Dance in America is a residency for second grade that follows Secrets of the Heart® in kindergarten and One World Drum Circles in first grade. It teaches the history of dance in the United States. Curriculum is aligned with VAPA and Common Core standards for Language Arts. This program is designed as a 12-week residency but can be customized to meet a school’s needs. The secrets taught in this residency are dance, dedication, discipline, passion and practice.

• • Parent Orientation: Provides an overview of what students experience during the residency and introduces parents to the concept of the progression of dance forms in America

• • Professional Development: Offers participating first grade teachers an opportunity to learn the program’s goals and expected outcomes and gives them a preview of some of the activities students will experience. The professional development is open to all teachers, regardless of grade level, and staff.

• • Dance Technique: Children learn classic dance technique, and warm-up exercises which precede the exploration of the dance taught in each workshop.

• • Dance History: Before learning a dance, students watch a short that demonstrates the highest level of excellence for that dance.  Dance Forms: Students learn dance that can be performed solo, with partners and in groups and that dance may be choreographed, freestyle or a combination of both. Dance styles are linked to historical values and cultural connections. They learn one dance form each week during the 12-week course in this sequence:

• • • Ballet, the foundation of all great dance.
  • • Modern dance and tap and how these dance forms influence other styles. Watch 2nd Grade Students take their first modern dance class after learning about the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Watch a short video.
  • • We continue to explore jazz, Latin dance styles, and popular American dances from the 1960’s such as the twist, boogaloo and the swim.
  • • We move through dance history, including the Motown era, disco era, popping, locking and Hip-hop styles.
    • Parents are invited to participate in the final dance culmination.

      
      OUTCOMES:

      • New vocabulary
      • Can define dance
      • Move in time with rhythm and music
      • Identify different dance forms
      • Understand space and moving in a group
      • Collaborate and learn to work together
      • Appreciation of different cultures from the United States
      • Learn words in American Sign Language
      • Learn proper performance etiquette and practice this etiquette in a culminating performance
      • Identify different emotions and how to articulate them