Benefits of Young Children Dancing....

What a special week!! All of our special "Parent Informances" went off without a hitch!! Every single dancer gave their best performance and relished in their special moment in the spotlight when taking final bows and curtsies. Thanks to everyone in the Charlotte Mecklenburg region for your support of our theatre arts family. We have had an awesome year!!

As the weather heats up, we are looking ahead to summer. We have already started with our registrations and classes start next week June 6th. Check out some reasons to get your child in our award winning program!! Below are some of the benefits of young children involved in dance and the arts, taken from National Dance Education Organization (http://www.ndeo.org/).

-Children move naturally. They move to achieve mobility, they move to express a thought or feeling, and they move because it is joyful and feels wonderful.

• -Physical Development- Dance involves a greater range of motion, coordination, and strength than most other physical activities. Dance utilizes the entire body and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness. Young children are naturally active, but dance offers an avenue to expand movement possibilities and skills.
• -Emotional Maturity- Children enjoy the opportunity to express their emotions and become aware of themselves and others through creative movement. Movement within a class offers a structured outlet for physical release while gaining awareness and appreciation of oneself and others.
• Social Awareness- Children learn to communicate ideas to others through real and immediate mode of body movement. Children quickly learn to work in a group dynamic.
• Cognitive Development- Young children will create movement spontaneously when presented with movement ideas or problems that can be solved with a movement response. Movement provides the cognitive loop between the idea and the solutiion.

DANCE IS A POWERFUL ALLY FOR DEVELOPING MANY ATTRIBUTES OF A GROWING CHILD.


~ This post was submitted by Stephanie Wilson, Little People's Creative Workshop Charlotte/Mecklenburg Regional Director

Job Positions Available in NC Triangle!

Positions Open in NC Triangle....

We're giving a quick shout out---we are looking for a dynamic teacher for the NC Triangle area region for this summer!  We've had a great response with our classes and are in need of an instructor!  If you or someone you know would love to spend the summer working with young ones in dance---contact us ASAP.

Have a great Monday!

National Dance Week.......

Spring has finally arrived in the Philly area and we could not be happier! This is always a great time of the school year for our dancers to start thinking about what they have been learning each week in class. We decided to celebrate National Dance Week by showing off for our classmates one thing we learned in dance class that we are most proud of! Our students showed off everything from backbends to tendus and passes and leaps to plies! Each student really thought hard about what they wanted to showcase as their "best" dance and they all did great! The parents will be getting a picture of their dancer showing off his/her "best" dance soon and I know everyone is very excited to see how the pictures turned out!!

Parent Observations......

If you do not already offer this as part of your program---spring is a great time to offer a special Parent Observation Day for your classes that you teach to young children.  Many programs are opting to not have young preschoolers participate in a large spring recital--it is usually more of a negative experience for young ones.  Host a special Parent Presentation Day and let your students shine in their own area of strength---and allow the parents to see all that their child is learning in your program!  It's always a very entertaining day! :)

Be sure to explain to parents during each exercise what you are working on and trying to accomplish.  They will very much appreciate this---to many parents some exercises may just look like play.  Let them know that they have a purpose!

Have fun!

Fun Activity to Share With Your Students.....

Check out the Eagle Cam at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens!  You can get an up close look at three eaglets and their parents in the nest.  It is a live cam--and so fun to watch.

The past few months we have been working on tempo here at Little People's Creative Workshop--one of our exercises was 'Birdie in the Nest, Birdie Out of the Nest'; so your children will have a neat connection with what is going on inside this real nest!  Enjoy!  {Warning:  it has been known to be addicting to watch this cam!}

Community...Be A Part!

Each spring and summer most communities offer wonderful events for families that are free.  Some of these include 'Movies on the Lawn', 'Theatre in the Park', 'Music in the Park', etc.  These type of events draw large crowds and are wonderful events in which to take part.

Contact the organizers of these events in your area and see how you could become a part of them---or better yet:  start your own!

It's not only a great community service and outreach---it is a great way to get the word out about your program and what you do.

We Must All Work...

"Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe--a moment that never was before or never will be again. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that 2 and 2 are four and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them: 'Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been a child like you. And look at your body---what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move!

You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must cherish one another.'

We must all work---to make this world worthy of its children."

- Pablo Casals