Dance: Mirroring

Mirroring is a technique of dance that could be improvised or rehearsed. I consists of body movements involving two people. The elements of dance it most focuses on are relationship, body, and energy. It involves to people standing facing each other, one of them acts as the mirror and tries to copy what the other person is doing. Students should maintain eye contact and refrain from talking during the activity. This activity requires good concentration and imagination but also requires understanding of your body movements, the relation with your movements with the other person's, and the energy that the other person is putting into the movements you are mirroring.

 

 I think that mirroring is an excellent activity for either drama or dance. In either context it is a great way to get the class moving and working with a partner. Students need to be focused and respectful of each other in order for this activity to work. I think that students who are excited to get moving can get carried away and begin moving too fast or erratically so much so that their partner cannot keep up and it ceases to be fun for the partner. As a teacher if I knew a student might be too rowdy I would pair them with a calmer student and have them follow their movements. It would be a great opportunity to allow students to demonstrate leadership and responsibility skills in the classroom.

Accommodations for this activity can include things such as: verbal and non-verbal instructions, allow for different movements if a student has a physical disability such as sitting in a chair for a student who is in a wheelchair, pre-selected pairs or groups, time their mirroring, and encourage subtler movements.