Dance Based Home Learning Ideas!
The dance world has adapted to the new normal with impressive speed and Zoom has become our new best friend. For those dance teachers who opted not to teach online or those wanting to engage more as the weeks pass, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of home based learning ideas for you to pass on to your students.
Choreography
Ask your students to share their work with you via video, photos or social media. You could even introduce a covid competition.
- Create a piece of dance in your favourite style.
- Can you write down your choreography? How will you structure it?
- Set yourself some stretching goals and work on them each day when you are warmed up – photograph your progress.
- Design your own warm up in which ever style you choose.
Stage Craft / Dancer Life
- Learn to darn pointe shoes and sew on ribbons and elastic.
- Learn to do French plaits and a proper ballet bun.
- Do some abdominal strengthening exercise each day.
- Learn your Ballet Glossary!!!!
- Learn to hear the difference in musical time signatures – 4/4, 3/4, 6/8 etc.
- View a YouTube stage make up tutorial and try it our for yourself. Take a photo and send it to your teacher!
- Learn some basic anatomy – There are some great child friendly website.
Dance arts and Crafts
- Make your own dance ribbon – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/407575835025429295/
- Lots of Ballet Craft ideas form this blogger – and they link to books which makes me really happy https://happilyeverreading.com/ballerina-paper-doll-craft/
Books
- Read a Fiction Dance book – I grew up loving the Drina and Saddlers Wells novels. In fact I still have all my Drina Books 30 years later! From the classic ‘Ballet Shoes’ to the preschool ‘Giraffes Cant Dance’ admittedly these are all quite ballet heavy, ‘The Swish of the Curtain’ do look good too! How about Carlos Acosta ‘No Way Home’ for older students
- Read a non fiction book – How about reading a biography from your favourite dancers? Or a behind the senes book about the theatre or ballet school. Theres so many to chose from!
- Write a book review!
On Screen
Why not create a dance school what’s app or messenger group with older students and parents so you can watch the same Ballet, or Musical and then open a discussion about it? Like a book club for dance.
- Watch a classical ballet on film
- Watch a contemporary piece of dance (YouTube, Sky Arts) Find your favourite Dance company on YouTube and binge watch their videos – Rambert is a favourite of mine. As are New Adventures and The Royal Ballet. I can waste hours, but don’t tell anyone!
- Watch an old musical (Singing in the Rain is my personal favourite, but there are just too many to choose from!!)
- Write a review on the dance films you have watched.
One thing we should all be doing now is marketing, so be sure to get your students to tag you, your dance school and us in their social media posts whilst doing these activites. Most importantly – have fun!!
