Cultural Rhythms Uncovered

Year 9 Drama – Lesson 1 of 4 in Unit: Jazz Dance Evolution

Lesson Title: Introduction to Jazz Dance: Origins and Influences

Curriculum Area: The Arts – Drama
Level: Level 4, New Zealand Curriculum
Lesson Duration: 30 minutes
Class Size: 5 students
Teacher's Focus: Deep contextual understanding, collaborative discovery, embodied learning

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📚 Learning Intentions

By the end of this session, ākonga (students) will:

• Understand the cultural and historical roots of jazz dance, with specific reference to African American traditions.
• Recognise influential figures in the development of jazz dance.
• Begin to engage in embodied and collaborative exploration using drama-based strategies.
• Make connections between drama and dance as expressive forms used to convey identity and social history.

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🌳 Big Idea Connection (NZC Drama)

Titiro whakamuri, kokiri whakamua –
Drama is influenced by whakapapa and is a way to respond to and share identity, culture, and perspectives.

Jazz dance – and its evolution – serves as a powerful lens through which students can explore cultural identity, socio-political history, and movement as language.

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🧠 Key Competencies

• Thinking: Analysing historical and cultural contexts
• Relating to Others: Collaborating, listening, responding
• Using Language, Symbols, and Texts: Using gesture and physical theatre to communicate meaning
• Managing Self: Taking responsibility during group tasks
• Participating and Contributing: Engaging respectfully with collective tasks and performance

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🗂️ Lesson Overview

Time	Activity	Purpose
5 min	Mihi Whakatau & Warm Up	Ground class in whakawhanaungatanga, warm body and voice
8 min	Intro to Jazz Origins (Storytelling Circle)	Introduce students to cultural roots of jazz through collective narrative
5 min	Gallery Walk (Images & Quotes)	Visual and reflective engagement with key moments/figures
7 min	Embodied Tableau Task	Physicalise understanding through frozen images
3 min	Reflective Circle	Verbal unpacking of key learning
2 min	Exit Tickets	Individual written reflection or question for next time

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🥁 Detailed Lesson Flow

1. Mihi Whakatau & Physical Warm Up (5 mins)

• Begin with a short mihi whakatau to ground in tikanga Māori and create safe space for expression.
• Lead students through a drama-based warm-up called "Pass the Rhythm":
  • One by one, each student introduces a rhythmic body sound (clap, stomp, snap).
  • The rhythm passes in a circle and grows as new beats are added.
  • Connects to the rhythmic roots of jazz and African drumming cultures.

Rationale: Builds trust and cohesion through rhythm, which foreshadows jazz’s pulse.

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2. Storytelling Circle – The Roots of Jazz (8 mins)

• In a seated circle, the teacher tells the evolving story of jazz dance:

  "Once upon a time, long before Broadway lights, there were people in the American South brought forcibly from Africa. They held tight to rhythm, movement, syncopation – their stories danced from plantations to the streets of New Orleans and onto the stages of Harlem..."

• As a story prompt is introduced (syncopation, improvisation, resist-dance), teach students a movement or facial expression to represent it.

Interruption Points:
Periodically, pause and allow students to create quick 3-second embodiment of the story "chapter".

Example Moments:

• Call and response patterns on plantation fields → chant & stomp
• Harlem Renaissance dance halls → expressive arm movement
• Iconic figure (e.g., Katherine Dunham) → students "pose" as her contribution is narrated

Rationale: Combines drama and learning by activating empathy & embodiment. Anchors abstract concepts in kinaesthetic experience.

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3. Gallery Walk – Images & Quotes (5 mins)

• Scatter printed photographs and quotes around the room showing:
  • African tribal dances
  • Lindy Hop, Charleston, The Cakewalk
  • Jazz Icons: Katherine Dunham, Jack Cole, Bob Fosse
• Students walk silently, reading, observing. Use sticky notes to write one word that stands out and place it beside the image/quote.

Teacher Prompt Questions:

• What does this movement 'say'?
• How do clothes, music, setting influence movement?
• What feelings do these images evoke?

Rationale: Develops visual literacy, critical inquiry into history and representation.

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4. Embodied Tableau Task – Then & Now (7 mins)

Set-Up:

• Groups of 2–3 (based on class size), students create two frozen scenes:
  • Scene 1: A snapshot of a jazz dance moment from the origins era (e.g., a street dancer in 1920s Harlem)
  • Scene 2: That historical energy being 'reimagined' in New Zealand today (e.g., integrating hip-hop or kapa haka)

Add a Level 4 Drama Twist: Ask them to add a symbolic gesture to each tableau (e.g., a clenched fist to symbolise fight for freedom, or reaching hand to show legacy).

Feedback Round: Remaining students “read” the image, interpreting symbols.

Rationale: Encourages dramatic inquiry, creative choice-making, and historic empathy aligned to Level 4 understanding.

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5. Reflective Circle (3 mins)

Prompt students with:

• “What is jazz dance really about beyond the moves?”
• “How is culture stored in the body?”

Each student shares one sentence aloud. Encouraged to link to an image, movement, or idea from earlier.

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6. Exit Tickets (2 mins)

As they leave, each student answers one of the following on sticky notes:

• What is one thing that surprised you today?
• Who is one person you want to learn more about from today’s lesson?
• What’s a question you have about jazz dance?

Stick their notes on a designated class “Wall of Wonder”.

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📦 Materials Needed

• Printed images and quotes for Gallery Walk
• Sticky notes and pens
• Small speakers (optional light jazz or African rhythm in background during Gallery Walk/tableaus)
• Clear floor space

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🌿 Culturally Responsive Practice

• Beginning with a mihi whakatau affirms the importance of tikanga and manaakitanga in every lesson.
• Storytelling-based approaches honour oral traditions.
• The content acknowledges African American cultural contributions while also encouraging students to localise jazz history into an Aotearoa New Zealand context.

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🔄 Looking Forward

In Lesson 2, ākonga will delve into movement exploration, using elements of jazz style in performance-based improvisation. They'll begin developing a short group sequence inspired by historical styles transitioning into contemporary forms.

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📎 Assessment for Learning

• Observation of participation in tableau and drama circle
• Depth of insight shared in reflection and exit tickets
• Engagement during Gallery Walk recorded through sticky note observations

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Drama is not only learned from a script, but from stories of the people, the movements they make, and the conditions they live in.
— Inspired by kaupapa Māori principles and international dance history

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