Are you in Canada? Click here to proceed to the HK Canada website.

For all other locations, click here to continue to the HK US website.

Human Kinetics Logo

Purchase Courses or Access Digital Products

If you are looking to purchase online videos, online courses or to access previously purchased digital products please press continue.

Mare Nostrum Logo

Purchase Print Products or Ebooks

Human Kinetics print books and Ebooks are now distributed by Mare Nostrum, throughout the UK, Europe, Africa and Middle East, delivered to you from their warehouse. Please visit our new UK website to purchase Human Kinetics printed or eBooks.

Feedback Icon Feedback Get $15 Off
Skip to content
  • Call Us

    800.747.4457

  • Hours

    Mon-Fri 7am - 5pm CST

  • Contact Us

    Get in touch with our team

  • FAQs

    Frequently asked questions

Human Kinetics
Search Log in Cart
Menu
  • Browse By Subject
    • Browse By Subject
    • A-F
      • Active Aging
      • Anatomy
      • Aquatics
      • Athletic Training and Therapy
      • Biomechanics
      • Coaching and Officiating
      • Dance
      • Fitness and Health
    • G-P
      • Health Care in Exercise and Sport
      • Health Education
      • Kinesiology/Exercise and Sport Science
      • Motor Behavior
      • Nutrition and Healthy Eating
      • Physical Education
      • Physical Therapy/Physiotherapy
      • Physiology of Sport and Exercise
      • Psychology of Sport and Exercise
    • Q-Z
      • Recreation and Leisure
      • Sport Management and Sport Business
      • Sports and Activities
      • Strength Training and Conditioning
      • Stretching, Flexibility, and Recovery
  • K-12 / Higher Education
    • K-12 / Higher Education
    • K-12
      • State Adoptions
      • Find a K-12 Sales Rep
      • K-12 Review/Desk Copy Request
    • Higher Education
      • Adopting a Textbook
      • Find a Higher Education Sales Rep
      • Higher Education Review/Desk Copy Request
      • Custom Textbooks
      • Instructor Ancillaries
  • Professional Education
    • Professional Education
    • Continuing Education Center
    • PE Central Professional Development
    • Teacher Professional Development
    • Coach Education
  • Student Resources
    • Student Resources
    • Accessing Online Materials
    • Browse HKPropel Access
    • K-12 Online Resources
  • Discover More
    • Discover More
    • Newsletters
    • Scholarly Journals
    • Blogs
      • Excerpts
      • Active at Home
      • Buying Guides
      • Dance
      • Learning with HK
      • Physical Education and Health
      • Strength, Conditioning, and Fitness
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
    • My Account
  1. Home
  2. Excerpts
  3. Solo Improvisation Task
  • Fitness & Health
  • Sport & Exercise Science
  • Physical Education
  • Strength & Conditioning
  • Sports Medicine
  • Sport Management
  • Dance

Solo Improvisation Task

This is an excerpt from More Dance Improvisations by Justine Reeve.

THREE WORDS

This is a good solo task to help students create movement material that promotes consideration of what’s moving and how. They should be warm and ready to explore.

Cut
Rise
Slice
Melt
Dive
Scurry
Recoil
Shoot

Ask dancers to pick three words from this list to inspire three movements to perform with three body parts. For example, they could cut with an elbow, shoot with a foot or rise with the pelvis.

  1. Have them join the movements with a transition, challenging them to take up as much space as possible.
  2. Once it’s become one phrase, have them add the dynamics they think will make each movement more effective. These can be exaggerated. They’ll then add a static version.
  3. Ask students to explore travelling these movements in a straight line to create a moving version.
  4. They can join the static and moving versions to create a phrase or join all the movements in any order.
  5. Once they’re confident with this phrase, ask them to create a second by finding movements that oppose each one.
  6. They can also join these to create a longer phrase to use in a solo or group dance.
Two dancers explore the words ‘slice’ and ‘rise’.
Two dancers explore the words ‘slice’ and ‘rise’.

Teaching Tip

Ask dancers to share what they’ve created for number 5 with the rest of the group. Prompt them to explain how they’ve placed the movements together and in what order. This will inspire others to reassess their responses.

Further Development

Ask dancers to find a way to make it travel. Have them challenge their partners to a race to see who can cover the most space whilst maintaining their choreographed movements. They could repeat this task but select words from a theme or idea to choreograph a whole dance. This could be from a poem, script, story or song.

More Excerpts From More Dance Improvisations

SHOP


    HK INSIDER

    Get the latest insights with regular newsletters, plus periodic product information and special insider offers.

    JOIN NOW


    Latest Posts

    • Outdoor recreation and adventure activities lead to positive health outcomes for children
    • Schools offer a wide variety of adventure programs for children
    • Using sport to change society
    • Despite progress, equity remains a pressing challenge for women in sport
    • What today’s athletes expect from coaches
    • Barriers to youth participation in physical activity and sport
    Back to top

    About Our Products

    • Catalogs
    • Special Offers
    • Newsletters
    • Report Piracy

    Services

    • Review/Desk Copies
    • Customer Service
    • Accessibility
    • Business to Business

    About Us

    • About Human Kinetics
    • About Lotus Books
    • Career Opportunities
    • Become an Author

    Contact Us

    1607 N. Market Street
    Champaign, IL 61820

    p: 800-747-4457 / f: 217-351-1549

    CustomerSupport@hkusa.com

    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    Payment methods accepted
    • American Express
    • Apple Pay
    • Diners Club
    • Discover
    • Google Pay
    • Mastercard
    • Visa

    © 2025 Human Kinetics.
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Product Safety
    • Safe Harbor Policy
    • Returns Policy
    • Shipping Policy
    • Continuing Education
    Human Kinetics Virtual Assistant