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List of Benchmarks for Dance

Standard 3.Understands dance as a way to create and communicate meaning
 Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
   1. Uses movement and dance to respond to the mood of the music
 Level II (Grades K-4)
   1. Knows how dance is different from other forms of human movement (e.g., sports, everyday gestures)
   2. Knows how a dance may elicit various interpretations and reactions that differ from the meaning intended by the dancer
 Level III (Grades 5-8)
   1. Understands the difference between pantomiming and abstracting a gesture
   2. Understands how different accompaniment (e.g., sound, music, spoken text) can affect the meaning of a dance
   3. Understands how lighting and costuming can contribute to the meaning of a dance
   4. Creates dance that communicates topics/ideas of personal significance
 Level IV (Grades 9-12)
   1. Understands how movement choices are used to communicate abstract ideas and themes in dance (e.g., isolation, relationships, poverty, the environment)
   2. Understands how interpretation of dance can be influenced by personal experience