DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS TECHNIQUE

Duration: Twelve weeks - Twelves classes Length of classes: 40 minutes each class

1) CLASS 1: INTRODUCTION

Development of skills. Students discover new movements with their bodies, and learn to recognize rhythmic and melodic changes in music. At the same time, they are learning to express known and unknown personages from the countryside with their bodies.

2) CLASS 2: UNDERSTANDING THE INDIGENOUS WORLDVIEW

Presentation of step number 1 of the dance through the Indigenous game “Yarqay Urpichay and Muru” (Hungry Bird and Seeds). Students will hear the story of the hungry bird and the seeds and then as a game will move as birds in step number 1 of the dance. Implementation of dance choreography as an exploration of cultural meaning and context. In Indigenous Peruvian culture, to work as a group in a circle is to imitate the figure of the sun or moon; it also models worship of our Mother Earth. Lines enacted are the furrows of farming or the threads of wool which go into the making of a weaving; triangles, meanwhile, represent the mountains of the Andes, with squares evoking the year’s four seasons. Through this activity, all acquire greater cultural comprehension.

3) CLASS 3: THE MEANINGS OF INDIGENOUS GAMES

"Pukllay" (Game). Students will learn about the animals that live in the Peruvian Andes by means of toy animals brought by the teacher and then will interpret the walk of each animal. Then they will play the game “Who am I?” with students having to guess what another student is impersonating. All of this will be done to the rhythm of the music. Practice of different movements that will include using in a dance the words “follow me”.

4) CLASS 4: GODS OF NATURE

In "Yaku Pukllay,” or “The Water Game,” students listen to the story of how the natives value water and in playing “The Water Game” represent it with their bodies holding hands. This metaphor for water will help them to understand parts 1 and 2 of the choreography, and lets them practice step number 2 of the dance. Review of movements from the last practice. Explanation of the 4 main elements for Andean man: water, fire, air and earth. Discussion of the representation of these elements in the dance. Part 1 of the choreography, step 1.

5) CLASS 5: GODS OF NATURE

Repeat "Yaku Pukllay" (The Water Game). Students will listen to the story of how the natives value water and in playing “The Water Game” represent it with their bodies holding hands. This metaphor for water will help them to understand part 2 of the choreography and they will be able to practice step number 2 of the dance. Explanation of other Andean gods such as the sun, moon, rain, hills and others: why they are important and how they are represented in the dance. Part 2 of the choreography, step 2

6) CLASS 6: THE ANDEAN COSMOVISION

Coyllurpa Anchayispa Añaspa Pukllayni (In the splendor of the stars, the skunk game) Students will listen attentively to the story of what happens with skunks when there is a full moon, and the sky is full of stars. After that, the students will represent the stars, the moon, and the skunks and will perform step number 2 of the dance. Explanation of dualism in the Andean worldview and how it is represented in dance. Part 2 of the choreography, step 2.

7) CLASS 7: INDIGENOUS ARTS

"Away pukllay" (The knitting game) Using a ball of wool, the students will sit down and perform the knitting game, passing the ball of wool one by one to each other and weaving. In this weaving, the students will represent a star or other figure in the Andean Cosmovision. Then they will stand up, and everyone will play the knitting game with their bodies and in two groups. The weaving will be made with step 4 of the dance. At the same time, they will perform a choreography that represents the stars in space. Explanation of how, through the art of knitting, an indigenous person can relate the history from beginning to end of a chosen being. Part 3 of the choreography, step 3.

8) CLASS 8: LANGUAGE AND MEANING

"Runasimita taky pukllay,” or the game of speaking and singing in Quechua, the mother tongue of the Andes. The students will learn to say the words that they will accompany the music of the huayno, and will do it every time the music orders it. Explanation of the meaning of the words in Quechua and their interpretation of the party that is taking place. Part 4 of the choreography, step 4.

9) CLASS 9: RITUALS AND CEREMONIES

"Pachamama ch'antiynin Pukllay" (Connection with the Earth) The students will listen to the story of the game of the connection with the earth and then develop psychomotor skills through the step of the dance. Explanation of why a ritual ceremony is performed, what its elements are and how it is represented in a dance. Part 4 of the choreography, step 4.

10) CLASS 10: GENERAL REHEARSAL AND CELEBRATIONS

“Aymuray pukllay” (Harvest Game) Students will listen to the processes of the harvest game and then stand in a corner to develop it. In this part, we will come to know the crops that are sown and consumed in the Peruvian Andes. Food celebration of the town. Explanation of the meaning of the agricultural cycle: land preparation, sowing, cultivation of crops, harvesting and threshing of the crops. Review: Part1, 2, 3, 4 of the choreography.

11) CLASS 11: TRADITIONAL ICONOGRAPHY

Description of traditional attire and of the iconography in drawings. Students will receive a typical dance costume and listen to the meaning of the drawings or iconography. After this, the students will draw a typical costume describing its parts and their drawings. Explanation of the meaning of the iconography on traditional outfits, its relationship with nature, and how it is represented in dance. Drawing of the iconography represented in the dance with participants’ bodies. Review: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 of the choreography with traditional attires

12) CLASS PERFORMANCES

Presentation of the body of knowledge learned in typical attire and with live music. Discussion and celebration of the performances.