Before the dance input I didn’t feel confident at all with the idea of teaching dance in the primary school. The only experience I have of dance is a term of PE classes in secondary school and 2 mission teams to Spain. During my time in PE, we danced with ribbons as well as group dance which required us as the students to choreograph. Whilst in Spain, the dances were as a large group and included Cotton Eyed Joe and 5, 6, 7, 8. Therefore, I don’t have much experience with choreographing dances. I think these experiences will help me with teaching the dance curriculum in school, however, I still feel very inexperienced to teach it.

I feel that dance allows us to express ourselves including our feelings and encourages everyone to be involved, no matter gender, age, ethnicity and background. An example of this in my own life was during one of my mission teams, a dance was performed by those of us from Northern Ireland. The Spanish people were still able to understand the emotion and meaning behind it which couldn’t be picked up on in conversation due to language barriers. Dance can bring people together.

It is interesting that social, emotional and behavioural problems are more likely to occur in 4-12 year old boys than girls (10% compared to 5% respectively). We should ensure that dance isn’t labelled as a girly thing and boys feel they are able to confidently participate and express themselves through the art of dance. Mental health is an increasingly huge issue among children nowadays. Dance has been shown to boost self esteem. Therefore, children should be encouraged to express their feelings and put their energy into creating something positive. The physical activity involved in dance releases endorphins which help to relieve stress.

By including dance as part of the curriculum, this allows children to use their creativity in a physical activity without paying for dance classes which some parents may not be able to afford. As teachers we are able to teach about different cultures through their use of dance, increasing children’s awareness of the world around them. It is important that we show enthusiasm whilst teaching dance to ensure the children enjoy it and participate. We should make children take a certain amount of control of the lesson such as what music they would like or what type of dance they would like to learn. My goal is to increase my confidence in teaching dance. This will be done through practice and increasing my knowledge by reading resources such as http://www.creativescotland.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/26149/GSDLitReviewv2.pdf.