Dance. The word that was mentioned once and the room was filled with moans and groans. However, having danced myself for nearly 15 years, I didn’t quite have that same negative attitude towards the idea of our dance workshop. I like to think I thrive under the performing element of dance and most importantly I am really passionate for it and enjoy it greatly which is something I would like to pass onto my future classes.

This workshop was one I found to be extremely beneficial. Having danced nearly all of my life, I am confident enough performing but would say that being able to teach dance is more of a weakness of mine. This is probably due to me going to so many classes as a student compared to how many I was present at as a teacher. The session gave me a brilliant insight as to how dance can be taught within the primary school environment. I thoroughly enjoyed finding out some of the different activities that can be used in order to develop creative minds and active bodies through dance.

There were many points of the workshop in which I will transfer into my placement with me. The first being the idea of starting the lesson in a circle, allowing the teacher to have full view of everyone and in turn being able to see everyones creativity within their movement whilst we warm up. The second idea that I will carry with me into school is passing over the leadership to the pupils ie. if you see a child really loving it, pass the power to them for 20 seconds and get the class to copy one of their moves. This relates to the second level outcome of dance which states “I can explore and choose movements to create and present dance, developing my skills and techniques.” This exercise allows to children to pick a dance move and present it back to their peers whilst developing vital skills such as confidence and leadership. And finally, the third thing I will definitely take into the classroom is the idea of using videos or clips of professional dancers to act as a stimulus for children to go away and have a go at themselves. This again relates to one of the outcomes of dance which is “Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express my ideas, thoughts and feelings through creative work in dance.” By using videos of professional dancers, it allows those with less confidence in dance to get an idea of what they could try when they have to give it a go for themselves. 

Reflecting back upon this workshop, I realise that dance has more to it than the technical aspect that I am personally used to. It is much more about building confidence and linking other aspects of the curriculum together. For example if you’re studying Buddhism in RME, you could have a look at dances surrounding the stimulus of the Buddha. Dance will inevitably allow those of a more creative nature to express themselves and encourage those who aren’t so creative to give something new a try.