1/26/2026 - Week 3 / Meeting 4: Narrative / ICE Riots

 

Unit: Narrative

Theme: ICE Riots

 

I

Introduction

Every semester the Improvisation class chooses a significant social event to create an improv dance. Spring 2026 has had already an abundant array of events that can inform the creative dancer. Today we will address the situation in Minneapolis with the ICE riots as a piece of narrative. Bellow you will see the elements of plot while the link shows the narrative arc.

II 

Learning Objectives

 

• Understand the connection between narrative and movement
  
• Explain the creative process involved in dancing using the ICE situation
  
• Gain awareness of the use of movement when embodying a narrative
  
• Experience ensemble movement when creating a dance improvisation
  
• Reflect on the creative process at the end of the process
  

 

III

Warm Up 

 Stretching

 

 IV

 

Main Lesson

 1

 

Narrative in Dance Improvisation

 

Read the Link:

Improvisation in Dance 

Question 1

What is the meaning of extemporization and how does the concept apply to dance?

 

Question 2

Why is improvisation important to the arts?

 

 

2

 

 
  ELEMENTS OF A PLOT

• Exposition/introduction.
•  
•  Conflict
•  
• Rising action.
•  
• Climax/turning point.
•  
• Falling action.
•  
• Resolution/denouement.

 

Question 3

Explain the meaning of each one of the elements of a plot. 

 

 

3

PLOT ARC

 

 

LINK: Plot Structure & Plot Diagram 

Question:.

Match every element of the plot with the events that gave rise to the situation in Afghanistan. 

4

 

ACTIVITY

 

a) Students are grouped randomly to use the plot line to create a six movement's improvisation about the ICE situation. They share their movements with the rest of the class.

b) Students go back to their original groups and bring to their groups the movements they explored with their random groups. They add their moves to their previous choreographs. They share their moves with the rest of the class.

c) The music piece shown below serves as accompaniment for the groups. Attention is brought to Merce Cunningham and his concept of "chance."

 

 

 

Music for final dance

 

 

 5

Article About Improvisation

Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art 

The Flute

Stephen Nachmanovitch

 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Free_Play/7Vmcy7yMFKIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cook+Up+A+Dance:+Art,+Music+and+Dance+Improvisation&printsec=frontcover

Nachmanovitch, Stephens (1991). The Flute. Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art. Penguin Publishing Group

------------------------------

V

 

A Note to Remember

 

 Improvisation overthrows the hierarchical practices as it endorses open forms.

 

VI 

 

Case Study 

Read the Article / Link: 

What is ICE and what powers do its agents have to use force?

 

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp80ljjd5rwo

 

 

VII

 

Activity 

CREATING A SCORE: Beginning, Middle & End

Based on the movement you create for each one of the elements of the situation in the Mexico/USA border, create a score; which is a drawing of the main movements that represent the dance. Divide it in three parts: beginning, middle and end.

 

VIII

 

Glossary

 

extemporization: compose, perform, or produce something such as music or a speech without preparation; improvise.

 

 IX

 

Sources

 

Improvisation in Dance. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. https://www.jstor.org/stable/432097

Garcia, Uriel, J. (2024). In Eagle Pass, a tense border standoff between Texas and the federal government is reaching a crescendo. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/22/texas-border-patrol-immigration-enforcement-eagle-pass-park/

What is ICE and what powers do its agents have to use force?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp80ljjd5rwo

 

 X

 

Students' Work

 

Record and Post your work on Discussion Board

 

 Academic

 

 

Gabriele Pernigotti Nehme

1. Extemporization in dance is spontaneous movement, created without prior planning, allowing for real-time expression. 

2. Improvisation is important in the arts as it encourages creativity, freedom, and authentic connection with the audience.

3. Plot elements:

- Exposition/Introduction: Introduces characters and setting.

- Conflict: The central problem or challenge.

- Rising action: Events leading up to the climax.

- Climax/Turning Point: The story's peak moment.

- Falling action: Events after the climax, moving towards resolution.

- Resolution/Denouement: The conflict is resolved, and loose ends are tied up.

 

Gigi Mangieri

1. Extemporization in dance is when you improv based on your body's response to music without choreography. It allows dancers to feel creative and express movement that may be out of the box for them. It practices awareness and expression without relying on a set routine.

2. Improv is important to the arts because it is a source of creativity for dancers. Allowing them to express themselves through visual movement. It is a very authentic form of art due to its lack of preset choreography. 

3.

Exposition/introduction- explains the beginning of the story

Conflict Rising action- the problem or dissruption of the story

Climax/turning point- the build-up of the problem, builds momentum 

Falling action- most dramatic moment, shows the effects of what happened

Resolution/denouement- shows the scene is complete and the solution

Ensembles / Narrative

Fire in the Palisades: Beginning, Middle, Solution