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  • 2:09 PM - Pre-Colonial Era

    Upon examining the class materials and being familiar with the waltz and its social impact, it is easy to understand how this particular new music form created such a stir during its time. A common thread in all of these discussions (to varying degrees) is this idea of new music being divided in terms of its initial acceptance. There will always be resistance to change by some as well as an embracing by others. This theme permeates all of society. Like they say on KLEF, “...and remember, ‘at one point, all music was new.’”

  • As we were learning about music during the Baroque time period, I was thinking about the early development of Quakerism and some of the religious movements at the time. I was struck by the stark contrast of the garish costuming of the nobility with the principles of simplicity adopted by these religious movements.

    I would like to do some further consideration of how the elaborate costuming and social attitudes of the time influenced the perspectives and attitudes of the early colonists. 

  • Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses!  Several great points were raised as well -- SEL connections, disparity of class within the Renaissance/Baroque eras, shocking nature of the waltz in the time period.  Thank you for sharing lots of dynamic ways to share this era with your students.

    We will try to fit in the Yakima Welcome Dance tomorrow!

    ~Elizabeth

  • I think this class is great!  I love this history portion and the dance and music is an added bonus.  If history is a story picture of the past, the dance and music add color, beauty, feeling, sound and bring life to the story.  I like the minuet because it is easy to learn and there is no touching.  It would be a good introduction into dance for young people.  The Waltz was very fun but more time consuming to teach.   The use of music and dance is a wonderful way to enhance any social studies lesson.

  • The waltz is an important skill for an actor.  I have taught movement for many summers in a children's theatre on Cape Cod.  I am excited about making correct period matches between plays/plots/stories used for workshop acting and the music of the time.

    The gathering of a variety of waltz tempos is important.  I will ck. I tunes and googlestrauss.

  • I wonder what the not-so-fancy people danced and listened to during the Baroque time period.  If you didn’t have fancy finery to show off, were your music and dance experiences still limited to the church?

    I was uncomfortable diving into partner dancing right off the bat.  A minuet might have been more my speed this morning.  I was not prepared for such proximity.  I think that in order to do this kind of dance with my kiddos, it would need to be preceded with lots of ice-breakers and de-inhibitizers.  In addition to explicitly instructing students that everyone must dance and you can’t say no if you’re asked, I think it would also be important to help students think through how to support each other while they’re dancing.  It really is a team-building activity, since your successfulness depends not just upon you but also your partner. 

    I think that the Yakima Welcome Dance would be a great one to start with.  It seems like it would be a community-building activity and be a safe way to introduce dance into the classroom.  I wish I could see what it looks like.

  •      What a fun and exciting era of music and dance for our students to learn about.  The idea of showing off during this time in history will really resonate with middle school students.  

         I have always loved the natural connection between music/dance and history.  What a great way to enhance the choral learning experience for my students.  The waltz is very usable in my classroom.  While working on any song with a waltz meter students can learn about the roots of that form as well as the life and times of famous composers from that era and what life would have been like for the average person.  Learning the dance would provide lots of fun and laughter for the students.  Great team building.

  • Reflection #2 (pre-colonial era):         Wish we could’ve spent more time on Native/Alaskan Native music.  It’s so important when we teach in AK that we relate/teach about the indigenous population. I’m glad it was mentioned.

    It was a great idea on how to get boys to lead and girls to follow. I like it because it takes the focus off of dancing with a girl and places the focus on doing their job well by leading. Identifying leading as a "job" instead of "dancing with a girl" appeals to many boys. I would've liked the music to be a little louder. It was difficult to find the strong beat.

    I like the transition between line dance and Waltz to the four corner dance. The explanation behind the transition from English to Colonial dance was very interesting. Square room vs. round, I totally didn’t know that. The most difficult part of teaching line dancing is teaching your students to move down and make room. I wish this were addressed as I think many teachers will be frustrated, as I was, when students just don’t move down. UGH! Also, it would be nice to know ahead of time that dance music usually repeats the pattern in groups of four. So there’s 4 sections of 8 beats in the A section and 3 sections of 8 beats in the B section and the AB for is repeated four times so we know when the music stops. It was a fun dance with a weird transition in the middle of Willow Tree Reel. 

  • I can definitely use some of this in my music classroom.  I thought Stephanie had some great insights on how to teach boys to lead!  I have encountered this many times, and it gave me some great ideas.  The waltz is a great dance to teach beat and musicality. 

  • It was helpful to review the Renaissance & Baroque eras to get in to  the time mindset. The background gave me more meaning of what the social and musical expressions  were for the minuet and waltz.

    The waltzing was wonderful and fun.  I love the idea of introducing the Waltz in "modern" music for students so they hear the 1 2 3  1 2 3.  It's a marvelous way to hook them into history, music,
    and dance.

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