“Boys won’t dance. Girls might, but my male students would never do that program.”
I have heard this statement on several occasions and I have to say that the evidence is to the contrary. Not only are the boys willing to dance, they are eager to jump, roll, bounce, slide and pirouette across the floor. They have energy to spare and revel in the chance to move and use their bodies to express their ideas. Cooped up in desks, keeping limbs contained, sitting up straight, holding a pen …. all necessary to learning in school; however, so is interacting in groups, skipping, holding hands, using space, memorizing patterns and creating new ways to express a story. Dance is one way to stimulate curiosity, engage the kinesthetic learner, and to differentiate your learning. Students need to take risks, learn to reach out to others, co-operate and collaborate – dance is one such avenue.
Looking at dance examples helps open the mind to the possibilities of form, technique and cultural traditions. Consider bringing in a guest dancer to your school to learn from their specific expertise and skills, (if you need assistance with that be sure to give me a call or email to help). As well there are many examples of dance available online, suitable to view in the classroom to assist with the outcomes dealing with the critical/responsive and the cultural/historical goals.
Dance Resources
“Inspiring Movement” is our LSKY dance website with tons of lessons, units and video to help in the classroom and get everyone dancing: #://learning.lskysd.ca/danceeducation
LIVE Arts “Dance Across Living Sky”, is a special partnership with Dance Saskatchewan and LIVE Arts to feature dance in 3 schools, grade 4 – 9. The workshops ended with a LIVE broadcast you can watch on their website and a teacher’s guide with activities for each grade.
Special thank you to Kerri Daken at McKitrick School (grade 4 and 5), Crystal Gilbert at UCHS (grade 7 and 8) and Heather Cardin at Maymont School (grade 6 and 9). Go to #://liveartsaskatchewan.com There are many programs available, all grades and all arts disciplines.
