Assignment #1:
Reggaeton Research Experience (Grades 9-12)
Pretest: Answer these questions to the best of your ability without conducting any additional research.
1. What is reggaeton?
2. Where did it originate?
3. What are three of its main characteristics?
4. What American music style does reggaeton resemble, in your opinion?
5. Describe "Gasolina."
6. What styles of Latin music influenced reggaeton?
7. In your opinion, why don't you think reggaeton is as big of a music genre in America as it is elsewhere in the world?
Now, visit these sites to learn more about reggaeton:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaeton
www.raggaetonline.com
www.musicofpuertorico.com
Listen to "Gasolina" on itunes.com.
Now, take the pretest as a post-test. Submit both your pre- and post-test results at the end of the class period.
Assignment #2: Beginning Choreography (Grades 9-12)
Female singers were particularly successful in popular music during the last ten years for their introspective, soulful and sometimes folksy music. Most of you have listened to Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, Norah Jones, Pink or Michelle Branch. Choose a song by one of these artists and analyze the lyrics. What themes, emotions or images come to mind for you? How would you describe the feel of the song?
Using your answers to these questions as the basis, create a short 2-minute dance that captures your introspective side. Remember, these dances do not have to be literal interpretations of the songs - I'd prefer that they were more abstract. Be prepared to discuss with the class how the song lyrics you chose influenced your movement choices.
As always, these dances must incorporate the basic choreographic elements of time, space, energy and form. You do not need to perform your dance to your chosen song, although that is an option for you if you would like.
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