Lesson Overview:

Students learn a teacher-choreographed dance involving a character from the musical Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Students then choreograph original dances based on a character of their choosing.

Length of Lesson:

Four 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• execute a teacher-choreographed piece based on a gesture of a character from Act I of the musical Sunday in the Park with George.
• select a character from the same play and an accompanying gesture, which are then used as the basis for composing a dance phrase.
• choreograph a dance phrase using five steps from a compositional strategy.

Supplies:

• Music selections, such as pieces by Claude Debussy ("La Mer" or "La Faun") or Maurice Ravel. Both were composing around the time that Georges Seurat painted A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Selections from the musical Sunday in the Park with George would also be suitable for the lesson.
• Prints of the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat (see Sources section)
• A large sheet listing the cast of characters for Act I of Sunday in the Park with George.
• A large poster lising the list five steps in the compositional strategy.

Instructional Plan:

Note: this lesson should be taught as the second lesson in a three-part unit. Students should already have completed the activities and assignments in Introduction to Seurat and Sondheim.

Introduction

Display a print of Georges Seurat's painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Give students the following information:

"In the previous lesson, you learned that this painting is the basis for the musical Sunday in the Park with George, by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. One of the characters in this painting (and the play) is going to be a source for a short dance composition. We will assign a gesture to a character that appears in Act I of Sunday in the Park with George. Then, we will follow the steps of a compositional strategy to create a dance phrase, which you will learn. The strategies for composing a dance are many and varied. This is just one of methods:"

• Choose a gesture.
• Make the movement faster or slower than normal.
• Perform the movement while traveling.
• Change the level of the movement twice.
• Create a short, patterned phrase of movement from these experiments.

Note: Display a poster of the five compositional steps and distribute the Steps of the Compositional Strategy student guide.

Later, you will be asked to follow the same steps to create a dance phrase based on a gesture from a character that you have chosen from the play."

Teacher-Guided Activity

Lead the students in a short warm-up. Then, teach the class a dance sequence using the compositional strategy. (The movements involved in each step can be repeated any number of times). The teacher may choreograph an original piece or use the example described below.

First, choose a character. (The following example uses the character of the nurse.) Then, follow the steps of the strategy:

1. Choose a gesture:
Start from a seated position, with the back to the audience. The arm starts in close to the body and then opens out as if to guide the steps of another person.

2. Make the movement faster or slower than normal:
The right arm starts in close to the body and very slowly begins to extend to the front of the body as the body leans forward. The arm continues to slowly circle out to the side as the upper body follows the movement of the arm to the side.

3. Perform the movement while traveling:
The movements of the arm and upper body are repeated from #2 as the feet take the body in the same direction, quickly traveling (walking or running) forward and then gradually curving out to the side.

4. Change the level of the movement twice:
Assume the beginning pose of the character (seated on the ground, back to the audience). As the body rises and the hand is in, take small steps beginning out to the right side with the steps making a circular path (as in #3) to end up facing front. Repeat the movement with the opposite arm (left) traveling to the left, but this time make a complete circle to end up facing front again. The body continues down on one knee (the right) while the arm continues the movement from being out to the side to behind the back and the upper body is bent over the knee.

5. Create a short, patterned phrase of movement from these experiments:

For the first 16 counts, perform the movements in step #4.

For counts 17-20, execute the arm gesture to a faster tempo (right arm, left arm, right, and left) as the body rises to a standing level. The focus is looking up.

For counts 21-24, lower the body slowly as the arms come down to touch the floor on either side. The head is down.

During counts 25-28, the body travels diagonally to the right (walk: right, left, right) as the shoulder leads to guide the movement.

In counts 29-32, repeat the same movement as in counts 25-28, but move diagonally to the left. On the final count, the left arm comes straight down to the side with a percussive movement.

Have the students perform the movements to the music. Half of the class should perform the dance phrase for the other half; then, each half should switch roles.

Assignment

Tell students to finish reading Sunday in the Park with George and come to the next class with the selected character and gesture.

Independent Activity:

Display the poster of the five-step compositional strategy, and tell students:

"In the last lesson, you learned a dance phrase that was choreographed according to a specific compositional strategy. You were asked to come in today with a selected character and a gesture connected to the script or narrative by that character. Using the same five-step compositional strategy, you are now to create a dance phrase representative of your character coming alive off the canvas."

Display a poster containing the list of characters in Act I of Sunday in the Park with George with some possible gestures:

• George: extending arm out, pointing to "a perfect tree"
• Dot: turning her back toward others; hand up to the forehead as though it is very hot; having hand on the back of the neck again, as though it is very hot
• Old Lady: stretching the head or neck out as though looking for a fan
• Nurse: opening out her arm as if guiding the steps of another
• Franz: putting one hand out and then the other to indicate all that they do as servants: "First this, then that, etc."
• Boy: stretching and curving his arms out to the side as though mimicking someone who is large and fat
• Jules: extending the head and neck forward as though looking closer at the painting
• Yvonne: pointing to Dot's dress and laughing, covering her mouth
• A Boatman: throwing back his head to indicate that it is so hot
• Celeste 1 and Celeste 2: pointing around at others; quick movements with arms and head; covering the mouth as if gossiping and whispering about others
• Freida: shaking her head in dissatisfaction when Franz tries to choke Louise
• Soldier: extending arm out as though throwing away, to indicate "I am glad to be free of him."
• Mr. And Mrs.: gazing downward and shaking their heads as if they are disappointed with being in Paris

Other characters in Act I include:

• Young Man
• A Man
• Louise
• Louis
• A Little Girl
• A Woman

Review the guidelines for the dance phrase:

a. The beginning pose/stance must be the same as the selected character's position in the painting.

b. The ending position is to be determined by the student.

c. The phrase should last for approximately 32–64 counts.

Halfway through the class period, have students take their positions in relation to one another and perform as much of the dance phrase as they have completed up to that point. The students should practice with the music, and perform the sequence more than once, if necessary. Students should feel free to revise, add, delete, rework, or change elements of the dance phrase at various points of the process.

Assessment:

See the accompanying Assessment Rubric.

Sources:

Print:

• Broude, Norma (ed.). Georges Seurat: Rizzoli Art Series. New York: International Publications, 1992.
• Courthion, Pierre. Georges Seurat. New York: Harry N. Abrams , Inc.,1968.
• Fry, Roger (essay) and Sir Anthony Blunt (foreward and notes). Seurat London: Phaidon Publishers, Inc., 1965.
• Herbert, Robert L., Francoise Cachin, Anne Distel, Susan Alyson Stein, and Gary Tinterow. Georges Seurat: 1859-1891. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991.
• Sondheim, Stephen and James Lapine. Sunday in the Park with George. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1986.
• Thomson, Richard. Seurat. Oxford, England: Phaidon Press, 1985.

Authors:

• Lillian Hasko, Dance Teacher
  Montgomery County Public Schools
  Silver Spring, MD United States