Posing to Learn and Laugh

I was amazed to see that all 28 eighth graders, even rough and tumble Alex, a star lacrosse player, were holding the ballerina pose. Edgar Degas' lovely sculpture, "Little Ballerina," was projected on the wall. I'd challenged students to see if they could hold the pose, third position in ballet, I think, for three minutes. Most of the boys did not immediately leap at the chance, but after some gentle goading they rose to the challenge.

The day before, I'd had the class pose as Rodin's " The Thinker" prior to making a copy sketch to help them study the lines in this sculpture. When I showed them the original in an exhibition photo they were shocked at its tiny size. They found the contrast between the power of the figure and its small stature really interesting. Steven, one of the smaller students in class gave us all a good belly laugh when he said, "He's fun-sized, like me."

The simple act of inviting students to 'strike a pose' engaged everyone but gave the kinesthetic learners in class a chance to receive the art history content with their whole body rather than just their eyes and ears. As athletes know, this also taps into a different kind of memory, muscle memory.
Will having posed as great sculptures help them remember or more deeply understand "The Discobolus," Michelangelo's "David," or as pictured here, "The Winged Nike of Samothrace?" Who knows, but this sculpture unit sure led to lots of laughs!