Nursery World - Planning a dance session

A planned dance session should have distinct phases that are appropriate to the children's stage of development. When planning such a session, practitioners will need to take account of factors such as the children's range of ages, abilities, interests, concentration span and physical strength. Introduction

Introduction

* Establish movement objectives for the group and individuals based on one or two elements of dance. (An action? Body part/shape? Use of space? Dynamics? Relationships?)

* Use a stimulus to clarify the movement theme. (An object? Picture? Story? Extract of music or professional dance on video?)

* Introduce an accompaniment. (Live or pre-recorded music?) Warm-up exercises

* Check the mood of the group. (Do they need to 'let off steam' or be 'grounded' with small movements on the floor?)

* Have the children do some bending, stretching and twisting exercises to warm up different sets of muscles.

* Encourage the children to do additional exercises that focus the mind and body and relate to the objectives.

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