Grades: 	Middle (6–8)
Subjects: 	Visual Arts, Dance
Time Required:	3–5-Part Lesson
	Three 50-minute class periods
Author: 	J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Lesson Overview
Students will learn about axial movements and locomotor movements by discussing dancers depicted in a drawing and photograph. They will then practice combining axial and locomotor movements. They will describe how artists depict a dancer’s motion in drawing and photography. They will also analyze how an artist creates movement and emphasis through contrast, composition, and leading lines, and then experiment with photography to capture motion in dance. 

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
•	understand how visual art can capture the motion of dance.
•	describe and demonstrate various types of axial and locomotor movements. 
•	experiment with contrast, composition, and line to capture motion with photography.
•	create blurred motion effects with photography.

Featured Getty Artworks 
Ballet Dancers Rehearsing (p. 25) by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=133702

Juliet Dancing by Man Ray
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=53314

Materials
•	Reproduction of Ballet Dancers Rehearsing (p. 25) by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas 
•	Reproduction of Juliet Dancing by Man Ray
•	Background Information and Questions for Teaching about the drawing and photograph
•	Student Handout: “Pair Share: Exploring a Photograph”
•	Drop cloth or butcher paper
•	Digital or disposable cameras
•	Clear and red acetate 
•	Petroleum jelly and cotton swabs
•	Student Handout: “Photo Assignment”
•	Information and activities in the “Understanding Formal Analysis” section on the Getty website (optional) at http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html. 

Lesson Steps

Dance Warm-up

1.	Ask students to discuss with a partner the role of dance in their lives. Specifically ask them to discuss how dance functions among people of different age groups. Ask students to share with the group what they discussed. Guide discussion with the following questions: 
•	When do you dance? 
•	What kind of dance?
•	What types of dance have you seen?
•	Where do you see dance? (television shows, school dances, parties, movies)
•	When do you dance alone? When do you dance with a partner?
•	When do women in your family dance?
•	When do men in your family dance? 

2.	Ask students what movements come to mind when they think of dancing. (hopping, leaping, stretching, bending, twisting) List students’ responses on the board. 

3.	Let students know that axial movements occur around the axis of the body. Axial movements include standing on one or both legs, twisting, turning, reaching, and bending. By contrast, locomotor movements involve moving the body through space and include walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, and leaping.

Play music such as classical or jazz for your class. Designate two points in a multipurpose room. Make sure there are no objects in the way to ensure the safety of your students. Invite students to take turns moving from point A to point B by demonstrating three combinations of locomotor and axial movements that are listed on the board. 

Two Artists Capture Motion

1.	Inform students that they will be looking at two works of art that capture the motion of dance. Explain that artists use the technology and materials that are available to them at the time. The artists Edgar Degas and Man Ray were both interested in depicting movement, and they experimented regularly with a wide range of mediums, including photography.

2.	Display a reproduction of Ballet Dancers Rehearsing (p. 25) by Edgar Degas. Have students take the time to look closely at the drawing with a partner. Then ask them to describe what they see. Prompt students with the following questions: 
•	Where do you see evidence of motion?
•	What makes you say that?

3.	Display a reproduction of Juliet Dancing by Man Ray. Distribute the student handout “Pair Share: Exploring a Photograph” and let students know they will have ten minutes to discuss the work of art. 

4.	After students finish discussing the work, prompt the entire class with the following questions:
•	What do you see here? (a blurry woman in motion)
•	What can we tell about this figure? (She is dancing.)
•	Examine the posture (body) and gesture (hands). Notice what the subject is doing with her head, arms, legs, and feet. When someone is posed in this way, how do you think the person feels? (She looks like she is having fun. She is smiling, twisting, and leaning back while dancing.)

2.	Focus on the formal qualities of the photograph. Have students work in pairs to describe the first, second, and third things they notice in the image. Tell students to refer to their responses on the student handout “Pair Share: Exploring a Photograph,” and ask the following questions: 
•	How much of the composition is taken up by the figure? (About two-thirds of the composition; she appears monumental.)
•	How much space did the artist leave around the figure? (just enough space to frame her)
•	Where do you find strong diagonal lines? (the figures’ arms and legs, ruffles on the skirt, position of the figure in the composition) 

Summarize for students that the contrast, composition, and leading lines in the photograph create emphasis and lead the viewer’s eye around the image. Also point out that the diagonal figure is dynamic and in mid-motion.

6.	Let students know that Man Ray took this photograph of the dancer Juliet Browner. She was about thirty years old when this photograph was taken. She had recently moved to Los Angeles from New York to work in film. Later, Man Ray and Juliet Browner married. They worked together for thirty-five years until he passed away. Ask students the following questions:
•	Does knowing that the woman dancing later married the artist change the way you see this picture? 
•	What do you think Man Ray was trying to communicate or describe by making this photograph? Use reasoned statements to support your opinions.

Photography Assignment: Capturing Motion

1.	Tell students that they will be using photography to capture the motion of a dancer. Ask students to think about what kind of dance they would be interested in shooting. What feelings or ideas would they want to communicate about the dancer? 

2.	Set up a large dark background with a drop cloth or butcher paper. Encourage students to practice combinations of axial movements that would make for dynamic compositions. Play music as your students explore various movements.

3.	Tell students that they will work with a partner to create their own photographs of a dancer in motion. Let them know that they will take three photographs each. Distribute digital or disposable cameras, clear and red acetate, and petroleum jelly and cotton swabs. Have students follow the instructions on the student handout “Photo Assignment.” 

4.	Review the elements of art and principles of design with your students before they create their own photographs, with a focus on contrast, composition, and line. Refer to the section “Understanding Formal Analysis” on the Getty website at http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html for more information on these elements and principles. 

5.	Students should prepare a one-page essay or five-minute oral presentation about their work. Have them articulate the process, experimentation, and intention when discussing their photographs. Let them know that they should describe which elements of art contributed to the meaning of their work.

Assessment
Students will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate axial movements, write a one-page essay or deliver a five-minute oral presentation about their work, and articulate the process, experimentation, and intention of their photographs. 

Students’ photographs will be assessed based on the following:
•	shows ability of students to work with a partner to create a dynamic photograph of a dancer in motion 
•	demonstrates attention to composition, motion, and contrast as established in the student handout “Photo Assignment”

Extensions
Research the life of Juliet Browner at
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/21/obituaries/juliet-man-ray-79-the-artist-s-model-and-muse-is-dead.html?pagewanted=1.

Research the life of Man Ray at
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/man-ray/prophet-of-the-avant-garde/510/.

Have students create a Rayograph that depicts motion. First, refer to the Beginning-Level Lesson for information on sketching dancers. Then copy and cut out one of the sketches of a dancer. Using a single sheet of light-sensitive paper in a dark room or sun-sensitive paper outside, move the silhouette of a dancer across the paper every two seconds. Fix the image by washing the print. Examine the blurred lines and motion of the dancer in silhouette. Draw in pen over the print and experiment with lines. 

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades 6–8

SPEAKING AND LISTENING 
Comprehension and Collaboration 
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Visual Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools 

Grade 6
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.1 Identify and describe all the elements of art found in selected works of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value).
	1.3 Describe how artists can show the same theme by using different media and styles.

2.0 Creative Expression
2.4 Create increasingly complex original works of art reflecting personal choices and increased technical skill. 

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
	4.1 Construct and describe plausible interpretations of what they perceive in works of art.

Grade 7
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.4 Analyze and describe how the elements of art and the principles of design contribute to the expressive qualities of their own works of art.

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.2 Analyze the form (how a work of art looks) and content (what a work of art communicates) of works of art.

Grade 8
1.0 Artistic Perception
	1.1 Use artistic terms when describing the intent and content of works of art.

2.0 Creative Expression
	2.3 Create an original work of art, using film, photography, computer graphics, or video.

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing 
4.2 Develop a theory about the artist’s intent in a series of works of art, using reasoned statements to support personal opinions.
	4.3 Construct an interpretation of a work of art based on the form and content of the work.

Dance Content Standards for California Public Schools

Grade 6 
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.1	Demonstrate focus, physical control, coordination, and accurate reproduction in performing locomotor and axial movement.

Grade 7
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.3 Explain how dance functions among people of different age groups, including their own. 

Grade 8
2.0 Creative Expression
2.4 Record personal movement patterns and phrases, using a variety of methods (e.g., drawings, graphs, words).