Dance

Dance and Drama at Global Arts Plus Lower Campus!

My name is Debra Elias (she/her) and I am so excited to teach your students this year! Together we’ll explore theatre and dance from around the world – Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S. (including Native American) – with a special emphasis on the diverse cultures of our GAP community including Mexican, Hmong, Karen, and Ethiopian. We will create characters and scenes from folktales and traditional stories, study and learn traditional dances, and create new works inspired by them. Every week students will create, perform, respond, and connect, which are the Artistic Processes outlined by the Minnesota State Arts Standards. We will be working on Artistic Foundations, which include the elements of Character, Plot, Setting, Voice, and Movement for Theatre, and Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy for Dance. We will spend half of our time focused on Dance and half on Drama.

Why Dance and Drama?

Dance and Drama use children’s natural sense of play and movement to provide opportunities for experiential learning and self-expression. I believe dance can help children better understand and control their bodies, leading to better self-regulation and more successful learning across subjects. Theatre has a powerful link to literacy and oral language development. Through Dance and Drama students develop creativity, problem solving, risk taking, and critical thinking skills. Plus, it's fun and brings students joy!

Visiting the Dance-Drama Room

Families are welcome to visit our classroom! Fridays are often a great day to visit because students in grades 2-4 share what they’ve created that week in class. The schedule below shows the class time for each grade level. Check with me or with your student’s classroom teacher to see whether it’s your student’s week for Dance-Drama. Or better yet, ask your student! Students are often eager to share.

Volunteering in the Dance-Drama Room

Do you have a cultural tradition you’d be willing to share with our students, such as dance or story telling? One of my goals is to make connections to students’ own experiences, home cultures, and home languages. Your skills and knowledge could help! You don’t need to be a professional. Please contact me if you have an interest in sharing, and we can find the right fit for your gifts.

Dance at Global Arts Plus Upper Campus

WHY ARE WE BAREFOOT IN DANCE CLASS?

(Words taken and edited from http://www.runbare.com/10-reasons-to-go-barefoot)

Increased muscle tone.Barefoot walking helps give you abs of steel. When you’re not supported by your shoes, you have to do the work of balancing yourself. This comes directly from engaging your core muscles (abs and back) and creating a wall of strength in your midsection. Legs will gain better tone and balance as well as symmetrical strength since they’re forced to do the job of supporting you, rather than your shoes.

Better posture. The stronger your feet and core, the taller and lighter you will stand. When you go barefoot, you naturally start to stand and walk more like a dancer, tall and light, elongating the entire body and straightening the spine. Look like a Julliard scholar without the torture of becoming one!

Stronger feet. Why would you want stronger feet? There are lots of reasons. Want to grow arches where you once had none? Want to reduce bunions and straighten out your toes? Want feet that no longer ache at the end of the day, but feel like they could go on effortlessly step after step? Gradually working into barefoot running (or walking) helps strengthen every muscle of your feet and lower legs. Through this natural process your foot transforms into the healthiest, pain-free version of itself.

Better balance. No matter how fit we are, we’re all concerned about tripping, falling or twisting an ankle. When we’re barefoot or in more minimalist shoes, we feel the ground better, giving our brains more information to prevent falls and better handle challenges coming our way. The feet can now communicate better with the brain, helping the entire balance mechanism of the body (vestibular system).

Check out a video of our Junior High Thriller Performance 2011