Embodied Connections

Curriculum Alignment

Subject: Drama
Curriculum Area: The Arts – Drama
Curriculum Level: Level 7 (typically Year 12)
Focus: Mana Wahine through Physical Theatre and Contact Improvisation
NCEA Alignment:
AS91700 – Devise and perform a drama to realise an intention.
AS91601 – Demonstrate understanding of a drama or theatre form or period.
Key Competencies: Thinking, Participating and Contributing, Relating to Others
Values: Diversity, Equity, Community, Respect

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Unit Context

This unit uses the concept of Mana Wahine as a central theme, explored through contact improvisation and movement-based devising. Students will explore the power, presence, and strength of wāhine through physical storytelling, using their bodies as communicative tools. The approach centres whanaungatanga, kotahitanga, and collaborative creation, allowing young people to embody narratives and challenge traditional representations of women in performance.

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Lesson Duration

Duration: 60 Minutes
Class Size: 25 students
Lesson Focus: Exploring interpersonal connection and trust through contact improvisation grounded in Mana Wahine narratives.

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Learning Intention

Ākonga will:

• Embody and explore the concept of Mana Wahine through movement.
• Develop confidence and trust using contact improvisation techniques.
• Begin devising ideas for character and scene development using physicality.

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Demonstrate physical listening and shared weight techniques in a short partnered contact improvisation sequence.
• Verbally express how Mana Wahine can be made visible through body and space.
• Reflect on the impact of improvisation on building ensemble trust and perspective.

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Materials Required

• Large open space or theatre
• Sound system
• Floor cushions or mats (optional)
• Soft instrumental/kaitiaki-inspired music
• Printed whakataukī: “E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū.” — A celebration of different voices
• Butcher paper and vivid pens

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Lesson Breakdown

🔶 1. Whakawhanaungatanga + Karakia (5 mins)

Welcome, brief karakia, and settling. Set the intention for tapu space.
Prompt: "Today we explore what it means to hold space with and for each other. Let’s move with respect and care."

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🔶 2. Physical Warm-Up: Whakatika Tinana (10 mins)

Focus: Awareness, connection, release tension
Activities:

• Gentle stretching and breath synchronisation
• Walk the space in silence, changing pace and direction
• Gradually introduce eye contact, then shoulder touch, then palm to palm
• Guided mirroring: in pairs, mirror each other’s movements fluidly

Teacher kōrero: “Think about sharing energy with your partner. Listen with your body.”

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🔶 3. Introduction to Contact Improvisation (10 mins)

Mini-Workshop: Using partner exercises to build safety and confidence

• Weight-sharing: Lean-back seated partner balances
• Sharing centre: Walking with hand-to-hand pressure, silent communication
• “Giving and receiving weight” in slow motion transitions (floor to standing)

Vocabulary: Centre of gravity, shared weight, momentum, lift, counterbalance

Reflection Prompt (standing circle):
“How did it feel to trust someone with your weight?”
“What surprised you about your body in the partnership?”

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🔶 4. Mana Wahine Movement Exploration (15 mins)

Watch/conduct short discussion of 1–2 whakataukī or pūrākau about wāhine toa (e.g. Hineahuone, Papatūānuku, or Te Puea Hērangi).

Task: Students form groups of 3–5. Prompted by the pūrākau, create 30-second movement sequences that:

• Represent strength, resilience, nurturing, or resistance.
• Use physical contact (e.g. lifts, shared balances, gestures of support).

Music played to support creative flow.
Teacher role: Circulate to observe and provoke deeper exploration – “What does Mana Wahine ‘feel like’ in the body? Are you leading with care or dominance?”

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🔶 5. Sharing and Reflecting (15 mins)

Each group performs their sequence.

Feedback protocols (based on whanaungatanga and ako):

• Positive first: What resonated or felt true?
• Question: Where could the story go next?
• Suggestion: What might incorporate more depth or tension?

Group Reflection (Butcher Paper Activity): Each group responds to these prompts:

• Our Mana Wahine story is about __________.
• Our bodies felt __________.
• Contact taught us __________.

Stick reflections on the wall for ongoing documentation.

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Homework / Extension

Write a journal entry reflecting on today’s experience:

• What did Mana Wahine look like, sound like, and feel like in movement?
• How did your understanding of your body in space develop today?
• Which female characters in story, mythology, or real life do you connect with Mana Wahine, and why?

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Teacher Notes & Differentiation

• Offer mat support for students with mobility differences
• Consider using Māori vocabulary where relevant and appropriate (tuakana/teina roles for buddying)
• For students less confident with touching others, allow structured solo movement as parallel participation

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Possible Next Steps in Unit

• Incorporating voice and text
• Researching wāhine Māori leaders to inform devised characters
• Combining movement sequences into a longer narrative with episodic structure
• Introducing theatrical elements (costume, space, lighting) to intensify thematic resonance

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Final Thoughts

This lesson sits at the intersection of physicality and identity, inviting ākonga to embody legacy, challenge assumptions, and build stories that are both ancient and urgently current. It supports the development of confident, connected, and culturally aware performers while affirming the strength and sanctity of wāhine voices.