This is a modified version of an activity that I participated in at the Luna Dance Summer Institute 2011.

Grade Level:
3rd & up
Materials: Chopsticks - 1 for every student in class.

Warm Up:
1) Have students partner up and decide on an “A” and “B”
2) Have students explore mirroring each other. Variations:
    - A leads
    - B leads
    - A and B lead - switching leadership back and forth on their own time.
    - Extra challenge: change leadership, back and forth, without talking.

Round 1:
While students are working, visit each partnership, asking both A and B to make a flat hand. Place one chopstick between A’s hand and B’s hand and say “Keep your hands flat. Don’t close your fingers around the chopstick, keep it open (model this). Find all of the different ways you can move without dropping your chopstick.”

Round 2:
Re-visit partnerships again (ideally, in the same order) and ask students to raise their free hands. Place another chopstick between their two free hands and say “Find all of the different ways you can move without dropping your chopsticks.”

Challenge Round:
I like to call everyone’s attention and say “If you really want to challenge yourself, try going fingertip to fingertip instead of hand to hand. If you need help setting this up I will be coming around to your partnerships.”

Extra Challenge Round:
With upper grades that are working well together and have enough space you can even suggest that they close their eyes!

Throughout the Activity:
Talk about what you notice:
    - I see a lot of people facing each other.
    - I see a lot of people that are really focused.
    - I see a lot of people at a high level.
    - I see a lot of people…
    - Etc…
And let these noticing lead to prompts that will get dancers to try something new..

Sample Prompts:
- Find a way to turn around.
- Find a way to go back to back.
- Find a way to move at a low (medium or high) level.
- Travel in the space.
- Find a way to go to the floor
- Try holding your chopsticks with different body parts (back of hand, forearm, back, foot, leg etc..).

Reflection Questions:
- What was challenging about this activity?
- What did you have to do to not drop your chopsticks?

In the past, when I’ve done this activity with students, I hear chopsticks dropping all over the place after about 1 minute (to which I respond “It’s OK if it falls, just pick it up and try again). I’ve also noticed that in every class, at least a few students will start to explore / experiment with holding chopsticks between their heads. This is the only body part I’m apprehensive about them exploring with, as a chopstick could easily slip and end up in someone’s eye or nose or mouth or ear. If I see them trying this (depending on the partnership), I might go over and say “That’s the only place we’re not going to experiment with today because a chopstick could easily slip and end up in someone’s eye, ear, mouth, or nose. Find a different place to connect.”