Creative Dance

 Saturday, November 19, 2011

Why Creative Dance?

Every person can learn from dancing, and every child deserves the opportunity to dance. For babies and toddlers, creative movement offers a range of experiences that facilitate natural, easy play and proper development of alignment, neurological coordination and a fundamental exploration of concepts that form the building blocks for future learning. Creative movement in a creative dance setting can help to provide an essential educational experience. Through movement, songs, games and rhymes, children flex their muscles as they gain strength and endurance, while they grow emotionally and cognitively as well.

It's recommended that children be involved in a regular creative dance class for several reasons.  First, they will get to know the teacher and their classmates. They will have the chance to build on the conceptual vocabulary worked with in previous weeks and gain a greater understanding of the material. Consistency, repetition and the affirmation it affords will provide your child with a better foundation for their own creativity both in and out of class. 

A few of the benefits of Creative Dance includes:

- Increased body awareness
- Improved alignment, flexibility and neurological patterning
- Emotional and social growth and development
- Greater self-esteem
- Language and listening skills are enhanced
- Beginning understanding of academics such as math, reading, spelling and science
- Approaches 'classroom skills' necessary for school experiences, such as taking turns, following directions, listening, sharing and communicating needs and feelings
- Develops an early creative spark in individuals and groups 

BODY AWARENESS: The first step toward developing internal control and self-discipline is in controlling one’s own body. Body awareness is an essential part of becoming aware of our feelings which exist in our minds AND bodies. When we feel angry or excited, we feel it in our whole self. Body awareness is also important in the development of spatial orientation. Children who do not have a good perception of the space of their own bodies may frequently misjudge distances or bump into things. Body awareness also helps with development of motor skills. Creative dance activities focus on body awareness, motor fitness, rhythmic skill, strength, flexibility, coordination, endurance, and physical vitality. 

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL GROWTH: Creative dance is a tremendous learning modality for the individual, but something amazing happens when children dance together.  They begin to embrace new ideas that foster community building and social connections. Experiences in creative dance can help children respect the working space of others, as they learn about 'personal space' and 'shared space.' Children also learn to recognize, appreciate and respect differences in the people they come in contact with.  Children learn and respect the fact that all bodies come in various sizes and shapes. They also learn to respect these differences in their peers.

SELF-ESTEEM: Perhaps the GREATEST benefit of creative dance is self-esteem. As children learn more and develop new skills, their self-esteem increases.

LANGUAGE: Cognitive learning is stimulated by movement. Research shows that the right hemisphere of the brain (sensing and feeling side) functions through activities such as music, art and creativity. The left hemisphere organizes sequential and logical skills such as language and speech. Both sides of the brain must be developed during the critical learning periods in early childhood because of the cross referencing that occurs. When children are engaged in creative dance, they are involved in activities that will increase their memory and ability to communicate. 

CONCENTRATION: Self-control is enhanced in creative dance by the capacity to concentrate and focus. Children must learn what it feels like to concentrate. Once children learn what focusing feels like, it can be a frame of reference for other activities where concentration is more difficult to achieve. Concentration is essential in creating an environment for learning in the classroom.


SPECIAL NEEDS: Children with special needs benefit from creative dance and creative movement because they can participate at their own level and ability. Children with special needs can feel a sense of belonging to a group and experience the joy of learning.

Creative dance offers all children tools for learning for a lifetime.