What comprises our high quality dance curriculum?
The Brain-Body Connection
Children are having fun while improving brain function
Classes include special movements created to activate children’s brain development. The “BrainDance” is a series of movements that babies discover in their first year. By tracing over these fundamental movements, we can rewire the brain to help it work at its highest ability. Our fun and imaginative warm-up connects the mind and body! As students are enjoying reaching, twisting, and spinning they are also re-mapping their brains, making their whole body an instrument for learning.
Research shows that these types of movement activities can result in “significant gains in attention and reading”. These movement patterns are also helpful for students with certain developmental delays that may require movement therapy.
“The more closely we
consider the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly one compelling theme emerges: Movement is essential to learning. Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities.”
~ Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.
The Brain-Body Connection
Children are having fun while improving brain function
Classes include special movements created to activate children’s brain development. The “BrainDance” is a series of movements that babies discover in their first year. By tracing over these fundamental movements, we can rewire the brain to help it work at its highest ability. Our fun and imaginative warm-up connects the mind and body! As students are enjoying reaching, twisting, and spinning they are also re-mapping their brains, making their whole body an instrument for learning.
Research shows that these types of movement activities can result in “significant gains in attention and reading”. These movement patterns are also helpful for students with certain developmental delays that may require movement therapy.
“The more closely we
consider the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly one compelling theme emerges: Movement is essential to learning. Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities.”
~ Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.
Curricular Themes
Because children learn by doing
Embodied learning is an educational method that involves teaching core subjects using the whole body. Students may emerge from eggs as tiny caterpillars, exploring different ways to crawl across the floor. They will swirl and spin into cocoons finding stillness and length, and unfold their colorful wings to soar through the space as butterflies. This type of learning engages children’s minds, bodies, and imaginations.
Themes also support dance curriculum, helping children make more meaningful connections to movement while learning to dance as a form of expression. Most importantly, themes breathe excitement into students’ learning process.
Curricular Themes
Because children learn by doing
Embodied learning is an educational method that involves teaching core subjects using the whole body. Students may emerge from eggs as tiny caterpillars, exploring different ways to crawl across the floor. They will swirl and spin into cocoons finding stillness and length, and unfold their colorful wings to soar through the space as butterflies. This type of learning engages children’s minds, bodies, and imaginations.
Themes also support dance curriculum, helping children make more meaningful connections to movement while learning to dance as a form of expression. Most importantly, themes breathe excitement into students’ learning process.
Foundational Training
Full Circle Dance prepares children for a lifetime of moving
The key to providing a healthy foundation for young dancers is building control and coordination early on in their development. Young dancers will learn and practice pre-ballet movements and movement pathways to build a strong technical base that will benefit students no matter what type of dance or sport they pursue in the future.
Informed and well developed curriculum builds technique in a way that corresponds with natural stages of motor development so that students can achieve the most with their bodies.
“The qualities we admire
in great dancing are the same qualities we admire in human beings: honesty, courage, fearlessness, generosity, wisdom, depth, compassion,and humanity.”
~ Alonzo King
Foundational Training
Full Circle Dance prepares children for a lifetime of moving
The key to providing a healthy foundation for young dancers is building control and coordination early on in their development. Young dancers will learn and practice pre-ballet movements and movement pathways to build a strong technical base that will benefit students no matter what type of dance or sport they pursue in the future.
Informed and well developed curriculum builds technique in a way that corresponds with natural stages of motor development so that students can achieve the most with their bodies.
“The qualities we admire
in great dancing are the same qualities we admire in human beings: honesty, courage, fearlessness, generosity, wisdom, depth, compassion,and humanity.”
~ Alonzo King
Musicality
Painting pictures with sound, telling stories with dance
Connecting with music together engages and unifies a class, builds social skills and awareness, and is an enlivening experience for all.
In every class children explore the building blocks of music such as pulse, tempo, and duration. For example, students may explore the speed of a piece of music by making a scarf dance to match the music or by moving in ways that reflects what the music sounds or feels like.
Thoughtfully connecting with a variety of great music is not only enjoyable, but is key for helping young dancers develop musicality, artistry, and social connection.
Musicality
Painting pictures with sound, telling stories with dance
Connecting with music together engages and unifies a class, builds social skills and awareness, and is an enlivening experience for all.
In every class children explore the building blocks of music such as pulse, tempo, and duration. For example, students may explore the speed of a piece of music by making a scarf dance to match the music or by moving in ways that reflects what the music sounds or feels like.
Thoughtfully connecting with a variety of great music is not only enjoyable, but is key for helping young dancers develop musicality, artistry, and social connection.
Connect and Collaborate
Dance fosters empathy and a spirit of collaboration
Friendship and emotional intelligence are key ingredients to a happy and healthy life. Dance is a beautiful way for children to safely explore and express the vast range of their feelings. When children dance the roles of different characters, they put themselves in the shoes of others and learn the essential ingredients of empathy.
When dancing together, children become more sensitive to others and learn and practice the principles of partnership and teamwork which is an essential life skill for healthy and happy relationships of any kind. Dancing together sparks our human connection and provides us with a sense of belonging at any age! No, we don’t give lectures about relationships and appropriate social behavior – children learn all this while immersed in dancing, playing and having fun!
“While I dance I can not judge, I can not hate, I can not separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I dance.”
~ Hans Bos
Connect and Collaborate
Dance fosters empathy and a spirit of collaboration
Friendship and emotional intelligence are key ingredients to a happy and healthy life. Dance is a beautiful way for children to safely explore and express the vast range of their feelings. When children dance the roles of different characters, they put themselves in the shoes of others and learn the essential ingredients of empathy.
When dancing together, children become more sensitive to others and learn and practice the principles of partnership and teamwork which is an essential life skill for healthy and happy relationships of any kind. Dancing together sparks our human connection and provides us with a sense of belonging at any age! No, we don’t give lectures about relationships and appropriate social behavior – children learn all this while immersed in dancing, playing and having fun!
“While I dance I can not judge, I can not hate, I can not separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I dance.”
~ Hans Bos
Guided Discovery
Stretching more than just our muscles
For a portion of each class, children are in the driver’s seat! Students learn elements of dance through structured improvisation. “How would you move across the floor if you were as light as a bubble? As heavy as an elephant?”
Guided improvisation encourages independent thinking and creativity. Discovering that there are an infinite number of correct ways to approach a task or problem encourages curiosity, flexibility, open-mindedness. Paying close attention to the quality of a movement, awakens children’s self awareness.
The driving force of our dance classes is children’s supercharged imagination and limitless ability to pretend and play. Having the freedom to be inventive and dance with their own personal style makes dance more meaningful to students and gives every child an opportunity to shine.
Guided Discovery
Stretching more than just our muscles
For a portion of each class, children are in the driver’s seat! Students learn elements of dance through structured improvisation. “How would you move across the floor if you were as light as a bubble? As heavy as an elephant?”
Guided improvisation encourages independent thinking and creativity. Discovering that there are an infinite number of correct ways to approach a task or problem encourages curiosity, flexibility, open-mindedness. Paying close attention to the quality of a movement, awakens children’s self awareness.
The driving force of our dance classes is children’s supercharged imagination and limitless ability to pretend and play. Having the freedom to be inventive and dance with their own personal style makes dance more meaningful to students and gives every child an opportunity to shine.