Children need a dance program that enhances social/emotional growth, cognition, literacy, cooperation, collaboration, brain development and physical development.
How can dance and movement do all this?
Children need to develop social/emotional skills. By sharing the dance space, they adjust their movements to accommodate the movements of other dancers. They are cooperating and collaborating. By watching their friends dance, they learn empathy and appreciation. By regularly dancing for others, they increase self-confidence.
Children need a dance program that is age appropriate; one that is rich in fantasy and provides ways of moving within a defined structure. An overly structured program, more appropriate for older children, or a program that emphasizes imitation over experimentation will only discourage and stifle their creativity and imagination.
Children need first-hand experiences with stories. By telling stories through dance, they make a strong connection to literacy.
Children need to move their bodies to grow and develop optimally. Their muscles and blood need oxygen to thrive; their brains need movement to fire those synapses.
Children need to develop self-reliance, independence and the ability to take initiative. Children practice these skills when they discover how to tell any story without words, only movement. They learn to make quick decisions: Which space does the story tell me to use? What body shape will I choose? What movement does the story tell me to perform? Will I move fast or slow, high or low? On what pathway does the story tell me to dance? Each child answers these questions in their own way. So, each child dances a story that is unique.
