Invisible Door

What if your classroom had a door to somewhere completely unexpected? The Invisible Door uses imagination and movement to invite students into an imaginary world. Along the way, students explore space, respond to changes, make movement choices, and create together.

Here's how it works:

1. Find the door. Choose an imaginary door somewhere in your dance or performance space. Invite students to approach it and explore it with their bodies. How tall is the door? Is it heavy? Where is the handle? What does it feel like to open?
2. Step through. Invite one student to open the door and step into the imaginary world on the other side. Encourage them to use movement to show what they see, feel, or experience. Maybe the ground is slippery, the air is heavy, or they're suddenly surrounded by butterflies.
3. Follow the leader. Invite other students through the door one at a time. They can copy the first dancer's movements or add their own ideas to the imaginary world.
4. Change the world. Add new prompts and let students respond through movement:
   • It starts to rain.
   • The wind gets stronger.
   • The ground begins to shake.
   • Everything becomes very small.
   • You discover something unexpected.
   • You need to get somewhere before the sun goes down.
5. Create a dance together. Choose a few of the movements students created and put them together into a short sequence. Begin at the invisible door, travel into the imaginary world, respond to what happens, and find your way back home.

Variations:

Level Down

• Give students two or three imaginary worlds to choose from, such as a jungle, outer space, or underwater.
• Model a movement response before giving students their own prompt.
• Let students remain seated and explore the imaginary world with their hands, arms, head, or facial expressions.
• Pair students together so they can explore the movements side by side.

Level Up

• Have students create their own imaginary worlds and movement prompts.
• Challenge students to create a beginning, middle, and end using movement.
• Add music and invite students to change their movements as the tempo or mood changes.
• Have small groups create their own “invisible door” dances and perform them for the class.
• Challenge students to use different levels, directions, pathways, and speeds to show how their imaginary world changes.