DOCUMENT RESUME EC 307 331 ED 460 552 Rose, Alice; Chow, Trina; Johnson, Neesa; Lucas, Warren AUTHOR Creating Dance with Life Forms: A Curriculum Guide for TITLE Teaching Computer-Based Dance and Choreography to Students with and without Disabilities [and Computer Diskettes, CD-ROM, and Videotapes]. De Anza Coll., Cupertino, CA. INSTITUTION Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services SPONS AGENCY (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1996-00-00 213p.; Necessary companion materials, CD-ROM, videotapes, NOTE and Life Forms software not available from ERIC. H180D20004-93 CONTRACT Non-Print Media (100) Teacher (052) Classroom Guides PUB TYPE EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. *Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Software; DESCRIPTORS *Courseware; *Curriculum Development; *Dance; Dance Education; *Disabilities; Higher Education; Lesson Plans; Optical Data Disks; Videotape Recordings ABSTRACT This guide presents materials for a computer-based college-level dance and choreography course appropriate for the inclusion of students with disabilities as well as a collection of dance games appropriate for other school and recreational environments which include individuals at various ages, and academic, developmental, and computer skill levels. The program is intended to be used with the choreographic software animation and notation program, "Life Forms" (not included in this package), which allows manipulation of wire-frame graphic figures in space and time using libraries of dance positions to create individual postures and stances. Following general introductory information and instructions on installing the program, the college curriculum guide presents detailed instructions for 24 classroom sessions. Session guidelines typically include: key terminology, one or more learning objectives, and specific learning activities using the computer program. The section on dance games presents instructions for 14 sessions also organized into content terminology, objectives, and activities. Also included are 22 handout masters. (DB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Aft 41. ", - - U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office 01 Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 0 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy . ' ^ 0 A I . . - a A 11 w (I '. BEST COPY AVA1LABL 2 CREATING DANCE WITH LIFE FORMS A Curriculum Guide For Teaching Computer-Based Dance And Choreography To Students With And Without Disabilities Trina Chow Alice Rose Project Assistant Project Director Curriculum Designer Animation Specialist Neesa Johnson and Warren Lucas Dance Instructors and Curriculum Advisors De Anza College Foothill-De Anza Community College District, Cupertino, California Funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services Award #H180D20004-93 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Successfully completing a demonstration curriculum and product development project such as Creating Dance with Life Forms involves a large number of people working collaboratively over an extended period of time. It is with appreciation that we acknowledge the support, work, materials, and services provided by the people, schools, and organizations listed below. Advisory Committee Anne Battersby, United Cerebral Palsy of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Jackie Brand, Foundation for Technology Access, San Rafael, CA; Vicki Casella, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA; Edana Contreras, San Francisco, CA; Janet Fox, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Palo Alto, CA; Pete Litwinowicz, Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA; Sausalito, CA; Roxanne McMillan, Sunnyvale, CA; Thais Mazur, AXIS Dance Troupe, Oakland, CA; Nyri Scanlon, San Francisco, CA; Judith Smith, AXIS Dance Troupe, Oakland, CA Students Ben Aiken, Ni Ni Aye, Trina Chow, Jannia Diaz, Catherine Eick, Shelly Evans, Katrina Fletcher, Allura Fong, Charles Gabe, Collin Harnett, James Jones, Todd Keller, Eric Kohlmiller, Melinda Krawitz, Marvell Lance, Melody Lima, Rachel Lofton, Daniel Mart, Corrina May; Alberta Mobley, Corrine Osias, Mina Prez, Phoenix Rainey, Vincent Reese, Will Riley, Nyri Scanlon, Forest Seaman, Robin Serrano Teachers Trina Chow, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA; Janet Fox, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Palo Alto, CA; John Greener, Horace Mann Middle School, San Francisco, CA; Harlan Harkness, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Palo Alto, CA; Neesa Johnson, Center for Movement Therapy, San Francisco, CA; Warren Lucas, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA; Joan Winsor, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Palo Alto, CA Teacher Aides Deborah Bowes, Rebecca Haycox, Danny Della Lana, Rex Garr, Mary Holder Axis Dance Troupe Thais Mazur, Judith Smith, Bonnie Lewkowicz, Nina Haft 4 De Anza College Martha Kantor, President; Judith Espinola, Dean of Creative Arts; Duane Kubo, Acting Dean of Creative Arts; Steve Selitti, Dean of Special Education; Lynn Bayes, Instructor; David Sheftman, Instructor High Tech Center Training Unit of the California Community Colleges Carl Brown, Program Director; Marcia Norris, Training Specialist/Instructor; Wayne Chenoweth, Training Specialist/Instructor; Stan Judkins, Computer Technician; Pisamai Chamkasem, Office Manager; Angela Jacobs, Office Assistant Simon Fraser University/CREDO Multimedia Software, Inc. Sang Mah and Richard Campbell Other Tina Andropoulos, San Francisco, CA; Charles and Regina Birkner, San Francisco, CA; Computer Freelance, San Francisco, CA; Computers and You, Glide Memorial Church, San Francisco, CA; Julie Cousins, Los Altos, CA; Dancing Wheels of the Cleveland Ballet, Willoughby, OH; Larry Dietrich, Davis, CA; Judith Grey, Foster City, CA; James Logan High School, Union City, CA; Macromedia, San Francisco, CA; McLean Media, Sausalito, CA; Lois McLean, Mill Valley, CA; Mill Valley Film Group, Mill Valley, CA; Fe Olivar, San Francisco, CA; Progress Works, San Francisco, CA; Thecla Shiphorst, Simon Fraser University; Burnaby, B.C.; Valerie Sutton, La Jolla, CA; Rick Tessman, Mill Valley, CA; VideoTracs Post, Sausalito, CA; Woodside International School, San Francisco, CA. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Project 1 Project Description 3 Establishing A Program 7 Curricula Goals And Descriptions 9 Supplementary Teaching Materials 11 Learning Life Forms Software 13 Setting Up The Classroom 13 Setting Up Creating Dance With Life Forms 15 Managing And Saving Student Files 17 Alternative Format Curriculum Guide 17 Adaptive And Assistive Technology 19 Follow-Up Assistance And Information 21 Ordering Life Forms Software 23 Resources 25 College Curriculum College Curriculum Session One 29 College Curriculum Session Two 33 College Curriculum Session Three 39 College Curriculum Session Four 45 College Curriculum Session Five 49 College Curriculum Session Six 53 College Curriculum Session Seven 57 College Curriculum Session Eight 63 College Curriculum Session Nine 69 College Curriculum Session Ten 75 College Curriculum Session Eleven 79 College Curriculum Session Twelve 83 College Curriculum Session Thirteen 91 College Curriculum Session Fourteen 99 College Curriculum Session Fifteen 103 College Curriculum Session Sixteen 107 College Curriculum Session Seventeen 113 College Curriculum Session Eighteen 117 College Curriculum Session Nineteen 121 College Curriculum Session Twenty 123 College Curriculum Session Twenty-One 125 College Curriculum Session Twenty-Two 127 College Curriculum Session Twenty-Three 129 College Curriculum Session Twenty-Four 131 Dance Games Dance Games Session One 135 Creating Dance with Life Forms 6 Dance Games Session Two 139 Dance Games Session Three 147 Dance Games Session Four 153 Dance Games Session Five 157 Dance Games Session Six 161 Dance Games Session Seven 165 Dance Games Session Eight 169 Dance Games Session Nine 173 Dance Games Session Ten 179 Dance Games Session Eleven 185 Dance Games Session Twelve 191 Dance Games Session Thirteen 195 Dance Games Session Fourteen 201 Handout Masters 206 Interpolate Air Design Time Shape Movement Movement Manipulation And Variation Force . Shapes Exploration Exercises The Stage Dance Design Emotional Impacts Of Floor Patterns Blocking The Total Picture On The Stage Unison, Succession, And Opposition The Tools Of The Choreographic Craft Accompaniment Improvisation And Exploration A Dance Has A Name Improving Your Choreography Homework - Stage Directions Dance Writing Creating Dance with Life Forms THE PROJECT The Creating Dance with Life Forms project was established to provide environments in which students with and without disabilities can participate as equals in a dance and choreography course or program. We designed these programs as an addition or complement to a full range of activities available to individuals in school or recreational environments, or as a choice among a full range of dance and movement options that could exist, and do exist in some areas of the country. We know of no other dance and choreography course that is offered in this modality and hope that this curriculum package contributes to the field of education by stretching the notion of what it means to learn dance and choreography concepts, and to demonstrate those concepts by performance in a computer environment, or by live dancers using dynamic computer-based choreographic notation created by the students. We emphasize that the creators and funders of this project in no way suggest this mode of learning and performance as a replacement for actual dance or other movement experiences for any student. It is simply another means of dance and movement expression available to students in a "virtual" dance studio. This curriculum guide and the companion materials were designed and prepared.to be used exclusively with Life Forms, a software product available through Simon Fraser University and CREDO Multimedia Software, Inc. of Burnaby, B.C. Canada. Information on purchasing this software is found elsewhere in this guide. Creating Dance with Life Forms 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Creating Dance with Life Forms project was funded in 1993 by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS), to explore the ways in which students with and without disabilities could participate together in a computer-based dance program. Despite the fact that educational opportunities for children and youth with disabilities have expanded dramatically since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) in 1975, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, notably absent from activities available and accessible to students with disabilities in most public schools and colleges, are programs in the performing arts. Music, theater, and dance, all satisfying creative activities that are often taken for granted by non-disabled students, have frequently been considered practical impossibilities for students who have significant difficulties with coordination, balance, and movement. Over the last several years, the use of computer technology in classrooms and labs has become quite common. Assistive computer technologies now exist which provide alternative access to most computer platforms and applications, enabling individuals with disabilities to participate in and complete almost any academic activity, independently, alongside their non-disabled peers, or in cooperative work groups with students of varied abilities. However, while computers have created for many students with disabilities a more "level playing field" for exploring traditional academic subject matter and completing assignments, it had not had much impact upon their ability participate in the realm of the performing arts. Approach To address this situation De Anza College, in partnership with the High Tech Center Training Unit of the California Community Colleges, Axis Dance Troupe, and a variety of organizations and schools, has created this unique computer-based instructional and recreational setting in which students can learn about and perform dance. Together, dancers, faculty, staff, and students from many institutions and programs worked to develop this curriculum guide, curriculum materials, software adaptations, and video to make it possible for students with and without disabilities to explore, experience, and choreograph dance within a computer-generated "virtual" environment. In this "virtual" dance environment, it is possible for all students to participate as equals. The technology-based option available which can allow students with significant coordination, balance and movement limitations to execute dance, is Life Forms. This choreographic software animation and notation program, created at Simon Fraser University and CREDO Multimedia Software, Inc. in Burnaby, B.C. Canada, provides users with the tools to compose dance visually Creating Dance with Life Forms 3 in space and time. Wire-frame graphic figure images are used to represent each dancer, and a stage can be manipulated in a variety of ways. Using libraries of positions, these figures on the stage (and in the space around it) can be articulated through the full range of dance movements available to a dancer in the "concrete" world. Individual postures and stances can be created, edited, stored, retrieved and combined to create many forms of movement. Life Forms functions provide automatic interpolation and extension of movement so that the positions flow automatically from one to another, and can be played back in real time. Each movement phrase can be sequenced into an animation, and these animations can be combined to create larger, full-scale pieces of work. The basics of Life Forms software can be learned fairly quickly, and is easy to use with just a little practice. Teachers and students with basic skills on Macintosh computers, even with little or no computer animation experience, can create and perform dances. With time, experience, and practice, simple dances can be expanded to more complex works incorporating as many dancers on the computer screen as desired. Project staff created and tested many curriculum drafts, curriculum materials, software palettes and animations, and conducted pilot and experimental classes with students of a variety of age and skill levels. These classes included a summer afternoon program for teens, an after-school class for teens, a half-semester spring in-school class for middle-school students, a summer pilot program for college students, and two two-quarter-units courses for college students. Project Package Project staff has created this Creating Dance with Life Forms package that includes software adaptations, curriculum, and curriculum materials for a model computer dance program that uses the Life Forms software application as the basic environment and set of tools. Separate curriculums and materials were designed for both community-based programs and schools for children and teens, and for college students. The program sessions can be conducted by dance instructors, adapted physical education teachers, occupational therapists, or any other professionals with a background in computers and the movement arts. Software adaptations to Life Forms have been created that reflect dancers who are not ambulatory and who use motorized and manual wheelchairs. Life Forms itself comes with sample position palettes and animations of dancers (in the modern, ballet and jazz traditions) that the user can view and paste into their own original choreography. Palettes and animations are created and stored by users so that they need not make the same position or movement phrase repeatedly. In cooperation with AXIS Dance Troupe, a large set of position palettes and movement phrases has been created that show the Life Forms dancers striking the same poses and executing the same movements as the AXIS dancers. Animations that combine both ambulatory dancers with dancers with chairs, showing innovative ways that they can move and dance together, are also part of this package. Creating Dance with Life Forms 4 10