1/21/2026 - Week 2 / Meeting 3: The Body: Animal Movement

 

 

 Unit: The Body

Theme: Animal Movement

 

I

Introduction

Humans have always imitated animal movement in dance. Early human societies embodied animal characteristics and behaviors in a symbolic way to empower themselves. Currently, dancers research animal movement in a studio by interpreting the movement qualities of different animals as an aesthetic response. Today, we will see several examples of how this can be done.

II 

Learning Objectives

 

• Understand the connection to animal behavior through movement
  
• Explain the creative process involved in the study of animal movement
  
• Gain awareness of the complexities of animal movement when embodying them as a dance
  
• Experience the abstraction of animal movement by creating a dance improvisation
  
• Reflect on the creative process at the end of the process
  

 

III

Warm Up

Stretching

IV

Main Lesson

 

Videos

1

Heron Dance

 

 

2

3

Deer Dance

 

 

4

I. Watch the Above videos

Activity 1

 

Discuss with your group your reflection on these videos.

Write a statement in which you reflect on the value of observing animal behavior for the purpose of creating dance improvisation.

 

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V

 

Open the links and read. 

 

 LINK:

Dance Appreciation by Julie Dawn Loring 

 

Question 1

 

Which dances are the closest cousins of primal dances? Why?

 

 

 

LINK:

Spirit Moves: The Art of Simone Forti

(Paragraph 8) 

 

Question2

In which way are Simone Forti's ideas useful when embracing dance improvisation?

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VI

  

Activity 2

• Choose an animal of your preference
• 
  
• Observe its movements through videos & poses through pictures
• 
  
• Begin to pay attention to each part of the animal's body
• 
  
• Extend your own movement capacities
• 
  
• incorporate the animal's forms of locomotion
• 
  
• Strive to move non-stylistically
• 
  
• Challenge your upright human body by adopting the animal's movement
• 
  
• Explore your capacity to express abstract animal movement

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VII

Based on you exploration:

Create an eight moves (or more) phrase; find music for it; record it and post it on Discussion Board.

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VIII

Write a brief reflection on your process.

 

 

 

IX

 

Glossary

 

 X

Students' Work 

 

 

Noah Yi

 

 

Reflecting on the value of observing animal movement for dance improvisation:

Observing animal movement offers dancers a window into forms of expression that exist outside the habits of the human body. When we watch a heron's stillness before striking, or a deer's sudden explosive shift of weight, we see movement that is entirely purposeful and free of self consciousness. For dancers, it allows us to forget choreographed tendencies and discover improvisation from scratch. 

Closest Cousins of Primal Dances: 

Folk and Ritual dances are the closest cousins of primal dances. These dances descend from older tree-worshipping and weapon dances that were forms of religious worship. They share the same communal origins as primal dances and were passed down through generations to connect communities together through shared movement and most likely making them the closest relatives of primal dances. 

Simone Forti's Ideas and Dance Improvisation: 

Forti's ideas are useful for dance improvisation because she treats animal observation as a gateway to authentic and instinctual movement. She took importance in understanding her own movement by studying movement in other species. This gives improvisers a source of inspiration, using an animal's physical logic as a template for spontaneous exploration. Forti described the everyday acts of animals as playful, nervy, or unremarkable. Forti's idea reinstills that improvisation includes authentic movement that already exists in nature and that we should observe it.