Quick Description
Players in pairs. One player is the leader the other is the follower. Play music. The goal of the leader is to find what sort of dance moves make the follower happy.
Working with a partner
Most actors have played “The Mirror Game.” It’s a wonderful partner activity created by Viola Spolin and Neva Boyd.
Participants get into pairs and face each other.
One person leads the movement and the other follows.
The teacher calls out “switch” for the leadership to switch.
Continue switching to build focus, trust and skill until both are leading and both are following.
This is a beautiful concept called Following the Follower.
There are so many teaching points in this activity about working with a partner.
Dance to make your partner happy Activity
This improv activity is a great way to remind us that we are co-creating.
You’ll need a way to play music and a large enough space for everyone to move around comfortably.
Participant get into pairs and face each other.
Explain that this is a non-verbal activity that involves dancing.
Ask the pair to chose one of them to be the first leader.
The other person in the pair is the follower. Ask the follower to watch what the leader does and follow as best they can.
Tell the leader to pick dance moves that the follower likes.
The question may come up: How do we do that?
I suggest you be vague in your answer. “Why not try it and see what you discover?”
After the dancing
After the dancing ask the leader to identify what dance moves were the favorite of the follower.
Then ask the follower what moves made them happy.
Switch the leader and follower.
Notes
You can run this activity multiple times asking the pairs to change partners.
While running this activity at BATS Improv, one performer admitted that they got lost in the dance and did not notice what their ‘follower’ enjoyed.
How can you bring out the best in your partners? Do you notice when your partner is having a good time?
If your partner is having a good time you’re on the right track.
Origin
I learned this from Laura Doorneweerd. Check out her site.
It shares some thematic qualities to the game “What Comes Next? No.” from Keith Johnstone.
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