Heat Wave

This week in NYC it is supposed to be 99 degrees for 3 days in a row! The rest of the days will be a cool 94 degrees. Can you believe that? Since there will be such a heat wave I have been brainstorming about places we could visit in dance class that will make us cool.

-Perhaps we could build a sun, everyone could lay down in the circle with their feet in the middle and heads pointing out. We could move our arms really sharp in air. Like rays. This could be really fun, and quite silly!

- Maybe we could visit the beach. Move like waves, build sand castles with our bodies, and fly kites. What would your kite look like?

- It is also possible we could visit the pool. Putting on our very cool sunglasses and bathing suits (pretend of course) and practicing different jumps we would do into the pool. A turning jump, a X jump could be fun, really the possibilities are endless. We could also imagine we had a sprinkler that we were dancing through. Oh, I love the pool and the sprinkler and I am pretty sure all 3's and 4's do too!

Even though I would be just as happy sitting in front of the air conditioner this week. Dance class must go on! What will you do this week to keep cool? Keep your students cool? I would love to hear!

Egg Shakers

Usually before my ballet class starts families show up early. I try really hard to keep the dancers waiting outside the room. This way they don't get all wound up before I need to try to get them organized to start class. But this week, I had a 18-24 month ballet class (so much fun and a new experience for sure!). They just could not wait to come in and explore the room in their tiny pink tutus! So I let them in while we waited for everyone to show up. To give them something to do, I put out egg shakers. I turned on ballet music and we danced around the room with the shakers. Of course they put them in their mouth too (that's how they tell the shape of things when they are that little) but they absolutely loved them. I think I will continue to do this every week!

Do you let the students explore the room before class? Do you put something out for them to explore? Or do you let them in right when class starts? I would love to hear!

Seriously Silly Songs

Have you ever seen these books by Sandra Boynton? I love them. It's a book and CD pair and they are seriously silly! I use them in almost all of my movement classes with young ones. My favorite are Barnyard dance (animal dance) and Loud and Quiet (see below), it's great to teach opposites with!
My other favorite part about these books is that in the back the songs are written out so you can play them on the piano! My pianist loves (loves!) to play the Dinosaur Round. I teach levels as she plays!
I find the books a reason to be silly, and you all know little kids LOVE to be silly! What silly songs do you use? I would love to hear!

Cones

The other day I was in target, and found these in the dollar section! Yahoooo! They have the neatest stuff in that section. Don't you think? I find a lot of stuff there! Anyway, I am planning summer classes today that will be in full swing next week. Here are some ideas I thought we could do with cones:

1) Make pathways to explore locomotor movements in. (ex: straight line, or curvey snake)

2) Leap over them, of course

3) Weaving (with a little prep and practice, I think 3 year olds could do it!)

4) Ice cream cones!

5) Funny shoes...

6) Microphones (I like to sing yeah... yeah... yeah!)

7) Very tall shape statues, use it as the base.

What about you? Do you use cones in your classes? I would love to hear your creative ideas!

Hello and Goodbye Songs

I'm looking for exceptional"hello" and "goodbye" songs for movement and ballet class! Do you sing acapella in your classes or do you like to sing along with music? I will do either! Have any recommendations? I am teaching the smallest of age groups (starting at 18 months!) this summer, and it's important that I can sign one that I like and they will love too!

Please share your songs in the comments! I bet other readers would love new beginning and ending songs too! :)

Creative Dance Music

Have you ever used these CD's from Eric Chappelle, Music for Creative Dance? I just ordered two of the volumes. I have a feeling I might need them this summer, since I will be teaching creative dance without a live pianist. Eeek! I think these CD's are fabulous, and always offer what I am looking for. I love them especially because, it's all instrumental and gives the students opportunity to see and feel the movement!

I also just ordered A Fantasy Garden Ballet Class I and II from Kimbo Educational. I was looking for some new music for ballet and this came highly recommended! I can't wait to start using it!

Have you found any great music lately? What is your favorite music to use?

Pantomime: I Love To Dance

Today at New York City Ballet's Ballet for Young People I learned something amazing. One of the dancers in the company taught the audience pantomime! I learned a Pantomime for "I love to dance." Perfect, right? I am so excited because I was looking for something to "spice" up the reverence I teach to the littles. Actually, you could use this in every dance class.

Here is what it looks like:

I...

Love (palms together out front)
Then place them on your heart...
To Dance (roll your arms, starting at your waist)
all the way over your head!
Optional: you can add bows or curtseys at the end to signify the end of class. I'm so excited to try it! I know the kids will just love it!

Do you practice pantomime with your students? I would love to hear!

Step Lively

As the school year comes to a close and summer is on it's way, can you believe I am already thinking about classes for summer and fall? Please tell me you are too? Yesterday was registration for fall classes at the JCC and one of the new classes I am offering has been on my mind! It's called "Step Lively", an entire creative movement class with a live musician! She plays the Saxophone (the saxophone!), but I plan on incorporating all types of instruments! Think about doing a dance to the sound of a sax, amazing right? I can't wait to develop the curriculum!

Here is the description I wrote:

Join Miss Maria on a dance adventure with live music! Boys and girls will travel under water, through space, and around the jungle to explore each place through movement. Dancers will discover directions, body parts, levels from high to low and movement qualities such as fast and slow. The live music will add an element of surprise and will be used to make dances come alive!

If you live in NYC and are 3 years old come join Step Lively!

My dear readers, have you ever tried a class like this? Have you worked with a live musician? I think experimenting with different instruments adds a whole other level to exploring movement. Don't you?

Thank You Notes

Next week and the week after I am bombarded with parents days and end of the year celebrations. Woohoo! I like to give the kids something on the last day to remember me by. Since I have SO many students, it would get expensive to buy something for all of them. This is what I came up with! Thank you notes for a great year! It's just something little, but I know it will mean a lot to them. I did one for movement and one for tap. I am still working on the ballet ones since those are a little more special to me. I will post them next week!

Do you make or give anything to your students at the end of the year? I am sure you all have amazing ideas!

Exploring the Garden

This week, in ballet and creative movement we are celebrating the garden! Growing as different types of flowers, caterpillars to butterflies, ants, worms, and birds! My 4 year olds loved the idea saying "I wish we could visit the real garden!"

We have been doing the caterpillar to butterfly dance for a while in ballet class and they love it! Just this week many of them told me they are growing butterflies in their classrooms. Woah! I didn't even know I was connecting to curriculum, but it makes me so happy that I am! How great is it for them to see it happening and also make a dance about it using their bodies?!

Do you have a lesson in dance class that the kids tell you they are exploring at school? I would love to hear!

Table Cover Prop

Can a plastic table cover be a prop? Have you ever used them in dance class? I am thinking of trying it out but wanted to see if my fabulous readers have ever tried it? I remember going to a workshop with Ann Green Gilbert (total dance education guru) and she recommended cutting them into squares. She says they have a different feel and different look than a scarf and also make noise! I bet the kids would love them! Here's another idea! Use it in one piece to teach teamwork and explore different ways of moving underneath and around it! What do you think?

I would love to hear your ideas on plastic table cover props! (that sounds so silly to say) xo

Milkshake!

I found a milkshakes song from the CD, Songs for Wiggleworms and it's so fantastic! We pour milk, we pour cream (stretches to the side), we stir it all up (spin), and then we shake it up! Of course, we all pick our flavors, including the flavor "pink chocolate" (haha) Doesn't that sound delicious?! I love when we can make a dance with just about anything!

Do you do any silly songs that your students just LOVE? What do you make dances about? I would love to hear?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Coloring pages giveaway from DanceStudioOwner.com!

Calm, Quiet Bodies

In the last few weeks, I have incorporated "calm, quiet bodies" into all of my classes. It's amazing, what a difference this makes. What I started to realize is that it is just as important for children to learn how to make their bodies calm, as it is for them to learn different ways to move their bodies. I call it "calm, quiet body" (I say both calm and quiet because I found that some children respond more to one word then the other) and we usually practice this after a high energy dance. It works really well at the end of class if the students are transitioning to another activity or are on their way home. They seem to be able to demonstrate this in their bodies more in a freeze dance, which I believe is in response to music and a short window of time to be still. When I ask them to make their bodies calm and quiet, it seems to be a bigger challenge. But, challenges are good! They make us stronger, happier, and more confident. Exactly what I want my students to be!

Do you have a version of calm, quiet bodies? I would love to hear!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Coloring Pages Giveaway! (you have until this Friday, May 7th)

The Animal Boogie

This week in my preschool classes I introduced this book, The Animal Boogie! It comes with a CD to dance to and does a really great job of introducing movement words such as shake, flap, leap, and swing. After we do the dance through the book, I ask the kids what their favorite animal was and if they can remember the word the animal moved too. It has a catchy tune too!

"shake, shake, boogie, woogie, oogie"

Barefoot Books has more books like this one, perhaps I will put them on my wish list! Have you tried this book in preschool? Have you tried any new books lately that the kids love?

Octopus

How many legs does an octopus have? 8 of course! Yesterday in creative movement we were dancing under the sea. We thought about all the animals we could be under the sea. Sharks, Lobsters, Mermaids, and Seahorse. I said "what about an octopus with 8 long legs?" One of the students said "But we only have 4 legs" Another had the idea, "we should find a partner and stand behind them, that will make 8 legs!" I was so excited that she thought of this. I told them all to find a partner, which could be tricky with 4 year olds, but they did it! How creative is this idea? She thought about how we could not be a TRUE octopus with 8 legs. We had to add 4 more limbs. I'm not sure I ever would of thought of this idea. Now I will forever use that idea when dancing under the sea! What about you?

Do your students ever surprise you or give you ideas to use in future classes?

Kindergarten Performance: A Story Ballet

One of my favorite things about being a teaching artist with New York City Ballet, is offering the students a chance to perform on stage for their family and friends. They get so excited and are so proud! I took a few pictures in between all the performances. I hope you enjoy!

The scenery...

We had narrators... (one of the 9 stories)

Pirates...

Animals... This was a lion, but there was every animal you could think of...
Trees...

We also had pumpkins, princesses, flowers, seals and much more! I loved the K's stories this year. I love to be a part of their creative thinking and confidence building! Do you feel the same way about kids performances? What is your favorite part?

Bugs

Today was a very silly day! I taught science! Silly Science that is! It was so fun. I filled in for a teacher who had an emergency, but it turned out to be such a great experience. All the kids were 2 and so very talkative. The theme was bugs! We read The Hungry Caterpillar and then used magnifying glasses to search for bugs around the room. They were so cute looking through the glass! Even though it was science, you better believe I incorporated some movement into the lesson. We slept in our cocoon and then became beautiful butterflies, just like in the story. They wanted to do it over and over, before I knew it, I had to remind myself that it wasn't a movement class. It just shows how much little ones' imagination soar when they move their bodies.

Next week I think I will explore bugs with my creative movement classes! How would you move like a ladybug? How many different types of bugs do you think you could dance about? I am sure the kids could think of more than I could!

Sneaky

One of my favorite words to explore in dance class with the young ones is the word sneak! Yesterday, we practiced sneaking across the floor. I asked the dancers where we could imagine being sneaky. They said "I think we could sneak into the kitchen and get a cookie!" "Maybe we could sneak in between the trees!" All great ideas! I also told them to imagine there was someone looking in the mirror or the window, and to try to sneak by without that person seeing them! So fun! We practiced sneaking a bunch of different ways. Backwards, down low, slow, quick, turns, bounce, and on and on!

Have you ever done the word sneak with your dancers? If your looking for something to bring a smile to you and your students faces, try this!

Dancewave

Great news! In addition to teaching ballet classes at the JCC this summer, I have been hired to teach at Dancewave in Brooklyn! I will be teaching creative modern (creative movement) to children ages 20 months-6 years old! I can't even wait! Check out the Dancewave website here! It's an amazing place, and I am happy to be teaching at a place where they are really doing wonderful things with dance education! To see my schedule at Dancewave, check my website!

Same spot, New spot

Do you ever notice that when your students come into the room they always sit or stand in the same spot? Well, I have window clingers, mirror touchers, piano players, and barre hangers all in my tap class. I noticed today that, they always seem to gravitate to the same spot in the room every week. I wonder if they feel safe there? When I think about when I take dance class, I usually stand in middle, that's where I feel safe. I thought about bringing them out of their comfort zone, so today I tried something new. Every time we moved to a new exercise, I had them find a new spot. I thought maybe this would enable them to see what other parts of the room are like, and maybe stand next to a new person too! It seems so silly, but I think it is a habbit to many of them, and I want them to be able to dance anywhere, not just in the same spot, in the same room every week.

Do you find your students like to do this? Do you think its good for them to be in the same spot every week? Or is it best to change it up? I would love to hear!