Actors Learn in Motion

Drama students visited Parker’s Dance Studio to enhance their emergent practice with movement.

In addition to exposing her 8th grade drama students to a range of improvisational and theatrical techniques, teacher and Department Chair Leslie Holland Pryor also wants to ensure she provides an environment that challenges students to work cooperatively as they learn to express themselves creatively.

With a nod to collaboration and bodies in motion on the stage, Pryor took 8th grade students on an in-school field trip to Parker’s Dance Studio, where they spent a series of sessions learning a work from teacher Flo Walker-Harris’ Hip Hop/Urban Dance class.

Students learned the work necessary to acquire kinesthetic knowledge. Through repetition and practice, each section of students learned the routine as individual dancers, then worked together using the studio mirrors to refine their dance and look like a cohesive group.

Some students picked up the steps easily while others struggled. In the end, all students left with a better understanding of the work it takes to add motion to one’s practice and appreciation for those who make it look so easy.

Enjoy photos from the dancing here.