When it comes to teaching dance to children, it’s essential to focus on skills that will benefit their overall development. Dance is not just an art form; it’s a powerful tool for enhancing physical development through dance, fostering creativity, and supporting classroom dance for young learners.

Here are five crucial dance skills that can profoundly influence a child’s growth and development:

1. Functional Alignment

Functional alignment is understanding how muscles, bones, and joints work together to maintain proper posture and movement. For kids, this means learning to move safely and efficiently, reducing the risk of injury, and avoiding unnecessary strain. This skill is foundational in dance for child development, enabling children to transition smoothly between dance styles and adapt to various teaching methods.

The Challenge: Achieving proper alignment varies from child to child due to differences in body types, flexibility, and strength. It’s crucial to help each student discover their own best alignment practices through tailored instruction.

Advice: Start simple, especially with younger students. Use playful, creative movement games and metaphors to teach body awareness. As students progress, introduce more sophisticated techniques such as Bartenieff Fundamentals and Alexander Technique to deepen their understanding.

2. Fluidity and Stability of the Spine

A well-articulated spine is essential for executing complex dance moves across different genres. Whether it’s a delicate ballet epaulment or a powerful jazz isolation, mastering the balance between fluidity and stability in the spine can elevate a dancer’s performance.

The Challenge: It’s easy to restrict spinal mobility while focusing on core strength inadvertently. Finding the right balance between core support and spinal flexibility is key.

Advice: Encourage students to focus on skeletal alignment rather than just muscular engagement. Use cues like “lengthen your spine” or “float your ears above your shoulders” to help them find natural support and fluidity in their movements.

3. Use of Weight

Understanding how to manage body weight is crucial for dynamic and balanced movement. Concepts like under-curve and over-curve help students connect with the floor and find suspension in their movements. Mastering these skills enhances their ability to easily perform jumps, transitions, and turns.

The Challenge: Mastery of weight transfer requires patience and repetition, which can sometimes be tedious for students.

Advice: Integrate these concepts into various aspects of class, such as barre work and combinations, to keep students engaged. Use visual demonstrations and improv games to make learning these concepts enjoyable and relatable.

4. Articulation of the Feet and Ankles

Good foot and ankle articulation is vital for balance, jumping, and turning. It’s important for dancers to be able to point, flex, pronate, and supinate their feet effectively.

The Challenge: Finding time in class for foot articulation exercises can be challenging, given the many other skills to cover.

Advice: Incorporate foot articulation into existing exercises and dance routines. Activities like toe push-ups or dancing barefoot can significantly enhance foot flexibility and strength.

5. General Coordination

Coordination is often the secret ingredient that transforms a good dancer into a great one. Students can achieve a higher level of expressiveness and control by developing body awareness and coordination through principles like Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals.

The Challenge: Coordination is sometimes undervalued by students and parents, who may not recognize its importance in dance technique.

Advice: Sneak coordination exercises into regular class activities. Use barre work, improvisation, and stretching to subtly integrate coordination practice, demonstrating its value in enhancing overall dance performance.

With proper resources, teachers and parents can aid in enhancing growth and development through dance for their children. Carefully crafted programs and classroom resources such as Dance for Schools and the Moververse, are designed to support physical development through dance and enhance the overall learning experience for young students.