Study Guide
Sample Selected-Response Questions
Field 48: Dance
Practice Questions
Subarea I–Dance Elements, Concepts, and Skills
Objective 0001: Understand basic movement elements, concepts, and skills.
1. Which of the following elements related to time is used to create a sense of momentum during a dance?
- an uneven meter
- an increasing tempo
- a regular beat
- a long duration
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0001: Understand basic movement elements, concepts, and skills.
2. In dance, the terms curved, straight, zigzag, and irregular are generally used to refer to:
- nonlocomotor actions.
- uses of energy.
- body shapes.
- pathways of movement.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D.
Objective 0002: Understand the fundamental technical skills and concepts of ballet.
3. Compared to nineteenth-century classical ballet, twentieth-century neoclassical ballet is more likely to incorporate:
- sustained elevations and pointe work.
- stories and narrative themes.
- quick movements and asymmetries.
- floor work and bare feet.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Objective 0003: Understand the fundamental technical skills and concepts of modern dance.
4. In modern dance, the feet are in second position parallel when the toes of both feet are pointing forward and:
- the entire length of the inner edges of both feet touch one another.
- one foot is placed approximately eight inches directly in front of the other foot.
- the feet are placed approximately shoulder width apart.
- the big toe of one foot is in line with both the back of the heel and the inner edge of the other foot.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Objective 0004: Understand the fundamental technical skills and concepts of jazz dance.
5. A jazz dancer performs the following sequence of steps.
- Begin standing with feet together.
- Step the right foot left, crossing the left leg.
- Step directly backward on the left foot.
- Step the right foot right.
- Step directly forward on the left foot.
This combination is known as a:
- spider walk.
- four corners walk.
- jazz star.
- jazz square.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D.
Objective 0006: Understand the fundamental technical skills and concepts of international folk and social dance forms.
6. Distorted body shapes, grotesque imagery, and slow-moving choreography are technical skills and traditional characteristics that are primarily associated with which of the following dance styles?
- Mexican folkloric
- Japanese butoh
- Spanish flamenco
- Indian bharatanatyam
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0007: Understand components of healthful living and fitness that promote lifelong well-being for dancers.
7. During intense periods of training, rehearsing, and performing, complex carbohydrates are an important component of a dancer's diet because they provide:
- ample fuel needed to build and maintain muscles.
- more immediately available energy than protein or fat.
- high levels of calcium for strengthening bones.
- less starch and dietary fiber than simple carbohydrates.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0007: Understand components of healthful living and fitness that promote lifelong well-being for dancers.
8. Which of the following is the primary benefit of participating in daily dance activities whether or not one is preparing for a performance?
- maintaining the body's strength, flexibility, and endurance
- working muscles that may be neglected during performance
- creating a movement style that can be easily recognized
- using repetition to improve the body's muscle memory
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A.
Subarea II–Creating and Analyzing Dance
Objective 0008: Understand choreographic principles and processes.
9. Which of the following steps is most important for a choreographer to take before beginning choreography for a dance production?
- researching the past experience and proven abilities of the dancers involved in the performance
- exploring the movement qualities and dynamics he or she wishes to use in the dance work
- becoming familiar with the physical features of the space in which the performance will take place
- determining the size, interests, and expectations of the potential audience for the performance
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Objective 0009: Understand choreographic devices, forms, and structures.
10. A choreographer who wishes to explore the essence of a feeling, an image, or an idea through movement is most likely to use which of the following choreographic forms?
- repetition
- chance
- abstraction
- narrative
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Objective 0010: Understand dance as a way to create and communicate meaning.
11. Use the table below to answer the question that follows.
| Line | Weight | Space | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | strong | direct | sustained |
| B | strong | direct | sudden |
| C | strong | indirect | sustained |
| D | strong | indirect | sudden |
Which line in the table represents the combination of elements in a movement phrase that would be most likely to convey the sense of moving a heavy object?
- Line A
- Line B
- Line C
- Line D
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A.
Objective 0011: Understand the application of creative and critical thinking skills in dance.
12. Knowledge of principles of design would best be used to evaluate which of the following aspects of a dance performance?
- the technical clarity of the dancers' movement and expressive skills
- the appropriateness of the chosen dance style to the theme of the piece
- the effectiveness of the choreography in communicating the intent of the piece
- the dynamic quality of the dancers' presence in executing the choreography
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Objective 0011: Understand the application of creative and critical thinking skills in dance.
13. When revising a dance work over time, which of the following is the most important consideration in determining what changes should be made?
- whether the changes will enhance the expression of the choreographer's vision for the work
- whether the changes address issues raised by others who have seen the work performed
- whether the changes will improve the suitability of the choreography for the dancers' skills
- whether the changes introduce enough innovation to give the work a new sense of purpose
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A.
Subarea III–The History and Roles of Dance
Objective 0012: Understand the history of dance.
14. Changing social perspectives in late nineteenth-century U.S. and European society that encouraged naturalism and self-expression most contributed to the emergence of early forms of which of the following dances?
- jazz dance
- modern dance
- partnered social dance
- musical theater dance
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0013: Understand the relationship between dance and culture.
15. Since before recorded history, the Hopi have performed the Snake Dance in summer as part of a ritual designed to bring rain and ensure a good harvest. In the early twenty-first century, the continued performance of this dance is most important to the Hopi because it also serves which of the following purposes?
- a public attraction that generates income from tourists and other visitors
- a community activity that reaffirms traditional values and beliefs connected with the group’s identity
- a performance activity that provides an opportunity to rehearse for intertribal powwows
- a social event that strengthens ties with other Native American communities in the state and region
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0014: Understand the relationship of dance to other art forms.
16. Which of the following expressive techniques is frequently used by both choreographers and painters to focus viewers' attention on the importance of an element of meaning?
- sequence
- variety
- contrast
- climax
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C.
Subarea IV–Dance Education
Objective 0015: Understand the philosophical foundations of dance education.
17. In the twenty-first century, one significant difference between educational dance—dance taught as part of the public-school curriculum—and dance taught in private dance studios is that educational dance is more likely to focus on:
- exploring dance as an art form and a process of creation, performance, and response.
- providing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a career as a dancer.
- introducing students to a variety of dance forms, movement styles, and competitions.
- teaching dance as a recreational and social activity as well as a performance art.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A.
Objective 0016: Understand instructional planning, implementation, and management associated with the teaching of dance in a school setting.
18. Which of the following dance activities is most appropriately introduced at the high school level, given the typical sequence of students' development of abstract reasoning skills?
- learning and performing a complete dance to a song
- solving a movement problem with multiple possible outcomes
- improvising freely to a piece of music
- working with partners doing movement-mirroring exercises
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B.
Objective 0017: Understand integral skills and strategies required of the professional dance educator.
19. Which of the following examples of creative dance activities is most likely to encourage the use of problem-solving skills?
- Students are asked to move rhythmically by matching the beat of a drum with whichever body part they choose to move.
- Students are asked to create individual movements and base each successive movement on the sensations and feelings generated by the previous movement.
- Students are asked to move in pairs by taking turns creating movements and mirroring the movements created by their partner.
- Students are asked to create a large body shape, move from that shape to create a large movement, and then move from the original shape into a small movement.
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D.
Objective 0018: Understand ways to integrate dance into other areas of the educational curriculum.
20. Which of the following would be the best approach for a dance teacher to use in developing a lesson plan that integrates dance learning with mathematics?
- collaborating with a mathematics teacher to have students create a dance that explores the characteristics of patterns
- asking students to identify and write a report on a similarity between mathematics and dance
- having students list in their journals concepts used in dance that they encounter while studying mathematics
- borrowing a mathematics textbook to identify words and concepts that could be used to stimulate dance movement ideas for improvisation
- Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A.