Dance in the Curriculum

Everyone can dance regardless of age, ability, gender or cultural background.

Babies and young children explore, express themselves and communicate through movement long before they are able to use language. They have always conveyed their moods and feelings through expressive movement and they love to join in with simple rhythmic exercise and chanting rhymes.

When children move creatively or spontaneously to music the expressions on their faces illustrate total involvement and enjoyment and reflect their feelings. This natural affinity with movement and dance should be valued, nurtured and developed, and children should be given regular opportunities to become involved in it. They need to express themselves through movement spontaneously, emotionally, and imaginatively, as well as further developing and creating skills and dances with the guidance of an adult.

Dance makes a unique and distinctive contribution to the education of all children and, indeed, some can express themselves far more easily though dance than through the written or spoken word. Expressive, non-verbal communication through movement enables children to portray deeply held feelings and make comments about their environment and the world around them..

Dance makes an invaluable contribution to the personal development of children and positively encourages growth of self-confidence and self-esteem. Social development is enhanced when children work together. They learn to understand the strengths and weaknesses of others and encourage development of co-operation, adaptability and vital interpersonal skills. Learning to negotiate, make decisions and live with other people’s decisions, are valuable lessons learnt through group work. Although observational skills are developed in games and gymnastics, another dimension of observation is experienced in dance - aesthetic line and meaning of movement. Encouraging accurate observational skills enables children to make informed judgements and opens the door for logical problem-solving.

Through the introduction of a wide range of stimuli, dance offers children the opportunity to heighten their awareness of the qualities of the environment, a variety of events, objects, works of art and literature. Children can examine these stimuli using their tactile, visual, aural and emotional senses and through discussion and evaluation be encouraged to express how they make them feel as well as the detail of their pattern, colour, texture, shape or sound.

There is an important relationship between language development and movement. The words a teacher uses are so very important when introducing an idea or stimulating children’s imaginations. These words will not only influence the movement responses of the children but also colour the way they discuss and describe what they and others are doing.

Children enter school with a range of movement experiences and they already possess an ability to express themselves through their dancing. As teachers, we must grasp this uninhibited, early enthusiasm and vitality of expression.

Dance is fun!
Dance is good for the soul!