Dancing Trees -- creative FALL dance class inspiration for elementary through high school age!10/6/2022  It's FALL! My favorite season! Trees, leaves, cool crisp days! For young dancers, it can be really fun to include things from the outside world in dance class too -- and autumn has so many sights, sounds, and ideas that can come to life through imagination in dance class. If you have not already -- head on over to my Instagram and check out the 30 DAYS of FALL DANCE FUN series. For the entire month of October, I am sharing one fun Fall idea per day that you can include in your dance classes. So far we've been inspired by pumpkins, apples, the wind, and books about fall. Today's thought - TREES - is extra special for this reason; it is an idea you can also incorporate into your classes for older teen dancers to, to inspire creativity, rooted-ness, and a growth mindset (pun intended!). Get the worksheets and movement cards for elementary, middle, and high school age dancers here!   Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY or follow me on Instagram @dancedancehooray!
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 Do you have a special way you begin every dance class? Maybe a greeting, a hello song, or a specific warm-up that you do? Rituals can provide kids a sense of security and comfort, making dance class feel like a safe and predictable place. Wrapping up your class with a special ritual can be just as beneficial. Your end-of-class tradition can give your dancers an opportunity to reflect on the work they did in class that day, build confidence and self-esteem, and promote kindness and compassion for themselves as well as their classmates and teachers. But, let's face it -- dance class can be hectic! You only have your dancers for a short period of time each week, and you have to usher one group of kids out of the room, while welcoming the next batch in right away. So, what to do? Try these easy-and-quick-to implement tips, for creating your own class-ending rituals in UNDER 30 SECONDS! CLAP FOR THE CLASS, PAT ON THE BACK If a curtsy or bow at the end of class is not your cup of tea --- it is not mine -- then try this alternative! In under 30 seconds, you can reinforce dance class manners, as well as kindness towards oneself and others! Chant aloud together: CLAP FOR THE CLASS! (everyone claps) PAT ON THE BACK! (pat yourself on the back) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (point to each other) (Click here to see a video of this ritual in action) I will use this quick ending for my preschool age dancers as well as for my young elementary age students. 'TAP CLAP" For tap classes ages 8 & up, I employ what I call the "tap clap" method -- in a a variety of ways! Gather in a circle at the end of class, and do any of the following --
HANDS IN THE MIDDLE Gather in a circle at the end of class, and ask everyone to put one hand in the center. You can then give your class a quick positive encouragement or reminder, like "Your hard work today impressed me - I can't wait to see more next week!", and then on the count of the 3, the whole class can shout "Thank You" as you lift your hands up together. HIGH-FIVE OUT THE DOOR After your class is finished, you can stand at the exit door, while your dancers gather their belongings. Then, high-five them each on their way out the door, while you both say thank-you to each other. Bonus points if you are able to throw in a "good job on ____ this week!"! COOL DOWN COMMUNICATION Although this idea might be too time-intensive for every week, you could do a little circle chat with your students once a month, once a session, or once a semester. As you stretch or cool-down together, you could ask them to share one thing that they liked about class that day (or about what they did/achieved that day) as well as one thing that is on their "wish list" for class in the future (or a goal that they have for themselves). What we say matters, and what we model for our dancers matters too. I notice that my dancers leave happier and with more smiles when we do a special class ending.....and to me, that is the best reason to do it! Share your class rituals with me in the comments, and let me know how these work for you! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY or follow me on Instagram @dancedancehooray!
 Is your back-to-dance season in full swing? Or is it just about to begin? If updating your classroom tools is on your list, then you have come to the right place! The teacher freebie I have for you today is like that famous quote, "a picture speaks a thousand words" -- but in this case, a picture can save you a thousand extra words and help you reach different kinds of learners! CUE CARDS! Ways to Use the Dance Directions Cue Cards Stop/Go Traveling Game Have your dancers practice a traveling step across the floor. Just like the game Red Light Green Light, hold up the STOP sign and say "stop" when they should balance in place, and flip to the green GO sign and say "go" when they should move! Print out extra Stop and Go signs to set up a traveling pathway on your floor. The dancers can start the step or combo at the green GO sign, travel all the way to STOP, and balance for 8 counts before starting again! Or just use the Stop and Go Cue Card, to help let your dancers know when it is their turn to travel across the floor! Shhh Emoji/Boombox -- Loud & Quiet Game These cue cards are perfect for tap class! You can use them with your young dancers as they experiment with making any tap step loud or quiet. When they see the Quiet Emoji, they should make their taps as quiet as possible; when they see you hold up the loud boombox, they should turn up the volume of their taps! For your older tap dancers, hold up the cue cards to help cue them as to when to use shading and dynamics in their tap choreography. Popsicle Freeze/Disco Ball Dance -- Classic Freeze Dance These two cue cards can be used during a classic game of freeze dance! The best part is that for your visual learners, when they see the picture change, it will help them remember to freeze or dance, along with the music. Freeze for the POPSICLE and dance on the DISCO BALL! Shhhh Sign Kids can be chatty.....and tapping feet can be loud! The Shhhhh sign will be your go-to this season to kindly remind your dancers that you are waiting for them to stay quiet, to be able to hear your next directions. Here's to a wonderful new dance season! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY or follow me on Instagram @dancedancehooray!
 It's time to CELEBRATE! It's birthday time! Have you ever considered offering dance birthday parties at your studio? Birthday parties = additional opportunities for revenue + introductions to new potential students too! If dance birthday parties feel like uncharted territory to you - overwhelming and a little scary - you can breathe easy. I've got the ESSENTIAL tips to help you create SEAMLESS & SIMPLE parties, with repeatable steps that keep the party experience streamlined and consistent....leading to smiles, happy clients, and more referrals for you. Let's get into it. #1 -- PARTY PARAMETERS Be clear about what you want to offer. There are no wrong answers here! You need to offer only what feels good to you, so that the party process is something that you can look forward to each time you get a booking, rather than something that feels like a burden. Consider the questions below, as you plan your party offers. How long do you want the entire party experience to be? What amount of time will be spent dancing; what amount of time on games? Will you be allowing the birthday family to serve food? Pizza, dessert? If yes, where will you set up the tables and chairs? How much time will you allot to the food portion of your full party? Will you provide the party decorations & tableware, or is the birthday family responsible for their own? Do you want to provide goody bags? (This gives you the opportunity to add in a flyer with a discount code on classes for new students.) How early do you want to allow the birthday family to arrive to set up for their party? Do you want to offer your parties within a certain window of time only (for example, Sundays between 11am-4pm)? Will you allow parents of the party guests to stay, or do you prefer drop-off parties? #2 -- PARTY PRICING Do some birthday party research! In your area, how much does a trampoline park charge for a birthday party? How about the gymnastics place, or the arcade? You need to charge the price that makes it worth it for you (take into consideration your cost to staff the party as well as the extra time for clean-up and set-up), but looking at how much a parent spends on an average birthday party will give you a good place to start when determining your prices. Do you want to offer tiered-pricing, where the party cost is different based on the number of guests? Do you want to offer a discount to the birthday party family, if the birthday child is enrolled in classes at your studio? #3 -- PARTY PLANNING Have a PLAN! Your birthday families can choose-their-own-adventure when it comes to the party theme, or you can ask that they pick from a list of party themes that you have available. It's really up to you! I have found that when I ask the families to choose from a list of themes, it makes the party planning and execution so much faster! I have a party plan template for each theme -- each template lists many options for party activities within that theme, that can work for different age groups and experience levels. If a child has a specific party theme idea in mind, I will create it for them.....and then those party plans become a new template and theme to offer for future parties! When you host a birthday party, some of the guests will be kids who are not used to a dance class setting -- which means that it is important to include dance-related activities that are not strictly dance, so that everyone can feel comfortable and have a good time! I always include:
By having a party template, hosting a birthday party can be as easy as clockwork! Any energetic & enthusiastic member of my staff can step in and be ready to go to host the party. You can get the exact themed party templates that I use, too! The BEST BIRTHDAY EVER PLANNERS are under $25 each, and they virtually pay for themselves in the planning time you save.....PLUS you can use the ideas at dance camp too! Check them out! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
It's important to give each student individual attention, right? To correct technique, to give positive feedback, and to offer the student the opportunity to celebrate their own growth..........But some students do not like being in the spotlight and they shy away when asked to perform a skill individually. As a teacher, it can be like being stuck between a rock and a hard place -- how can you assess each student on their own, without making them feel singled out? How can you make every student comfortable with this process? The NUMBER ONE thing that works for me? It's a little game I call Pass It On -- here's how it works: The dancers stand in a straight line, or in a circle, with the teacher as the starting point. Everyone practices the specific skill, demonstrated first by the teacher, and then each dancer gets to Pass It On to the person next to them, with any type of flair that they want! For example, after doing a clean shuffle hop step the dancer could do some jazz hands to pass it on, or a cross turn, or anything else that they want! Thinking about the fun way they can pass it on helps my students to feel more at ease when it is their turn to do the step by themselves. If I need to make a correction, I'll first point out what I liked about how they executed the step ("your rhythm was right on!") and then offer what they need to fix ("can you try it one more time for me, making sure to use only your toe taps?"). Bonus - they get to pass it on again! Pass It On makes individual assessments into a game and immediately takes the performance pressure off! I use this game most often in my tap classes for elementary age dancers, but it could be used in any style class. I love sharing ideas that work for me -- join my TAP LIST today, to get even more tap class teaching tidbits emailed to you each week, for free! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
 Here's 3 no-cost ways that you can sprinkle some magic into your children's dance classes, using imagination to fuel technique and skills! RAINBOWS You need colorful sheer scarves OR pieces of construction paper in red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple Give each dancer a scarf or piece of paper, and ask them to practice drawing a rainbow shape with it, in an arc over their heads. You can ask them to lean or lunge side to side. Older dancers can use an overcurve motion with their rainbow prop, or an undercurve motion while making an upside-down rainbow. Then, create some rainbow art on the floor! Call out the colors in rainbow order and ask the dancers holding those colors to build a rainbow on the floor. MAGIC DANCING DUST All you need for this one is a little bit of imagination and a whole lot of silly! Pretend that you have a big bag of imaginary "magic dancing dust" -- like fairy dust, but instead of making us fly, it makes us MAGICALLY dance! Give every child an imaginary handful and POOF! They're ready to dance and try something new with ease! If you are going to practice plie', sprinkle some magic dance dust on your knees first; to practice heel drops in tap class, be sure to sprinkle the dust on your heel taps for extra clear sounds! UNICORNS Roll up a piece of white paper, beginning at the corner, so that is becomes a skinny cone. Add a few pieces of tape, and presto -- you have a unicorn horn! Make a bunch for your class to use, or just make one for them to take turns with. Here is a unicorn-themed preschool ballet exercise, from my Hooray For Dance Magical Things Notebook, that is perfect for the paper unicorn horn! Click the picture below to save this combo and see a 60-second video demo!  I hope these ideas encourage some extra exploration during your already magical dance classes this week! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
For me, one of the best things about being a dance teacher of preschool and kindergarten age students is this -- for 30 or 45 minutes at a time, I get to PLAY and PRETEND, right there with them! I like to use a broad range of themes and ideas to dance about because, honestly, changing it up (beyond princesses and unicorns) is WAY more fun for me, as well as for them. ANIMALS are a sure-fire theme that gets my students excited, and there are many different ways to explore this broad category. Want to try out some animal ideas in your dance classes? Click the picture below to get a FREE copy of my top 4 animal themes, with more than 10 ideas to jumpstart your own animal lesson plan!  Teaching this age group also allows me to bring two of my favorite things together - DANCE & READING! When possible, I like to read a short book to my students to help them conceptualize and connect with our dance class theme. Click the picture below for a list of 5 wonderful books about animals that dance & move, with links of where to purchase them or find them at your local library.  I have more ANIMAL themed resources for you too! My Animal Theme Hooray for Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool ballet and jazz combos, with song lists, detailed combos, short video clips, and visual aids for your class. Little Wild Ones has class exercises for parent-tot dance & young preschoolers. Check out the Animal Feet Tap Lesson Plan for ages 3-5! In it, the students will dance their way through the book Dancing Feet, as they make tap sounds like the animals in the book. The Giraffes That Dance Tap Lesson Plan for ages 5-7 will capture the attention of your tap students, as they find their own musical voice just like Gerald the giraffe. Animal Rhythms is a tap skill game for elementary age tap classes, and Animal Actions is a great game to build strength and work on motor tools for preschool & elementary age students. Mixed Up Menagerie is a choreography & warm-up game that asks the students to create their own wacky and wild animal moves. Musical Mud Puddles & Piggy & Friends Freeze Dance are perfect for class, a dance camp, or even a dance birthday party, and are a big hit for kids who love Peppa Pig! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
ddh_animal_roll-a-step_warm-up.pdfHere my 3 favorite ways to explore ANIMALS and the WAY THEY MOVE, in my dance classes for all ages! ANIMAL WARM-UP - JAZZ & CREATIVE MOVEMENT COLLABORATION Together with your students, make a quick list of the first 5 animals they can think of, and write them on your white board, or tape a paper to your mirror. Brainstorm the movements that each animal does, or a characteristic of that animal, and collaborate with your students to create a fun warm-up! For example: Kangaroos jump, box, and have long tails! Our Kangaroo warm-up could include sways or hip isolations side to side (moving our long tails!), and then progress into kangaroo jumps in place 4X, with alternating air-punches RLRL. Then repeat! Or, use this Animal Roll-A-Step sheet for some done-for-you animal warm-up activities! Just click the picture for your free printable download! BALLET ANIMALS TRIVIA For your older students, you could challenge their ballet terminology and dance history knowledge. Ask them to list as many steps as they can think of that relate directly to animals, or use this as an opportunity to introduce a new step to the class. Here is a quick list of 5 ballet steps named after animals, pulled from this article on dance-teacher.com.
Or, you could also ask them to list any famous ballets that use animals as the characters -- here are some out-of-the-box ideas, with clips to watch, from pointemagazine.com! ANIMAL EXPLORATION & IMPROVISATION Our imaginations can take us on a wild ride through the jungle, out for a day on the farm, or even under the sea -- and music can be the catalyst for animal-inspired movement! For your older students, you could play a guessing game, using the music from The Carnival of the Animals by composer Camille Saint-Saens. Play a clip from each movement, and see if they can guess which animal each section is representing, based on how the music sounds and feels. Then, ask them to create their own animal inspired movement sequence! For preschool & early elementary age students, teach them how music can tell a story and give us cues on how to move by using the follow-along action song, Butterfly, Elephant, or Mouse? by Andrew Holdsworth. Do you love to use animal-inspired movement too? Let me know your tried-and-true ideas, in the comments! I have more ANIMAL themed resources for you too! My Animal Theme Hooray for Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool ballet, tap, and jazz combos, with song lists, detailed combos, short video clips, and visual aids for your class. Little Wild Ones has class exercises for parent-tot dance & young preschoolers. Check out the Animal Feet Tap Lesson Plan for ages 3-5! In it, the students will dance their way through the book Dancing Feet, as they make tap sounds like the animals in the book. The Giraffes That Dance Tap Lesson Plan for ages 5-7 will capture the attention of your tap students, as they find their own musical voice just like Gerald the giraffe. Animal Rhythms is a tap skill game for elementary age tap classes, and Animal Actions is a great game to build strength and work on motor tools for preschool & elementary age students. Mixed Up Menagerie is a choreography & warm-up game that asks the students to create their own wacky and wild animal moves. Musical Mud Puddles & Piggy & Friends Freeze Dance are perfect for class, a dance camp, or even a dance birthday party, and are a big hit for kids who love Peppa Pig! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
There are SO many great props that can be used in dance class, to enhance the learning process, engage the students, and promote creativity. Maybe you've used ribbons, sheer scarves, bean bags and hula hoops........ But have you ever used BALLOONS as a part of your lessons? I use plain, old birthday party balloons that I just blow up myself or with a small hand pump. (I usually buy the mixed packs from Target, Walmart, or Party City). Are you thinking, "Corey, there is NO way I can use balloons in my class! The kids would go wild and it would be a free-for-all!!"? But I am here to tell you -- it CAN be done! (and it is super fun!) I will admit -- as with some other super fun dance props -- you DO have to prep your students in advance about your expectations, so that fun and learning can be had by all. But, even my youngest 2.5 year old dancers are able to cooperate and dance nicely with their balloons, with the right amount of set-up. Let's start with some great ways to use the balloons, and then we'll go over some ways that have worked for me, when setting up the balloon expectations. WAYS TO USE BALLOONS IN PRESCHOOL & ELEMENTARY DANCE CLASSES
BALLOON EXPECTATIONS Self-control with something so enticing, like a balloon, is TOUGH for little kids! But it can be done -- they can handle it, with the proper set-up and with practice. In fact, you have probably practiced it with them, every time you pass out a scarf or hula hoop in class. Here's the gist of what I say to get them ready! "Ok dancers! Do you see what I have here? Yes! Balloons! So that we can have fun with the balloons, we have to follow some rules. Uh-oh......if we can't all follow our balloon rules, we'll have to put them away and try again another day. That would be sad! I think you can do it, don't you?!" #1 - Hold onto your balloon!! First we're going to dance with it MY WAY, and then I promise, you will get time to dance with it YOUR WAY! #2 -- Can you be SO gentle with my balloons? Thank you! That way the dancers in other classes can use them too! Then, I might ask the dancers to "stand like a statue" in a position of my choice, like 1st position, while I pass out the balloons. We then go through the exercise I want them to work on, while holding the balloons. Then comes REWARD time! Depending on your group, and what you think they can handle, you could have them freestyle dance with their balloons, in any way they want, all at the same time OR you could have them wait at the side of the room, and dance across the floor, keeping the balloon in the air, 2-3 dancers at a time. Here is the main BALLOON REWARD TIME EXPECTATIONS I like to set up, before we go into the freestyle balloon dancing: I ask them this question -- "Dancers, what if I let go of my balloon, and somebody picks it up instead?? Should I get really mad? Should I start crying or fight over the balloon?". I do this with a silly, pouty face, and they always answer me right away with an enthusiastic, "NO! Just pick up a different balloon!!". Then, I say, "Oh yes, GOOD IDEA!!". Then, before I press play on the music, I put a few extra balloons on the ground, so there is always an extra one at the ready. CLEAN UP TIME I keep a few large mesh laundry bags at my studio, specifically for balloon days. I will tell my dancers that the freestyle dancing will end in 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1! Then I say, "Can you please bring me your balloon? Let's see if they all fit in this bag!" These methods may seem like A LOT, but talking to the kids about what is expected and what might possibly happen, really helps my classes to run smoothly, with our without props. It allows us to have fun with all different kinds of props or manipulatives. I hope this works for you, and you give balloon fun a try! Oh, wait -- here's one more BALLOON BONUS! If you host dance birthday parties, then you'll want to keep reading. Balloons are my go-to icebreaker for dance birthday parties! Dance birthday party guests are often not dance students. For them, walking into the dance studio can feel intimidating or scary. Balloons to the rescue!!! I like to begin each party with balloons scattered all over the floor of my space, with a fun kid-friendly pop playlist playing. As the guests arrive, they can play with the balloons, trying to keep them in the air or volleying them to each other. Once everyone is there, we begin the main part of the party. If the party guests are elementary age, I might do balloon relay races. If the party guests are preschool age, I like to do a balloon freeze dance, where they have to grab their balloon and freeze it when the music stops. I use the same set-up, expectations, and clean-up methods that I use in class. Other resources that might interest you! My Love & Friendship Themed Hooray For Dance Notebook has done-for-you preschool dance combos, and this particular pack has a section using BALLOONS! Want some other dance birthday party resources to keep your party on track, to keep your guests having fun, and to make your birthday dancer feel special? Check out my Best Birthday Ever planner packs! Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
"Who can tell me something about ________?" This simple phrase is one of my favorite ways to help my students be a part of their own learning process. When they're a part of the process, they're more engaged with their minds and bodies. When they're more engaged, they're more likely to remember what they've learned. When they remember what they've learned, that leads to progress! In short, being part of the process in dance class leads to progress in the student's dance education. Bonus? Excited and engaged students make teaching so enjoyable for the teacher too! In a 30-minute class, I usually spend only a couple of minutes with a "Who Can Tell Me" type question. Too much talking can lead to a loss of focus (as I'm sure you have experienced too), but I've found that just the right amount of conversation and student involvement can have the opposite effect - an increase in focus! Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and over the next two weeks, I like to do a Love & Friendship theme in my classes. I wanted to share some examples of Love & Friendship themed ways I use "Who can tell me" to ignite the imaginations in class, in case you wanted to give them a try too! The Who Can Tell Me Conversations often look something like this: In a tap class: Who can tell me how many sounds are in the words "I Love You!"? Yes, 3! Now, can you think of a tap step that has 3 sounds? Right, shuffle step has 3 sounds! Great, let's all do 8 shuffle steps changing feet, and our toe taps will say "I Love You!" each time. Here we go! In a ballet or creative movement class: Who can tell me something about a heart shape? (Hold up an image for them to see). Yes, this one is red - I love red too! Ah, yes it is round on each side of the top and pointy at the bottom! Hmmmmm...I wonder if we have a dance position that is pointy.......what about first position? Yes!! Now, keeping your heels together and toes apart, can you draw the rest of the heart shape with your finger on the floor? In a jazz or modern class: Who can think of a motion or gesture that would show that you care for someone? Giving a hug? Blowing a kiss? Cool! Great ideas! Now, do you think you could take that gesture and add it to a step we know? What would a turn with a hug look like? If you have ever purchased one of my games or lesson resources before, then you may have seen that they're all designed with making students part of the process - elements of this are already built in! Use a game in the last 5 minutes of your class to get their creativity rolling, and as a way to connect even more deeply with them! What's your favorite way to connect with your dancers? Reply in the comments and share!  Visit my shop for more dance resources that support a creative, positive, and imaginative dance classroom. Keep in touch by signing up for my weekly newsletter, and join me on Facebook at dance dance HOORAY!
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