First Quarter – Lecture Notes 1

Health Optimizing P.E. (H.O.P.E) 3

Subject Description:
The subject offers experiential learning for learners to adopt an active life for fitness and lifelong health. The knowledge, skills and
understanding which include physical and health literacy competencies support them in accessing, synthesizing and evaluating
information; making informed decisions; enhancing and advocating their own as well as other’s fitness and health.
For the Learners:
Demonstrates understanding of dance in optimizing one’s health; as requisite for physical activity assessment performance,
and as a career opportunity.

UNIT 1 - INTRODUCTION TO DANCE

Chapter 1 –Brief History and Nature of Dance
What is Dance?
Dance differs from athletics or other daily activities because it focuses primarily on ‘an aesthetic or even
entertaining experience” (Myers, 2005). It provided variety of functions throughout history due to its
multidimensionality.

People still dance mainly:  Dance became full blown and was richly
recorded in ancient Egypt. It was reflected in
 to please the gods
their wall paintings, reliefs, and in the literary
 to please others
record in hieroglyphs.
 to please themselves or self - expression
 Dance was also commonly used in education.
 to build community within an ethnic group or
Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and
social interaction (Myers, 2005)
Socrates strongly supported this art as an
integration of the body and soul.
 The ancient Rome, on the other hand, gave less
Brief History and Nature of Dance
importance to dancing. Dance eventually
became an integral part of the corruption in
 The origins of dance are rooted in the
latter days of the Roman Empire.
prehistoric past.
 Dancers hold each other by hand, forming a
 Dance has been a major form of religious ritual
long chain and move about in an open or closed
and social expression within primitive cultures.
circle, or in an extended line. Couple dance, at
 It was used as a way of expressing and
the time, was not as popular as round dance as
reinforcing tribal unity and strength, as an
it was considered scandalous when first seen.
approach for courtship and mating, and as
 Court dances emerged as part of the chivalric
means of worship, communication, and
way of life because of the noblemen’s and
therapeutic experience.
women’s nature of clothing and elaborate
 It was said that the first use of dance was a
accessories, their dance steps were limited to
gesture in order to communicate.
gliding, curtseying, and posting as they were not
 People from prehistoric era performed ways
able to move freely.
they hoped would appease the forces of nature
 The peasants’ danced on grass or on the beaten
or give them new powers of their own.
earth of the town while noblemen danced in
 It was during the pre-Christian era that the real
smooth floor or wood or polished marble called
knowledge of dance came about within the
the ballroom.
great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern
civilizations.

Benefits of Dance and Creative Movement

Specific Benefits of Dance
Physical
 Develops cardiovascular and muscular  Lowers body mass index
endurance  Lowers resting heart rate
 Improves coordination, balance, flexibility, and  Improves lipid and metabolism
body composition  Enables joint mobility (hip motion and spine
 Lowers risk of cardiovascular diseases flexibility)
  Helps improve and maintain bone density, thus  Helps recover coordination and neuromuscular
helps prevent osteoporosis skills after injury

Mental/Emotional Social
 Helps keep the brain sharp  Gives sense of togetherness within a group
 Decreases incidence of dementia and  Encourages positive social interaction and
Alzheimer’s disease interpersonal relationship in a group
 Increases self-esteem and improves body image  Contributes to the individual’s potential for self-
 Aids in releasing emotional and physical tension actualization in society

Cultural
 Promotes cultural values

CHAPTER 2 – ELEMENTS OF DANCE (SPACE, TIME, ENERGIES, BODY & ACTION)

Space- refers to the area the performers occupy and where they move. It can be divided into four different aspects, also
known as spatial elements.

 Direction –dance movement can travel in any direction. The performers can go forward, side, backward,
diagonal, circular, and so on.
 Size – movements can be varied by doing larger or smaller actions.
 Level – movements can be done in a high, medium or low level.
 Focus – performers may change their focus by looking at different directions.

Timing – The rhythm and repetition patterns of a dance are called time. It is this element that dictates not only the
duration of a dance, but the speed in the execution of its steps, whether it is fast or slow. The rhythm of a dance can be
previously choreographed or be free, giving the dancer freedom to move at will.

Dance Energies – the movements here propelled by energy or force. A force can either initiate or stop an action.
Dances uses energies and varied use of these minimizes the monotony of the movements in a performance.

 Sustained – energy is released equally in a smooth pattern; sailing drifting, wandering.

 Percussive - sharp, aggressive movement; hit, whip, beat, chop, cut, strike.
 Suspended - movement that creates the impression of defying gravity; hang dangle, linger.

Body- The center of any dance is the dancer, who is in charge of executing the movements with the rhythm and tenacity
necessary to convey a feeling to those who witness the dance. Each part of the body is important in the dance; the
trunk, the extremities, the easy expressions and the postures must be complemented correctly to obtain a natural and
pleasant movement in sight.

a. symmetrical – balanced shape; movements practically identical or similar on

both sides

b. asymmetrical – unbalanced shape; movements of two sides of the body do not

match or completely different from each other.

Action - the dance itself consists in the realization of movements. The action refers to these movements, which can be
as subtle as turning the neck or a hand, or as elaborate as jumping, tumbling and even running around the stage. There
must be a balance between action and pause; Many times the pause is necessary to create a sufficiently noticeable
contrast with the movement, and in this way highlight this even more.
 Physical Education and Health
(Grade 12)
Module 1

Name: _____________________________________ Date: _________________ Score: ________

Teacher: ___________________________________

Activity 1: PERFORMANCE TASK

o Create a TIKTOK Dance Video (can be group or individual performance).
o The TIKTOK Dance must be at least 1 minute.
o Send your outputs in messenger.

Criteria for Grading:

CRITERIA EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR NEEDS
(30 pts.) (25 pts.) (15 pts.) IMPROVEMENT
(10 pts.)
1. Knowledge of Students Students Students Students demonstrate
Choreography: demonstrate a deep demonstrate demonstrate little lack of understanding
Execution: understanding on the understanding on the understanding on the on the
Demonstrates appropriateness of appropriateness of appropriateness of appropriateness of the
accuracy and mastery the execution of the execution of the execution of execution of
of the choreography, choreography choreography choreography choreography
including transitions including transitions including transitions including transitions including transitions
and formations. and formations. and formations. and formations. and formations.

Creativity: Shows deep Shows originality and Shows a little bit of Shows lack of
Shows originality and originality and unique originality and originality and unique
unique interpretations unique interpretations of the unique interpretations of the
of the choreography interpretations of the choreography interpretations of the choreography
choreography choreography

ACTIVITY 2: DANCE ELEMENTS (REPORTING)

Instructions: Explore the internet or any media sources and watch a dance clip or video of your choice.
Observe and identify the elements used. Answer the following questions in your report.
Describe the dance or movement pattern in terms of the following: 50 PTS

1. Space – What were the directions used? Does it shift from side to side? Move from
high to low? Travel from one spot to another? Have a straight or curved path?

2. Timing – Was it fast or slow? Does it ever really stop? Was the rhythmic structure even
or uneven? Does it go with or oppose the music?

3. Dance energies – What were the qualities of energies used? Was it sustained, percussive, suspended? Were
the movements bound or free?

4. Bodily Shapes – What kind of bodily shapes were used? Was it rounded, angular or combination
of two? Was it symmetrical or asymmetrical?