www.earlychildhoodnews.com.