Check out what’s been happening in Huatau Team this week.

Our focus for Integrated Learning this term is ‘How can WE share our understanding of the world through the Arts – dance, drama, visual art and/or music’.

Last week we launched our new Integrated Learning for the term with our students giving them a taste of what we would be focusing on. We shared with students the five different styles of dance from traditional to cultural as well as historical. The students were then asked to choose what style of dance they wanted to explore further. The students could choose from the cultural and traditional dances of New Zealand, Samoa, India, China or to explore dance through the decades. The students were excited and ready to get dancing!

The students who chose to explore the cultural and traditional dance of China will be creating their own lion and dragon costumes and practicing as small groups to learn and present either the lion or dragon dance.

The students who chose to explore the cultural and traditional dance of India will be focusing on the song ‘Jai Ho’ and the dance that goes with this song. Each week they will be learning the different parts of the dance until they can put all the steps together.

The students who chose to explore the cultural and traditional dance of Samoa began by having a look at different dance patterns that mimic our everyday lives such as rubbing our hands together which represents making fire. They have also begun to look at some of the different clapping patterns that will be used when they learn the Samoan Sasa.

The students who chose to explore the cultural and traditional dance of New Zealand will be learning how to use poi for the song ‘E rere taku poi’. They will also be learning how to make their own poi that they will use.

The students who chose to explore dance through the decades will be looking at different dance styles from the different decades such as the waltz, rock ‘n’ roll, moonwalk, hip hop etc. They will choose a dance from a different decade to focus on and will research the dance and its origins as well as learn and perform a snippet of these dance moves.

When complete, Huatau will have a dance performance that showcases all that they have learned during Integrated Learning this term.