Ways to think about movement
I have Anne Green Gilbert, Director of Creative Dance Center Seattle, Washington to thank for these..
DANCE CONCEPTS
Space
1. Place self space (personal space), general space (room space)
2. Size big (far reach), medium (mid-reach), small (near reach)
3. Level high, middle, low
4. Direction forward, backward, right, left, up, down
5. Pathway curved, straight, zigzag
6. Focus single focus, multi-focus
Time
7. Speed fast, medium, slow
8. Rhythm pulse, pattern, grouping, breath
Force
9. Energy sharp (sudden), smooth (sustained)
10. Weight strong, light
11. Flow free (continuous, off-balance), bound (controlled, on-balance)
Body
12. Parts head, neck, shoulders, arm, wrists, elbows, hands, fingers, hips,
pelvis, trunk, spine, stomach, sternum, legs, knees, feet, toes, heels, etc.
13. Relationships over, under, around, through, above, below, beside, between, near, far,
in, out, on, off, together, apart, alone, connected, mirror, shadow
14. Shapes curved, straight, angular, twisted, symmetrical, asymmetrical
15. Balance off balance, on balance
MOVEMENT SKILLS
Locomotor crawl, creep, roll, walk, run, leap, jump, hop, gallop, slide, skip,
prance, fly, slither, tip-toe, dash, waltz run, step-hop, schottische,
two-step, grapevine, polka, etc.
Nonlocomotor bend, twist, stretch, swing, push, pull, fall, melt, sway, turn,
spin, dodge, kick, poke, throw, lift, carve, curl, lunge, wiggle,
slash, punch, flick, dab, float, glide, press, wring, etc.
Anne's book, Teaching the Three R's Through Movement, focusses on dance, and in particular using movement to express a feeling about a word or concept (akin to role-play?), ownership (getting IN to the idea, living the idea), and reinforcement..(spelling words with your body, hopping or doing other repetitive movement whilst calling out words that rhyme etc..). I think this must be a very accessible approach to learning - I have seen these activities done in school more than others.
I like the role-playing aspect as well to LIVE an idea...the reinforcement aspect is less interesting to me (I think) - although translating movement from one the body INTO another medium and back is probably very important and is something I need to explore further...