Home›Lesson Plans›The Arts›Dance · Grade 9

The Choreographic Process

Ninth graders learn the choreographic process — explore, select, develop, refine, and present — the professional workflow that turns raw movement ideas into a finished, polished dance.

Grade 9Choreography50 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain the process.
  • ✓Generate & select movement.
  • ✓Order the steps.
  • ✓Choreograph a work.
Essential Question

A finished dance doesn’t appear all at once — choreographers follow a process from first ideas to final performance. What are the steps?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Put in Order · Interactive

Order the Choreographic Process

Project this and have students put the choreographic process steps in order.

💃 Put the choreographic process in order!Try it
Tap the first step!
The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Create · Perform · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — From Idea to Stage

5 min

A finished dance follows a process from first ideas to final show — what steps?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a rough vs. polished phrase.
  • Ask what happened between.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch.
  • Wonder.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Choreographic Process

12 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Order the Choreographic Process.
  • Order them.
  • Note refine before present.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Order.
  • Note it.
  • Name.
3

Create — Create

14 min

Students create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explore movement.
  • Select the best.
  • Develop it.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explore.
  • Select.
  • Develop.
4

Perform — Perform

12 min

Students perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present your work.
  • Show the polish.
  • Give critique.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Present it.
  • Polish.
  • Critique.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name the first step.
  • Explain refine.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name it.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Dance, HS Proficient).

NCAS
DA:Cr1.1.HSI

Explore and generate movement.

NCAS
DA:Cr2.1.HSI

Develop and organize movement.

NCAS
DA:Cr3.1.HSI

Refine and finish a dance.

NCAS
DA:Pr6.1.HSI

Present a choreographed work.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Process-step cards.
  • Sentence frame: “First ___, then ___.”
  • Use a phrase.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with explore and present.
  • Order two at a time.
  • Do one step.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Choreograph a full study.
  • Keep a process journal.
  • Refine from feedback.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🎵Music
  • 💻Order the Choreographic Process
  • 👟Open space
  • ✏️Pens
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

choreographic processthe steps of making a danceexploreto improvise and try ideasselectto choose the best materialdevelopto shape and expand movementrefineto clean and polishpresentto perform the finished workimproviseto make up movementpolishto make precise and clean
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is a good FIRST step in the choreographic process?
Explore — improvise and generate movement ideas.
QUESTION 2
What do you do in the “refine” step?
Clean and polish the work.
QUESTION 3
What is the last step?
Present — perform the finished dance.

Reflect: make a dance.

Have students explore movement for a theme, then select two ideas they’d develop. A printable process sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 The Choreographic ProcessFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 The Choreographic ProcessQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ The Choreographic ProcessPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: choreographic process, develop, explore, improvise, polish, present, refine, select
  1. to perform the finished work
  2. to improvise and try ideas
  3. to make precise and clean
  4. to choose the best material
  5. to shape and expand movement
  6. to clean and polish
  7. to make up movement
  8. the steps of making a dance

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is a good FIRST step in the choreographic process?
  2. What do you do in the “refine” step?
  3. What is the last step?
Answer key — Part A: 1) present · 2) explore · 3) polish · 4) select · 5) develop · 6) refine · 7) improvise · 8) choreographic process
Part B: 1) Explore — improvise and generate movement ideas. 2) Clean and polish the work. 3) Present — perform the finished dance.