Dancing is a way to reduce our stress. Sekolah Ciputra has opened dance classes for all MYP students from Grades 7 to 9 as an Arts Compulsory subject and Grade 10 as an Arts subject choice. Dance class is just one of the Art experiences offered. Students’ also are involved with Visual Art, Drama and Music.
Dance class provides opportunities to experience various genres and have a lot of fun. Here are some reflections from our students
Fun Learning “Tari Remo” by Claudia Maheli – Grade 7
Tari Remo Practice [Source: (Maheli, 2020)]
In my dance lessons, I learned an Indonesian dance called “Tari Remo” and from this dance I learned different types of motif, the story or the meaning of this motif and how to do it. I also tried to do it in class following Mr.Fery’s movements and also at home, it all depends timing. After some practice, I am able to vary the movements. I also learned about dance elements and 5W + 1H and actually get to work in a group which is pretty fun because we get to discuss together and build up teamwork. I also learned how to make a portfolio which was fun to do because it’s like writing an article. And lastly, inferences and conclusions, in dance I learned about SOI, global contest, ATL skills, key concepts and I get to explain what each of them is within the context of dance. So basically, this whole dancing journey was a lot fun to do.
Hip-Hop Challenge by Shannon Melody Singopranoto – Grade 8
Figure 2 Hip-Hop Dance [Source: (Melodi/2020)]
Greetings, my name is Shannon, representing Grade 8 to share my experience about the dance lessons I had earlier this year. During the lesson, we focused on the genre of hip hop. I learned a lot of things, not only about how to dance but also about analyzing and planning the details in dance. What I find interesting about this lesson is that aside from learning to do dance movements, we were also asked to do some written tasks dealing with dance that really helped me understand more about the basics of dance. Some examples were about researching the history of hip hop, making a composition proposal, analyzing ATLs needed as a dancer, and lots more. For our final project, we were assigned to make a hip hop choreography of our own after being taught about the basics of hip hop. How I got ideas of creating choreography is to master the basic skills first, then, later on, add some variations to the rhythm or the movements to make it look more technical. It was quite challenging, but I had to put my creative cap on to be able to make an intriguing hip hop performance in the end.
Just Because You Can’t Dance, Doesn’t Mean You Should Not Dance by Miyauchi Mai – Grade 10
Freedom Dance [Source: (Mai, 2021)]
Since I moved to Sekolah Ciputra, it was my first time to learn dance as one of the subjects. So, I didn’t know that dance has elements and principles; once I knew that, I realized that dance is meaningful and deep. I have learned about hip-hop, cultural, and currently freedom dance. I was not interested in attending dance class at first because I do not know how to dance. Besides, I have to dance alone; it’s not fun. But one day, my dance teacher saw my dance practice video and said, “Frankly speaking, I’ve watched your dance practice videos, and I thought that you need to give more effort in dancing, but for the overall dance genre you are excellent to do the freedom dance topic.” I was encouraged by his words that he makes me think that dancing is fun. In my opinion in order to succeed, we have to change our attitude toward dance. When we think that dance is FUN, we will enjoy it. Just because you can’t dance, doesn’t mean you should not dance.
Thank you taking the time to read our students’ dance class experiences.
Mr. Fery Noviyanto – Dance Teacher
