Teaching dance to young children can be an incredibly rewarding experience. At this age, dance is about more than just learning steps—it's about exploring movement, building coordination, and fostering creativity.
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Incorporating these different types of play into dance class doesn’t just teach kids how to dance—it helps them develop key social and emotional skills that will last a lifetime. Dance encourages children to express themselves, collaborate with others, and understand their own feelings. Plus, the physical benefits of dance contribute to better brain function and overall well-being.
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As a preschool dance teacher, you're tasked with guiding young learners through a world of movement, rhythm, and expression. You have a unique opportunity to plant the seeds of creativity, coordination, and confidence in your little dancers. But before you dive into the lesson planning process, there's a critical step that often gets overlooked.
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As dance educators, we all want to help our students grow and develop their technique from a young age. However, there’s an important aspect of early dance training that is often overlooked: the developmental readiness of young children for certain poses and movements. One such movement is the arabesque.
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When you understand child development, so many things change in your children’s dance classes. I can remember when I first started teaching preschool dance. I expected to go in and teach a mini ballet class. I thought my students would stand in lines, wait their turns, and work hard just like my older students had. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
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We’ve had a few hot days already this spring in Colorado (as well as snow!) Those warm days have had me thinking about summer! So today, I want to share with you seven of my favorite themes to use in preschool dance for summer, plus an idea or two for each. :-)
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Here’s one thing you should be doing as your school year comes to an end… PLUS five reasons why! Read on…
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Creating choreography can seem like a daunting task when it comes to preschool dance. Can you create a dance for them that they'll actually remember? How will they do on stage? Sure, they're at an age where they'll look cute no matter what. But we still want them to succeed, right?
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We're off to visit Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood! What do you think that silly bear is doing? Do you think he might be looking for honey? Let’s see!
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Levels are a basic dance concept that you can do so much with! Movements and poses can be done low to the floor, at a medium level, and a high level. Here are a few ideas for your preschool dance classes.
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When it comes to teaching turnout (to any age), there are some tried and true tips you should always think about. But when it comes to teaching turnout to young children, there are a few more things you should be thinking about.
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If you teach dance to preschoolers and have trouble keeping their attention, there’s one rule to fix that… You MUST include dance activities and games in your classes that are FUN and IMAGINATIVE. Read in to learn more.
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Skips can be a difficult step for early elementary to beginning ballet students. They require more technique in a single moment than most other steps done in this age group. And they require a higher level of coordination. Add to that the fact that many kids today don’t run and jump and play outside today like kids used to generations ago, and skips become a challenging step for young children.
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Pliés and tendus are two of the most basic steps in ballet. And if you think about it, they’re really the building blocks of just about every other ballet step there is! Here are a few tips and things to think about when it comes to pliés and tendus!
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By the age of 7, children have much better control and awareness of their bodies. We also work much more on turnout, especially turning out correctly and safely at this age. Because of this, we work more on a turned out retiré.
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Today, I bought my oldest son, Hudson, ballet shoes. I was trying so hard to contain my excitement. Being a boy mama, I knew my chances of buying any of my kids a pair of ballet shoes were slim.
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After almost 6 years of developing preschool dance curriculums, there's one question I've really found impossible to solve.
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This month, we’ve been so excited to release our Giselle lesson plan sets for ages 7 to 12 in our Story Ballet Curriculum!
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When we teach ballet though stories, we immediately open up a new world for our students. The way ballet is often taught is like watching a silent, black and white movie from the 1920s. Teach through stories, and it’s suddenly like watching in 4K color.
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When I set out to create our 7-12 year old curriculum, the OUB Story Ballet Curriculum my biggest struggle was not having everyone’s students in front of me. Not knowing how long your classes would be or how many times per week your students are taking ballet.
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