Movin' Easy Dancewear

We went through an “I don’t want to go phase.” What do you do to keep Mary excited about dance?

“What I do for my Mary is I watch her class and make specific comments about what I liked and what she did well.  I might even ask her to show me how to do a specific step that is interesting or complicated to me.”

I tried it and I love that because it gives a sense of continuity and emphasises how much my Tiger Lily is learning.  When the learning slows down or she gets tired of something, those moments are ones we both remember.

Best thing about going to dance class with my Tiger Lily(7) is the help I get from the Mom’s and Dad’s to support little dancers.  I learn so much about how to encourage Tiger Lily, how to build on her excitement about dance, how to deal with the times when she is discouraged, and how to  emphasize her strengths that can apply to school and other activities.

So much is happening at a dance school for children, it is hard to talk about it all at once.  Not only are the children building the brain space for exuberant learning that involves their whole body and every part of their brain, their parents are building a world of focus and communication that will support their family in everything they do.

Every child should be congratulated on the courage to say yes to so much delight and every parent should be congratulated for supporting their child in an art form that helps to build their personal expression as well as brain body connections.

I am so proud of a Fifth grade dancer who choreographed a piece with me for a church musical.  We worked together for an hour and a half on Friday.  On Monday she had a rehearsal where she showed the entire dance and blocked the movement of three other characters on stage with her.

I was astounded and then I spoke with her Mom about how the family had participated in her preparation for the rehearsal.

The dancer expressed doubt to her Mom that she could remember all that we had choreographed.  Her Mom said, “You know it.  Just go over it in your mind every night before you go to sleep.”  Her daughter thought that was a good idea.

On a trip to Dallas on the weekend, she practiced the dance alone and her Grandmother said, “Show me the dance you are doing.”  Her Mom was delighted because her daughter got to practice the dance for the Grandmother and then for other relatives throughout the weekend.

So when Monday rehearsal came, the dance was second nature and she was able to confidently guide the other characters into the movement they were to do with her.

Wow.  That is fun.

Listen up families to the complete education happening:

Spring is blossoming in Texas, and so is our cultural center!  Enjoy these
photos of our Coqui’s “Brinca y Canta” Class where the adults are having as
much fun as the kids, in a family-style preschool-age class that is teaching
canciones y juegos infantiles (traditional games and songs), and the rudiments
of rhythm and dance (like Bomba!).  Yes, our cultural center is a beautiful
place where whole families are enjoying cultural traditions together!

http://www.prfdance.org/class_coquis.htm