Teaching Dance & Movement

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Why it works

Quality dance education, guided by arts standards, engages students in creating (choreographing, improvising), performing, and responding to dance, developing not just technique but creativity, body awareness, expression, collaboration, and confidence, and offering a kinesthetic way of learning. Research links dance and movement education to physical, cognitive, and social-emotional benefits. Strong teaching involves every student (not just the naturally skilled), balances the artistic processes, and values expression and growth.

The research: National Core Arts Standards; research on dance education (NDEO).

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: balance the processes in dance

Teachers leave with a unit that balances creating, performing, and responding in a safe culture.

Pick a unit or lesson.
Engage students in creating (choreographing, improvising) and responding, not only performing routines.
Build a safe, inclusive culture so every student participates.
Value expression and growth.

Create, perform, respond, for every studentDance builds creativity, expression, and confidence. Balance creating, performing, and responding, in a safe culture where every student moves.

Facilitator notes

Balance the artistic processes.
Build a safe, inclusive culture, and engage every student.
Value expression and growth.

Drilling routines is a narrow dance educationOnly performing set choreography misses creating and responding, and excludes the hesitant. Balance the processes in a safe, inclusive culture.

Adapt it

Elementary: creative movement, expression, play.
Secondary: choreography, technique, performance, responding.
All settings: create, perform, respond, every student.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Teaching Dance: every student moves

More than routines: creating, performing, and responding, in a safe culture that values expression and growth.

The unit or lesson:
How students create (choreograph, improvise):
How students perform and respond:
How I build a safe, inclusive culture:
How I engage every student:

Make it stick

Every student, safe culture:

Balance the processes.
Build a safe culture.
Bring a dance lesson beyond routines to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't dance class just learning routines?

Performing matters, but dance education also develops creating (choreographing, improvising) and responding, and builds creativity, body awareness, and expression. Routines alone are a narrow slice.

What if students feel self-conscious?

Build a safe, inclusive culture, value expression and growth over performance perfection, and engage every student in creating and moving, not just the confident few. Safety enables risk-taking.

How does dance help beyond movement?

It develops creativity, discipline, body awareness, collaboration, and confidence, and offers a kinesthetic way of learning and expressing ideas.