Relationships Action Dynamics Space R.A.D.S Relationships Action Dynamics Space

Features of DANCE There are 4 basic components of dance: Action – What you do Dynamics – How you do it Space – Where you do it Relationships – With whom

Direction – forward, backwards, diagonal, sideways ACTION Jump Travel Turn Gesture Fall Stillness SPACE Level – high, mid, low Direction – forward, backwards, diagonal, sideways Floor patterns DYNAMICS Time + force= dynamics Fast Soft Slow Direct Firm Jerky Smooth Forceful Strong Continuous Graceful Sudden Sharp RELATIONSHIPS Canon Unison Mirroring Group work Complimenting Contrasting Duet Question and answer

Relationships This has several meanings, it can be: The dancers – how many, grouping, formations. The relationships between dancer and dancer, dancer to the music, dancer to the prop, dancer to the space etc How the dancers communicate with each other e.g. the choreographic devices such as canon, unison, question and answer, mirroring, complimentary, contrasting, symmetrical and asymmetrical, following and leading, call and response etc. Find out the meaning of each of the above and write a detailed description with examples.

Action There are 6 main actions of dance: Jump, Turn, Travel, Stillness, Fall and Gesture. All other dance actions come within the above categories e.g. spin, roll, rotate are all turning actions. How many action words can you think of? Now put them under the correct heading of: Jump, Turn, Travel, Stillness, Fall or Gesture.

Dynamics HOW the dancer is moving When we are familiar with ‘WHAT’ the dancer is doing (the action), we must focus on HOW the body performs the action. Dynamics is another way of saying ‘movement quality’. It describes the amount of energy required to perform a movement. Time and force are combined in a variety of ways to produce different movement qualities. TIME + FORCE = DYNAMICS Some qualities are easily identified and have specific names given by the famous dancer and choreographer Rudulf Laban: Percussive = sudden and quick Swing = starts and finishes with an impulse Sustain = continuous and ongoing Suspend = a sense of falling Shake = short burst of energy Collapse = giving in to gravity

Space This can mean the space used by the dancers for each action. Level – high, low and mid Direction – forward, backward, side to side, up, down, in, out, diagonally etc. Air and floor patterns – circular, zig-zag, linear, diagonal, free/random. Dimensions – door plane = height and width, table plane = width and depth and wheel plane = height and depth Personal space – imagine yourself in you own bubble – as far as you can reach high and wide is your personal space General space al the space outside of your personal space. Stage space described as upstage and down stage or more specifically: DSR, DCS, DSL, CSR, CS, CSL, USR, UCS, USL

Now individually write an analysis of the dance. Watch Still Life at a Penguin Café by David Bintley - Texan Kangaroo Rat dance and or Questions and answers section 1 in Swansong by Christopher Bruce. In pairs analyse the dance in terms of Relationships, Action, Dynamics and Space (RADS). Use the word cards and pro forma to help you. Discuss ideas with another pair and report ideas back to the whole class. Now individually write an analysis of the dance.