Minds On

Today’s vocabulary

Press the following tabs to access the definitions for today’s vocabulary.

The force with which the body moves (e.g., light, strong, sustained, sudden).

An element of dance involving rhythm, tempo, accent, and duration. Time can be based on measured beats, as in music, or on body rhythms, such as breath, emotions, and heartbeat.

Let’s get started!

Explore the following excerpt from Shel Silverstein’s poem "Eight Balloons" and complete the activity that follows.

Access the following audio recording entitled "Eight Balloons" to explore an excerpt from Shel Silverstein’s poem.

Eight Balloons

"Eight Balloons" by Shel Silverstein

One tried to taste some bacon fryin’—POP!

One fell in love with a porcupine’—POP!

One looked close in a crocodile’s mouth’—POP!

One sat around ‘til his air ran out’—WHOOSH!

Eight balloons no one was buyin’—

They broke loose and away they flew,

Free to float and free to fly

And free to pop where they wanted to.

Eight balloons. One is popped by a porcupine, 1 by a crocodile, and 1 above a frying pan with bacon. A popped balloon lies on the floor.

Using your understanding of the elements of energy and time, record some words to describe how the balloons from the poem move. You can record your ideas digitally, orally, or in print.

Press the 'Definitions' button to recall the definitions for the elements of energy and time.

Energy

The force with which the body moves (e.g., light, strong, sustained, sudden).

Time

An element of dance involving rhythm, tempo, accent, and duration. Time can be based on measured beats, as in music, or on body rhythms, such as breath, emotions, and heartbeat.

Action

Get ready, get set…

Return to the "Eight Balloons" poem shared in the Minds On section.

Access the following audio recording entitled "Eight Balloons" to recall the excerpt from Shel Silverstein’s poem.

Eight Balloons

You can also press the 'Eight Balloons' button to recall the excerpt from the poem by Shel Silverstein.

'Eight Balloons' by Shel Silverstein

One tried to taste some bacon fryin’—POP!

One fell in love with a porcupine’—POP!

One looked close in a crocodile’s mouth’—POP!

One sat around ‘til his air ran out’—WHOOSH!

Eight balloons no one was buyin’—

They broke loose and away they flew,

Free to float and free to fly

And free to pop where they wanted to.

Eight Balloons. Words related to the poem: whoosh! float, pop! Frying, broke loose, fly, free.

The adventures of the balloons allow us to explore the elements of energy and time.

In dance, energy is how the body moves. As for the element of time, this is whether the movements are quick or slow.

Movements can be gentle and light like a balloon slowly floating through the air.

Press the 'Energy and Time' button to learn how energy and time are reflected in these movements.

Energy: gentle and light

Time: slow

A contrasting movement (opposite) might be sudden and fast like a balloon carried by a strong gust of wind.

Press the 'Energy and Time' button to learn how energy and time are reflected in these movements.

Energy: sudden and strong

Time: fast

Check your understanding

For each energy word, select the corresponding word to create a contrasting pair. Contrasting pairs are opposites.

Let’s pause!

Two teachers having a conversation. Teacher A says: “Hey, Teacher B. Did you know? Dance is made up of different energies which include moments of stillness?” Teacher B says: “Oh really? So, like a pause?” Teacher A says: “That’s right! An example of a pause might be a balloon that pops and collapses back to the floor.” Teacher B says: “So, the pop is a pause!” Teacher A says: “Exactly!”

Translating ideas into movement

Let’s revisit the poem to explore how to translate the ideas into movement.

Take, for example, the following lines from the poem:

“They broke loose and away they flew,

Free to float and free to fly”

and

“One fell in love with a porcupine—POP!”

Let’s examine the line "They broke loose and away they flew," from the poem and consider the following questions. Record your thoughts using a method of your choice.

Press the 'Sample Answer' button for each of the following questions to check out possible answers about this line of the poem.

  1. What are the ideas in this line?

The balloons broke loose.

The balloons flew away.

  1. What word(s) could you use to describe the energy in this line of the poem?
  2. What word(s) could you use to describe the time in this line of the poem?

Energy: free and light

Time: slow

  1. How could you translate this line of the poem into movement?

Start in a small ball on the ground and slowly rise to a standing position with arms reaching above the head.

Tiptoe through the space.

Translating more ideas into movement

Now that we have translated one of the lines of the poem into movement, use your understanding of the elements of energy and time to translate the next two lines into movement. The lines for this activity are the following:

“Free to float and free to fly”

and

“One fell in love with a porcupine—POP!”

You can record your ideas using the graphic organizer provided or using another method of your choice.

Portfolio

Portfolio

A student sits at a desk thinking and writing on a piece of paper with a pencil as they look at a balloon floating in front of them.

Complete the Poem Lines Graphic Organizer in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document to record your ideas for the two poem lines that are left. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts. Consider adding you work to your portfolio.

You can use the example of the first poem line to guide your answers for the next two poem lines.

Poem Lines Graphic Organizer

Press the Activity button to access the Poem Lines Graphic Organizer.

Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)

Once you have recorded your ideas for the two poem lines, press the 'Sample Answer' button to help check your understanding.

Graphic Organizer for Shel Silverstein’s "Eight Balloons"

Lines from the poem:

"They broke loose and away they flew,

Free to float and free to fly"

"One fell in love with a porcupine – POP!"

Words from the poem:

"They broke loose and away they flew,"

Write or draw your ideas here:

Start in a small ball on the ground and slowly rise to a standing position with arms reaching above the head

Tiptoe through the space

Record your energy and time elements here:

Energy: free and light / lightweight

Time: slow

Words from the poem:

"Free to float and free to fly"

Write or draw your ideas here:

Move around in a scattered or zigzag pathway with arms waving above the head (side to side)

Record your energy and time elements here:

Energy: strong

Time: increasing speed (acceleration)

Words from the poem:

“One fell in love with a porcupine—POP!”

Write or draw your ideas here:

Place hands above the heart, do a star jump and melt down from a high level to a low level, and freeze.

Record your energy and time elements here:

Energy: sharp

Time: pause and freeze

Go!

A young person holding a bunch of helium-filled balloons leaps into the air, their arms stretched back, in a field on a bright sunny day.

Now, it’s your turn!

Revisit the "Eight Balloons" poem, select at least one line that resonates with you and respond to the following question.

How might you translate the ideas in that line into movement?

Come up with a beginning, middle, and end movement for your chosen poem line. Consider the elements of energy and time. You may use the Elements of Dance chart to guide you.

Press the 'Elements of Dance' button to access a chart with descriptions of the elements of body, space, time, energy, and relationship.

Elements of dance

Body

What is your body doing?

Consider the following questions:

  • What different body bases could you use to create a shape with your body?
  • What different body parts could you move?
  • How many different locomotor and non-locomotor movement could you create?
  • Could you create symmetry in your body?
  • What about asymmetry?
  • What kinds of angular shapes could you make?
  • What kind of curved shapes could you make?
Space

Where is your body moving?

Consider the following questions:

  • How could you move at a high, middle, or low level?
  • What different pathways could you travel (in a straight line, in a zig zag, backwards)?
  • If you are dancing with someone else, how is it different when you dance close together vs. far apart?
Time

When is the body moving? (In relation to time)

Consider the following questions:

  • How could you move at various speeds (e.g., fast, medium, slow)?
  • How it is different dancing to music vs. dancing without music?
  • Could you add a pause or a moment of stillness into your movements?
Energy

How is the body moving?

Consider the following questions:

  • How could you move lightly (e.g., as if you are a balloon floating through the sky, as if you are an astronaut in outer space)?
  • How could you move as if your body was heavy (e.g., as if you were pushing a big piece of furniture across the floor, as if you were moving through thick mud)?
  • What is an example of a sudden movement?
  • What is an example of a sustained movement?
Relationship

Who or what is the body moving with?

Consider the following questions:

  • How might dancers meet or part in a dance piece?
  • How could emotions or facial expressions be added to movements?
  • How could you move around, under, or over a prop?

Consider the following checklist to help you translate your chosen poem lines into movement.

Your dance sequence should include the following:

Press the 'Energy words' button to access examples of contrasting energy words.

  • floating – sinking
  • pushing – pulling
  • falling – rising
  • twirling – settling
  • drizzling – pouring
  • freezing – melting
  • walking – running

Portfolio

Portfolio

Eight balloons. One is popped by a porcupine, 1 by a crocodile, and 1 above a frying pan with bacon. A popped balloon lies on the floor.

Complete the Eight Balloons Graphic Organizer in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document to record your dance piece. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts. Consider adding your work to your portfolio.

Eight Balloons Graphic Organizer

Press the Activity button to access the Eight Balloons Graphic Organizer.

Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)

Creating a dance sequence

Consider the three movements you came up with for the poem lines you selected.

How might these be sequenced together to create a short dance piece?

Record your dance piece using movements, pictures, or as a detailed written or audio description.

If possible, share the dance sequence with someone! Make sure to follow the safety checklist.

Safety

Before you begin:

Consolidation

Putting it all together

A young person stands in front of a couch indoors dancing in place, swinging their hips back and forth and moving their arms up and down.

Portfolio

Review your learning

Use the following questions to reflect on your dance piece.

  1. How did you use energy and time to translate into movement the lines you selected from the poem?
  2. How might the elements of energy and time be connected? Consider the following:
    1. What might the energy be like when a movement is fast or quick?
    2. What might the energy be like when the movement is slow?
    3. How fast or slow might a movement be when the energy is excited?
    4. How fast or slow might a movement be when the energy is sad or boring?
  3. How does changing the tempo (time) affect the quality of the movements?

Record your responses using a method of your choice. Consider adding your work to your portfolio.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel…

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.