Call and Response

 Hello everyone and welcome back for another exciting installment exploring how dance strategies can be used in the classroom. Last week we explored Body Storming and Improvisation so make sure to check that out if you haven't already!

What is Call and Response?

Let's start with a video to get an idea of what call and response can look like and sound like:

As shown in the video, Call and Response can be a great group activity where different people take turns contributing a dance move or gesture. The video above depicts students from Maasai Mara in Kenya and is a great informal introduction to Call and Response. The Ontario Curriculum defines Call and Response as "A choreographic form in which one soloist or group performs, followed by a second soloist or group whose performance responds to the first" (160).  

Reading this definition makes me realize that call and response has to be an early precursor to dance battles. As a matter of fact, the definition reminded me of one of my favourite movies growing up called You Got Served. The plot of the movie centers around different dance crews who battle by taking turns to best each other with dance moves. The structure of these battles screams Call and Response and it is interesting to see how the dance crews express call and response both on an individual and group level.  Let's take a look:

Due to the inappropriate language in the song the above video is strictly for teachers to refer to for enjoyment. That being said, I found this video interesting because the conflict of the video revolves around the fact that the other dance crew stole their routine, making their responses to their dance moves unoriginal and therefore unusable.

 For the classroom, I would recommend starting with a more basic activity that could look something like this:

How Call and Response Might Look in a Classroom

It is always important to mention that how anything would look in a classroom should be heavily dependant on your unique class profile. It is rare that two classes have the same student needs and learning preferences so that should be understood as a disclaimer. 

We will consider two general scenarios: a class that does not have a lot of dance experience / is shy to the idea of dance and a class that has some experience and confidence related to dance.

Scenario 1: Call and Response could be modeled by the teacher. This could be as simple as putting on a popular song with your class, have them get up out of their seats, and then you would do a simple dance move and have the class respond to it. I would recommend modeling between 3 and 5 dance moves before trying to get an individual student to respond to your call. The main idea here is to model the dance originally to show students that we can respond to a call with a simple dance move and also that it's okay to express yourself with your body.

Scenario 2: Call and Response could be modeled by a theme that is popular with the class. As a matter of fact, if students enjoyed watching the clip from the movie You Got Served it would be a fun and creative way for them to try out Call and Response in a larger group setting. Of course, it would be important to remind students that we are not trying to match the professional dance moves from the video but consider how we could express our group's dance moves in the manner of Call and Response.

Resources to Support Call and Response in the Classroom

Anyone familiar with my last post will be familiar with the great resource CODE. For anyone new tuning in this week, my in-class resource is from a website called CODE (Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators). In particular, I want to provide a great assessment tool for evaluating Call and Response:

I particularly like this lesson example because it has students think about Call and Response in relation to colours and how we can use different colours to enhance Call and Response. 

How I would use Call and Response in the Classroom

I sometimes envision Call and Response as an introductory activity for students or classes who have not yet developed confidence in dance. The calling aspect is a great way for teachers to be able to model early dance moves in order to break the ice for students who feel hesitant. After students become more comfortable, you can let another student lead the calling portion of the activity to increase class engagement. 

Accommodations and Modifications

It is important to have a good idea of your class profile before doing an exercise like this. Identifying a popular song amongst students can be the extra engagement you need to really allow your students to have fun doing an activity like this. Again, it is important to consider the use of assistive technology as a prop or device for students who don't feel comfortable. Even more, offering students the option to record their dance and show it to the teacher privately should be used when needed.