Warm Up

10 minutes

Welcome

• Hello! Begin seated in a circle. Introduce yourself, welcome each dancer, begin to learn each participants’ name and use them throughout the activity.

Scripture – Joshua 1:9

• “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

• Think about this scripture as we dance today and we’ll talk about it more after we move a bit.

Muscles and Bones

• Introduce the dance concepts Strong and Light. The more muscles we use the stronger the force, the less muscles we use the lighter the force.
• Begin moving Strong. Encourage dancers to imagine moving using all their muscles – strong and powerful, push, pull, leap, run, punch, twist. 
• Next, relax their muscles and move using only their bones – like a skeleton, light as a feather, floating, gliding, twirling, melting. 
• Continue alternating moving Strong and Light while focusing on the imagery of muscles and bones. You could use a song that has two alternating parts to cue the switch, or continue to cue vocally. 

Discuss – Which way of moving came more naturally for you to move, light or strong? How did you feel as you moved the opposite way?

Explore Concept

20 minutes

Force Field

• Begin in a large circle. Do a movement that is very strong, the next person will do the same movement but with less force and so on until it returns to the teacher as a very light movement. Then do a light movement and each person does the same movement with added force until the last person is doing it very strong. 
• Continue growing strong and light movements. As dancers are more comfortable, challenge some or all of them to have a turn starting the movement. Try alternating strong and light movements instead of growing the force around the circle.
• Discuss – What made a movement clearly Strong or clearly Light? What was challenging about changing force by degrees instead of extremes?

Share the Weight

• Find a partner. Begin facing each other and press palms together at shoulder level. Press into your partner but don’t push them down. Share the weight between you – elbows and knees should be slightly bent and you should feel balanced. 
• Next, hold onto your partner’s wrists and pull back. Arms should be straight while legs are bent as though you are sitting in a chair.
• Switch partners and repeat to give dancers experience working with different sizes. When dancers are comfortable with this, try side by side pressing or pulling with one arm or different levels. Remind dancers to keep control of their bodies and take care of each other too.

Discuss – What did you notice working with different partners?

Create

10 minutes

Sticky Partners A to B

• With a partner (or trio if there’s an odd number), move from point A to point B while sharing weight. Always stay in contact with each other. 
• Practice a few times altogether improvising movement as they travel across the room. Then give dancers a few minutes to create their movement intentionally. 
• Perform each duet again as a final performance across the floor (do 2-3 groups at a time for a larger group as space allows).

Cool Down

5 minutes

Stretch and Discuss Connections

• Gather and sit in a circle. Encourage dancers to stretch while discussing the questions or lead them in a stretch while discussing together. Here are some question ideas:

• How did moving today relate to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
• What new insights did exploring Strong and Light Weight bring?
• Reread the scripture – Joshua 1:9
  • “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
  • Add more context and backstory as you discuss together the implications and promises of this verse.

• What is challenging about being strong in our faith in Christ today? How can we overcome those challenges and stay true to Him?