A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance: Telling a Story in Narrative Form

A1.3 A2.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can create a short dance in narrative form, with a beginning, a middle and an end.
I can choose a theme, like friendship or caring for the environment, for my dance story.
I can use relationships: meeting and parting, leading and following, and different groupings.
I can explain how the elements in my dance tell the story.

Words to know

narrative form
A way of building a dance that tells a story, with a beginning, a middle (a problem) and an end.

theme
The big message or topic of a story or dance, like friendship, courage or caring for nature.

conflict
The problem in a story.

turning point
The exciting moment in a story when things begin to change.

meet / part
Dancers moving toward each other (meet) and away from each other (part).

lead / follow
One dancer leads the movement, and another copies or follows behind.

grouping
How many dancers dance together: a solo (1), a duet (2), a trio (3), a small group or the whole group.

unison
Everyone doing the same movement at the same time.

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you built dances with patterns like AB, ABA and ABACA, where sections repeat. That is one way to organize a dance.

This year you will learn narrative form: a dance that tells a story from beginning to end. In a narrative dance, the sections usually don't repeat. Each part moves the story forward.

The parts of a dance story

Beginning: we meet the characters and the setting. Where are we? Who is here?
Middle: a problem (conflict) appears and grows. Tension builds up to the turning point, the most exciting moment.
End: the problem is solved, and the story settles. Often the dance ends in a still shape.

A story also needs a theme: the big message. Themes for dance stories include friendship, courage, belonging, teamwork, caring for the environment, or the changing seasons.

A story mountain: the problem grows up to the turning point, then is solved at the end.

Relationship: the people in your story

The element of relationship is about how dancers move with each other, or with objects. In Grade 4, narrative dances use:

Meet and part: dancers come together (meet) and move apart (part). Friends meeting, a group splitting up.
Lead and follow: one dancer leads and the others follow, like geese flying in a V.
Groupings: a solo (1 dancer), a duet (2), a trio (3), a small group, or everyone. Groups can move in unison (all the same at once).

If you are dancing alone at home, you can still show relationship: lead and follow a toy, meet and part from a chair, or imagine a partner.

A long line of Canada geese flying across an autumn sky over a marsh, with one goose out in front. — One goose leads and the others follow. Dancers can use lead and follow to show a group moving together in a story. AI-generated image

Dancers seen from above. Top: the groupings solo, duet, trio and group. Bottom: relationships: dancers who meet (come together), dancers who part (move apart), and a leader with followers in a V, like geese.

Worked example

Example: Let's build a narrative dance about friendship

Theme: belonging. Story: a new student arrives at school and feels left out. Then someone welcomes her.

Beginning: a group dances in unison: the same bouncy steps together. One dancer stands apart in a small, closed, curved shape (a solo). The audience sees the problem: she is alone.
Middle: the new dancer tries to copy the group's steps but is always a beat behind. The group parts and moves away from her. Her moves get smaller and slower.
Turning point: one dancer stops, turns, and walks toward her: they meet. He offers a hand: a gesture of welcome.
End: the two dance a duet. First he leads and she follows, then she leads a new move and he follows. The group notices, comes back, and everyone dances her new move in unison. Final freeze: a connected group shape.

The dance has a clear beginning (alone), middle (left out, getting smaller), turning point (the meeting) and end (everyone together). Relationship tells most of the story: solo, parting, meeting, duet, leading and following, then unison. The theme is belonging.

Worked example

Example: Let's tell a nature story on our own

Theme: caring for the environment. One dancer at home: a river is blocked by litter, then cleaned.

Beginning: flow across the room in a smooth, curved pathway on the floor: a clean river.
Middle: you meet pieces of litter (cushions you placed on the floor). Each time, your flow gets jerkier and slower. Finally you are stuck in a tight, twisted shape.
Turning point: freeze. Then make a gesture of picking up and tossing the litter away (imagine helpers cleaning the river).
End: flow again, wider and freer than before, and finish in a calm, low, still shape.

Even a solo can tell a story. The cushions are objects you meet. The change from smooth to jerky and back shows the problem and the solution. The theme is caring for the environment.

Tips for dance stories

Plan your story on paper first: draw three boxes labelled Beginning, Middle, End.
The turning point should be easy to spot. Try a sudden freeze, a change of speed or a meeting.
Keep it short: a narrative dance of 1 minute is plenty.
Make sure the space is clear, and place any objects (like cushions) so nobody trips.

Just for fun

Dance story tip: plan your turning point carefully. If the family cat strolls across your stage halfway through, that's not part of your plan... it's a plot twist!

Hands-on activity

Story-in-a-box dance

You need: three sheets of paper, a pencil, a safe open space, and a family member or a stuffed animal as a partner.

Choose a theme: friendship, courage, belonging, teamwork, or caring for the environment.
On the three papers, draw the beginning, middle and end of a short story about that theme.
Plan at least two relationship ideas: meet/part, lead/follow, or a change of grouping (solo to duet).
Make the turning point clear.
Practise, then perform. Afterwards, ask your audience to tell the story back to you. Did they understand it? What helped them?

Your turn

Name the three parts of narrative form.

What is a theme? Give an example.

With a partner (or a toy), show meet and part.

Play follow the leader for 30 seconds, then switch. What do you have to do as a follower?

How many dancers are in a duet? A trio?

In the belonging example, what is the turning point?

How is narrative form different from ABA form?

More practice: warm-up

What is a solo?

What does unison mean?

What is the conflict in a story?

Show a gesture of welcome.

In which part of a story do we meet the characters?

More practice: on your own

Plan a 3-part dance with the theme courage. Write one sentence for each part.

How could lead and follow show that geese are migrating together?

A story's middle feels boring. Give two ways to build tension.

Why might a choreographer change the grouping from a solo to the whole group at the end?

Watch the belonging example in your mind. Name two elements of dance it uses and what each shows.

Challenge

Create a narrative dance plan for the theme teamwork that uses meet/part, lead/follow and two different groupings. Describe each part.

Explain how a dancer at home alone can still show relationship in a story.

Your story's audience could not tell when the turning point happened. Suggest two fixes and explain them.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What are the three parts of narrative form?

Friendship and caring for the environment are examples of a story's ___.

Two dancers move toward each other. This is ___.

A dance for three dancers is called a ___.

The problem in a story is called the ___.

Everyone doing the same move at the same time is called ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students use narrative form to create short dances on themes such as friendship, belonging or the environment (A1.3), and explain how the elements help communicate the story (A2.2). The Grade 4 relationship ideas are meet/part, follow/lead and groupings.

How to help at home:

Be the partner! Your child can lead and you follow, then switch.
Use the three-box plan (beginning, middle, end) before moving.
After the performance, tell the story back. If you could not follow it, ask together, "What would make that part clearer?"

Common difficulties:

A story with no problem. Ask, "What goes wrong?" A story needs a conflict.
Too much story. One problem and one solution is enough for a short dance.
Acting instead of dancing. Encourage levels, pathways, speed and energy, not only mime.
Grouping when dancing alone. Objects, toys and imagined partners count.