Poverty: A Movement and Dance Exploration

1. No Poverty

Dance/Movement

Grades 9-12

30-60 Minutes

Materials Needed

• Open space for movement
• Audio
• Whiteboard or large chart paper
• Markers
• Notebooks or Paper
• Pens/Pencils

Goal 1: No Poverty

You can find an introduction to Goal 1, as well as the Targets & Indicators, Objectives, and Action Planning Resources on the Goal overview page.

See Goal 1 Overview

Briefly introduce the UN's Global Goal 1: No Poverty. Discuss the various dimensions of poverty, including economic hardship, social exclusion, and lack of access to basic needs. Examples:

Explain that movement and dance can be powerful tools for expressing emotions, telling stories, and promoting empathy. Examples:

Lead students through a gentle warm-up, focusing on stretching and loosening up the body. Incorporate simple movements that reflect the theme of struggle and resilience, such as reaching, pushing, and lifting. Play instrumental music that could connect to these feelings. Examples:

Examples include:

Economic Hardship: Lack of financial resources for basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.
Social Exclusion: Marginalization and discrimination based on socioeconomic status, leading to limited opportunities and social isolation.
Lack of Access to Basic Needs: Limited access to clean water, sanitation, education, healthcare, and essential services.
Vulnerability to Shocks and Disasters: Increased susceptibility to natural disasters, economic downturns, and other crises.

Emotions: Dance can express a wide range of emotions, from joy and celebration to sadness and anger, allowing for a cathartic release and deeper understanding of complex feelings.
Storytelling: Through movement and choreography, dancers can convey narratives of struggle, resilience, hope, and triumph over adversity.
Empathy: Witnessing and participating in dance can foster empathy by allowing individuals to connect with the experiences and emotions of others through nonverbal communication.

Reaching: Extend arms overhead, reaching for something just out of reach, symbolizing striving for a better life.
Pushing: Push against an imaginary wall, representing the challenges and obstacles faced by those in poverty.
Lifting: Lift an imaginary weight, signifying the burden of poverty and the strength required to overcome it.
Stretching: Gently stretch muscles, symbolizing the flexibility and resilience needed to adapt to difficult circumstances.

Poverty Tableau: Divide students into small groups and assign each group a specific aspect of poverty. Have them create a frozen tableau that visually represents their assigned theme. Encourage them to use their bodies to convey emotions and experiences associated with poverty, utilizing the same or similar music as in the previous exercise.

Examples include:

Hunger: Students crouch down with empty bowls, expressing the pain and desperation of food insecurity.
Homelessness: Students huddle together for warmth, depicting the vulnerability and insecurity of those without shelter.
Lack of Education: Students sit with heads in their hands, symbolizing the frustration of limited educational opportunities.

Resilience Improvisation: Play upbeat music and invite students to move freely, expressing resilience, hope, and determination through their bodies. Encourage them to explore different levels, dynamics, and pathways in their movements.

Encourage students to move with energy and determination, embodying the spirit of overcoming challenges.
Suggest movements like jumping, leaping, spinning, and reaching towards the sky.
Invite students to use facial expressions and gestures to convey hope and optimism.

Music Examples:

Partner/Group Choreography: Have students work in pairs or small groups to create a short dance phrase that tells a story about overcoming adversity or supporting others in need. Encourage them to use a combination of individual and collaborative movements, incorporating different dance styles and techniques.

Examples include:

Two students create a dance representing one person helping another to stand up and overcome a hardship.
A group choreographing a piece about a community coming together to support a family in need.
Students using different dance styles like modern, hip-hop, or traditional dances to express their stories.

Lead a gentle cool-down, encouraging students to focus on their breathing and release any tension in their bodies. Examples:

Deep Breathing: Guide students through a series of deep breaths, focusing on inhaling calmness and exhaling tension.
Gentle Stretching: Slowly stretch different muscle groups to release any remaining tightness or discomfort.
Mindfulness: Encourage students to close their eyes and focus on their body sensations, promoting relaxation and self-awareness.
Visualization: Guide students to visualize a peaceful scene or imagine themselves floating on water, fostering a sense of tranquility.

Have students reflect on their learning experience through discussion or writing. Ask guiding questions like:

How did physically embodying the struggles and resilience associated with poverty through movement deepen your understanding of the issue?
What emotions did you connect with in your body while exploring the different movement prompts, and how did those emotions relate to the experiences of poverty?
Did creating and witnessing the tableaux help you visualize the realities of poverty in a new or more impactful way?
How did the contrast between the "struggle" and "resilience" movements feel in your body?
What did your body communicate about the weight or the potential for overcoming poverty that words alone might not express?
How can dance and movement be a powerful tool for telling stories and raising awareness about complex social issues like poverty/
What aspects of poverty or resilience do you think about most effectively communicated through non-verbal expression?
How can the collective movement of a group, like in our improvisations or partner work, symbolize community support or the shared struggle against poverty?
What kind of impact do you think a dance performance about poverty could have on an audience?
How can the universality of movement help bridge the gap between those who have experienced poverty and those who haven't?
Did any of the movement explorations resonate with you on a personal level, perhaps connection to feelings of struggle or the need for resilience in your own life?
What did you learn about the strength and dignity of individuals facing poverty through this embodied exploration?
How might your understanding of poverty, shaped by this movement experience, influence your willingness to take action?
What kind of message about poverty and resilience do you think could be effectively conveyed through dance to a wider audience?
What role do you see for creative expression, like dance, in advocating for social change and addressing issues like poverty?

Consistent and enthusiastic involvement in all phases of the lesson, including the warm-up, poverty tableau, resilience improvisation, partner/group choreography, and class discussions.
Comprehension of Global Goal 1, targets and core concepts, as demonstrated through the symbolism and intention within the movement pieces (tableaux, improvisations, choreography) and verbal explanations.
Originality and effectiveness in designing and performing movements that vividly represent specific aspects of poverty (e.g., hunger, homelessness, lack of education) and resilience (e.g., hope, determination, community support).
How clearly and powerfully the movement pieces communicated the intended message about poverty and resilience. Did the dance successfully evoke thought or emotion in the audience?
Ability to work effectively within the small groups or pairs, contributing ideas, respecting diverse interpretations, and collaborating cohesively during the choreography process.
Willingness to use entire bodies and facial expressions to convey emotions and experiences associated with poverty and resilience.
Nuance and depth of understanding demonstrated in reflections, particularly concerning the role of embodied learning in understanding the human experience of poverty.