10.8 Supporting Dance

Dance and movement are an inherent part of life and are as natural as breathing. Dance is an elemental human experience and a means of expression. It begins before words are formed, and it is innate in children before they use language to communicate. It is a means of self-expression and can take on endless forms. Movement is a natural human response when thoughts or emotions are too overwhelming or cannot be expressed in words.

Dance

Figure 10.18: Dancing with wings[1]

• Movement: The use of the body to move to music and express oneself.

• Create, Compose, and Choreograph: Using the dance elements of space, time, and energy to explore, improvise, and develop movement phrases, sequences and dances.

• Historical and Cultural Context: Understanding the global and cultural relevance of dance.

ExamplesChildren may….IndicatorsChildren may….

• Reflect, Connect, and Respond: Reflecting upon dance, connecting it with other disciplines, responding to it to discuss and analyze dance as art.

(Colorado Department of Human Services. (2021, October 26). Off to a great start. Colorado Early Learning & Development Guidelines. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://earlylearningco.org/)

There are many ways to describe each dance element. Teachers and children can add their ideas to this chart.

Table 10.5: Elements of Dance

Teachers can support children’s development of the dance foundations with the following: Help children to become enthusiastic participants in learning dance.

Warm up! Even though preschool bodies are much more resilient than adult bodies, they should still be gradually prepared for any vigorous activities.

Use play with games that require dance movements and cooperation. Be aware of cultural norms that may influence children’s participation. Create environments and routines conducive to movement experiences. Consider the space, music, costumes, and props you provide.

Establish spatial boundaries to ensure children have personal space when engaging in movement and dancing. Use children’s prior knowledge.

Structure learning activities so children are active participants. Introduce the learning of a dance skill by using imagery.

Draw on children’s interests in dance making.

Plan movement activities appropriate for various developmental stages and skill levels.

Incorporate dances that can be performed without moving the entire body. Encourage variety in children’s movement.

Teach rhythm using traditional movement games. Use the “echo” as a helpful rhythm exercise.

Use dance to communicate feelings.

Use movement to introduce and reinforce concepts from other domains. Provide opportunities for unplanned, spontaneous dancing[2]

Figure 10.19: These children are dancing at group time.[3]

Table 10.6: Suggested Materials for Dance[4]

Research supports the inclusion of dance in a preschool curriculum for a number of reasons, not the least of these being the social–emotional benefits gained from dancing at an early age.In The Feeling of What Happens, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio describes the body as the theater for emotions and considers emotional responses to be responsible for profound changes in the body’s (and the brain’s) landscape. Damasio creates three distinct classifications for emotions based on the source of the emotion and the physical response to the emotion: primary, secondary, and background emotions. The primary emotions are the familiar emotions recognizable in preschoolers and adults alike: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and surprise. Damasio describes secondary emotions as social emotions, such as jealousy or envy when a child is eyeing a friend’s toy or feelings of pride when accomplishing a difficult task. And of particular interest in a discussion of dance are the background emotions—much like moods. These refer to indications that a person feels down, tense, cheerful, discouraged, or calm, and others.Background emotions do not use the differentiated repertoire of explicit facial expressions that easily define primary and social emotions; they are also richly expressed in musculoskeletal changes, for instance, in subtle body posture and overall shaping of body movement. Movement and dance are natural vehicles for expression of these emotions.[5]Source:A. Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999), 51–53. Research Highlight

 VignettesSammy, a four-year-old in Ms. Huang’s class, pulls a top hat off the hat rack and begins to perform controlled balances high on the balls of his feet. Two other children become interested in this performance, and suddenly three children are using hats as creative props to stretch high into the air, with their arms, as they rise up on their toes forming a chorus line; Sammy continues to play the lead, placing a hat on a foot and balancing on one leg like a bird; the other children imitate. The movement progresses to a balancing game, and the children occasionally tumble to the floor, giggling.Ms. Huang observes the movement game for several minutes and notices the children have taken to making the same shape of the lifted bird leg. She recognizes the children’s imagination by commenting on their creative play with the hat; she then suggests to Sammy that he attempt to bring his leg behind him (in a pose resembling a ballet arabesque) while keeping the hat balanced on his foot. The trio becomes more focused with their balances and inventive with the shapes, moving the legs from the front to back and even experimenting with lowering the torso while lifting the leg.Mr. Soto leads the children in a lively singing and dancing performance of Juanito (Little Johnny). The children shake and twist their bodies while clapping their hands as they sing. “Juanito cuando baila, baila, baila, baila. Juanito cuando baila, baila con el dedito, con el dedito, ito, ito. Asi baila Juanito.” (When little Johnny dances, he dances, dances. When little Johnny dances, he dances with his pinkie, with his pinkie, pinkie, pinkie. That’s how little Johnny dances.)In the first verse, they wiggle the pinkie back and forth; in the second, they shake the foot and then wiggle the pinkie. Each time a new verse is sung, a movement is added until the children’s bodies are in motion, from head to toe!Even Matthew, who is generally reluctant to dance, picks his knees high up and waves his arms exuberantly. Mr. Soto changes the character of the song to Mateo, and Matthew dances into the center of the circle.[6]

References

• Image by Quinn Dombrowski is licensed by CC-BY-2.0
• Source of text in black: The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission;

Source of text in blue: Clint Springer;

Source of foundations: The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission

• The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission
• The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission
• The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission
• The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 2 by the California Department of Education is used with permission

This page titled 10.8: Supporting Dance is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jennifer Paris, Kristin Beeve, & Clint Springer.

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  : Supporting Dance by Jennifer Paris, Kristin Beeve, & Clint Springer has no license indicated.