With very little experience in teaching or partaking in dance, this was a daunting experience.  With only an hour class to start off, it was interesting how similar to PE dance is as there had to be a warm up and cool down then the main activity.  Actually taking part in a lesson that would be taught to the children it turned out to be good fun, even if it was embarrassing!  It was clear to me after having this hour tutorial and also reading the suggested document:

(http://www.creativescotland.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/26149/GSDLitReviewv2.pdf)

which looked at the improvement and importance of creative dance relating to the commonwealth games and many other factors,  I felt slightly less scared.

I am very passionate about ceilidh dancing and feel that this is an important part of being a child in primary school in Scotland.  This is one genre of dance and there are hundreds more including examples such as; Irish, Jazz, African, Street and Contemporary.  The general idea of introducing more dance to the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) allows for children to be expressive and creative but can also improve their health, mental health, physical health and emotional health.  All of these areas are crucial when looking into the wellbeing of children and if dance can benefit these then it is an excellent tool for teachers to use.

Teaching dance opens it up to some children who cannot afford private dance classes which can be very expensive.  Off course, there will be children who are very excited and engaged in the dance lesson but there will also be many who don’t enjoy it as much.  The role of the teacher in this circumstance is to encourage enthusiasm and be a good role model with showing little embarrassment and having fun. Dance allows for personal expression and also group working, coordination, fitness and enjoyment.

As I am not very confident in teaching dance I feel it would be very important to have a well researched and planned out lesson so there is less likely to be hiccups.  Having music organised and allowing the children to help with the decision of what music they would like to dance too. Challenges I will have to overcome is being shy and embarrassed about dancing in front of people which I think will come with experience.  To develop professionally I think I would benefit from watching dance teachers teaching classes and also in schools. So to improve myself I think I should speak to dance teachers and ask if I could potentially observe their class and potentially take part in dancing myself.