Understanding Lina Curva

Lesson Overview

Unit: Exploring Lina Curva
Lesson Number: 1 of 4
Year Group: Year 9
Subject: Dance
Duration: 60 minutes
Curriculum Area: GCSE Dance (Key Stage 3, preparing for Key Stage 4) – Understanding Dance Performance and Appreciation

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Understand the background of Lina Curva and its cultural influences
• Identify key themes and artistic intentions behind the choreography
• Begin to articulate personal responses to the work using appropriate dance terminology

Lesson Structure

Starter Activity (10 minutes) – Movement and Discussion Warm-Up

Objective: Engage students physically and mentally with the themes of movement in Lina Curva.

• Begin with an energising movement sequence based on curving pathways to introduce the idea of fluidity and dynamic shifts.
• Ask students to respond with one word about how these movements made them feel.
• Prompt a quick discussion: “How do curved movements feel different from straight, rigid movements?”

Main Activity 1 (15 minutes) – Background and Cultural Influences

Objective: Develop contextual understanding of Lina Curva.

• Introduce Itzik Galili, the choreographer of Lina Curva, and briefly discuss his background and choreographic style.
• Show students short clips of traditional Brazilian dance styles (e.g., Capoeira, Samba) that influence Lina Curva.
• Ask students: “What emotions or energies do you associate with these styles?”
• Discuss how these influences create the piece’s high-energy and competitive atmosphere.

Main Activity 2 (20 minutes) – Analysing Themes of Lina Curva

Objective: Explore the abstract and thematic elements.

• Play a short section of Lina Curva without visuals – just the music.
• Discussion prompt: "What mood or atmosphere does this music create? What kind of movement do you expect to see?"
• Show a short excerpt of the choreography and discuss:
  • How do the dancers interact?
  • What emotions or ideas are being conveyed?
  • How do lighting and costume support the themes?

Paired Activity – Thematic Interpretation (10 minutes)

Objective: Encourage students to link the piece’s themes to their own creative ideas.

• In pairs, students are assigned a theme (e.g., energy, battle, fluidity).
• They create a 30-second movement phrase influenced by their theme, thinking about dynamic contrasts and spatial awareness.
• A few pairs share their sequences while the class describes links to Lina Curva.

Plenary (5 minutes) – Reflection and Artistic Intentions

Objective: Reinforce learning and establish connections.

• Students answer the question:
  “If you could describe Lina Curva in one sentence, what would you say?”
• Gather responses and discuss how artistic intention plays a role in interpretation.
• Set homework: Watch another section of Lina Curva and write one paragraph on how the dancers use space to create impact.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

• Observing student engagement in discussions and movement tasks.
• Listening to verbal responses to gauge understanding.
• Evaluating paired movement phrases for creativity and relevance to the themes discussed.

Resources Needed

• Projector and speakers for video and music clips.
• Open space for movement activities.
• Printed key terms sheet (optional).

Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence starters for reflective questions.
• Challenge: Ask advanced students to link Lina Curva to other choreographic works with similar themes.

Next Lesson Preview

In Lesson 2, students will analyse specific movement phrases from Lina Curva, exploring how dynamics and formations contribute to its impact.

This structured yet engaging approach ensures students develop both knowledge and creative thinking skills while preparing for more analytical discussions in the following lessons.