The following are three ways of responding. Associations could be of a personal nature or could come from a cultural perspective. The three types of responses vary and shift in emphasis from viewer to viewer and from dance to dance. For example, one viewer might have an immediate emotional response to a dance, while another might have an intellectual response. One dance might demand an immediate emotional response so that most viewers will respond this way initially, while another dance might demand that most viewers make immediate associations with images in the work.
Students can work through the process in one large group, or in small groups.
The teacher could also set up a learning centre activity using the seven steps. Step One Preparation Preparing students for the dance performance can pique the students' interest and heighten the value of their viewing experience. Students must be made to feel that their unique contributions to the viewing will be valuable, that their opinions are valid, and that the opinions and perspectives of others are to be respected. This is a time to remind students that we all look at the same dance through different eyes. Our cultural perspectives and past experiences will influence our responses to the dance.