Dancing with props

Entering the studio (5 minutes)

When entering the studio participants are encouraged to find a prop that they like and keep it for later. If there is a way of making the prop personal by writing your name or attach some kind of mark that is a nice detail.

Hi & welcome (10 minutes)

Gather and introducing today’s leader and theme. Introduce a chosen prop and do a name presentation by passing the prop around to each other. Encourage and inspire to different ways of moving the prop between each other.
Outcomes: To introduce the participants to each other and to get acquainted with the theme of props. 

Warm up (9 minutes)

Introducing a chest of drawers. The yellow chest of 3 drawers with different moves in each drawer. The Top, Middle and Bottom drawer. Fill a drawer with a quality, level in the room or other instructions.The color and the image can ease the participants memory load. If you want to add a whole set of instruction you can add a new chestof drawers in a new color or a shelf. Start this exercise in a circle. Repeat each set several times before adding a new one. When the pattern starts to settle encourage and add the option to move freely around in the room while continuing the exercise.

Suggestions of content & grouping:
Directions
1. Movement upwards
2. Move to one side
3. Movement downwards
Qualities
1. Move smoothly
2. Move in a stiff way
3. Shake something
Tempo
1. Move in an average speed
2. Make a pause/freeze
3. Move slowly/ fast
Qualities
1. Move as a boiled spaghetti
2. Move as your favourite pokemon or invent your own way of moving
3. Move in water
Outcomes: To warm up and introduce new open ways of moving using a mental picture as a tool to reduce memory load.

Shift swiftly through the room (3 min)

Encourage the participants to shift through the room with instructions as seeing each other, making sure you have met everyone in the room at some point & always move in between two people.
Outcomes: To warm up by moving in space, to see each other and to give the energy level a raise.

Dance with your chosen prop (8 min)

Find your prop. Encourage the participants to investigate how they would like to dance with their prop. Instructions like finding two words describing the prop and move with inspiration of those words to different kinds of music. Other instructions could be: carry your prop in different ways, find ways of walking with your prop or what effect is the prop having on you. A new instruction could be: Place your prop in the room – leave it and find a new prop for a while. Next instruction: Leave your current prop – find your previous prop – have a dance – place it somewhere of your choosing and go for a break.
Outcomes: To gather thoughts on something else while dancing, relating to an object, to get new sources of inspiration and creating a personal, individual moment.

BREAK (15 minutes)

Landscape impro (25 min)

Build a landscape with props and make a field for dancing the next exercise. Set up an improvisation with inspiration from your chosen theme and we suggest working through those with chosen parts of the body. We suggest some rules and development regarding props. Suggestion of beginning and end:
As a start the props cannot be touched but will encourage pathways, levels and encounters in the room. In the end of the exercise the props are involved – find ways of connecting them to each other and building new landscapes together. If you have boxes as your chosen prop you can finish of by building a wall, to create rooms or two worlds. It can also inspire to talk about the society. Maybe you want to tear them down in the end – we build no walls.
Outcomes: To nurture and inspire to movement by changing the room with the help of props. Providing a possibility to connect to a symbolic theme.

The knot (8 min)

Find a way of connecting with each other on some kind of line. Let participants in each end tie a knot and then untie. Play with different ways of moving while doing this and how tight the knot can be.
Outcomes: To cooperate with each other while being in contact and to lead into the last cool down.

Cool down (2 min)

Come close and find some kind of connecting point with one or more participants. Close your eyes and breath in together three times. Open your eyes and untie the knot if you are still in it.

Sharing (5 min)

Gather in a circle for a chat, a word of the day and a goodbye.