Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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

Monday, May 16, 2011

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!

Monday, May 2, 2011

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!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

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!

Monday, April 25, 2011

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!}

Monday, April 18, 2011

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.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

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

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Summer is Coming!

Summer Workshop fun..check out the costumes we made!
With the beautiful spring weather comes visions of wonderful summer plans for young children's programs!  Be sure to not miss out on a great opportunity to offer camps, classes, workshops, parties, etc---that maybe you are not able to offer throughout the school year.  Parents are looking for neat, new learning opportunities for their children this summer.

Summer is a great time to continue learning; creativity is always needing to be nurtured in young children---and dance and theatre are wonderful ways to do that.  Physical fitness and agility, creative thinking, critical thinking, and expression---just a few of the skills that are covered in this art form.


Check out Little People's Creative Workshop's summer program opportunities!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Successful, Creative Teaching...

Taken from Joanne Bath's studio notes:

Joanne Bath
THE P's OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHING:

Positive Instructor Involvement
Play
Posture for fun!
Practice things together
Praise
Participation
Peers
Persist


THE C's OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHING:

Cheer
Congratulate
Change
Conquer
Challenge
Contemplate
be Considerate
be Consistent
be Calm
be Cognizant
be in Control
be Confident

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Balance, Flexibility, and Coordination.....


What an amazing month this has turned out to be! Our students have LOVED the classes and have had so much fun they haven't even noticed how their balance, flexibility, and coordination have improved! It's spectacular to see the growth of students, and their growth is abundantly clear in just a couple of the moves we learned this month. Let's take one student for example:

During our first lesson we learned how to stretch our arms and legs while balancing on our bottoms. We stretch out, say, "Hello!" and then crumple up into a ball saying, "Goodbye!" all while balancing on our bottoms. Needless to say this is pretty tough for young ones. It not only requires balance, flexibility, and coordination but the heavy use of their abdominal muscles. During our first class she rested on her arms, rolled onto her back, and continued to touch her feet to the ground for stability. We kept at it though! After a couple of weeks of practice, continued encouragement, and reminders of what our muscles should feel like while balancing she now is able to do the stretch beautifully while balancing, all while pointing her toes!! Isn't the picture above just beautiful! Fantastic job!!

It's great achievements like this that prove how important it is to keep on trying! Our students learn this important lesson during class and are able to transcribe it to their every day lives. Giving up is not an option. Not in dance class and definitely not during their school work. We teach not only balance, flexibility, and coordination but life skills that will continue to shine through in each of our students' lives!

I can't wait for next month and all of the great times it will bring us!

~  Annie Latterell, Little People's Creative Workshop, Central New York

Monday, April 4, 2011

Ballet in Cinema.....

Be sure to check out www.balletincinema.com!  This is a great opportunity to see professional performances at wonderful prices! See if there is a cinema in your area that will be showing one soon.  These are not old performances--they are shown in the theatres sometimes within hours of the stage performance!



Thursday, March 31, 2011

Summer Learning.......

A butterfly waiting to leave its chrysalis!
Summer is quickly approaching---a wonderful time for young children to experience a new adventure.  Schedules slow down, parents are looking for activities for their children to participate---make sure you don't 'skip the summer'!  It's a great time to offer new types of classes and opportunities to those in your community.  Workshops, camps, classes, etc----now is the time to get organized and get the word out to the community.  We have parents to begin calling in February! to inquire about our summer plans.  Camps are a great alternative to parents that need child care for their young children in the summer--they may want to give them a break from their regular child care; and may not have as heavy a schedule as during the fall and winter months.  Keep the classes and offerings coming!

Monday, March 28, 2011

20 Years Later.......

Being involved with teaching dance to young children brings back all of the wonderful memories of when I was that age and learning to dance.  20 years later, the skills and simple techniques that I learned at that young age are still useful for me today.  The other day while my hands were full of groceries, I balanced a 12-pack of diet cokes on my leg while I fished my keys out of my purse to open my car door.  The balancing act was entertaining for the people around me, I'm sure, but I was proud of myself for making it work.  I didn't drop a thing!  Imagining an invisible straight line going down the center of my body in order to keep myself balanced is something I learned from my dance teacher when I was 3 years old, and I will never forget it.  The lessons we learn at that young age follow us into adulthood and become part of who we are and how we think.  So, acquiring the ability to think creatively and exercise that ability through movement in dance is one of the best things a child can do at that age.

~ Southern New Hampshire University Student/LPCW Dance Teacher

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Marching Into Spring.......

Marching into Spring









It's getting closer and closer to spring and up here in Central New York the snow is beginning to melt (hope I didn't jinx it!) but our love for the arts is growing and growing! It has been so wonderful to watch the students growth through the arts. This month while posting pictures for parents who have students in class I decided to take a look back at pictures from their first class in September ... My goodness! What growth and development! In the beginning "parallel first" was a new concept that took quite a bit of effort to execute correctly. Now, when we stand up on our carpets the student's feet magically know where to be! Terms like "Tendu" and "Echappe" are now part of the children's vocabulary. These classical ballet terms may not be a part of our children's every day use, but soon as they step into class they know exactly what it is, how do do it, and how to pronounce it! Their ability to grow and learn is just amazing and usually it passes us right by. How wonderful it was to go back, critically look at, and appreciate just how much our children learn, and want to learn each day. I'm so thankful for the role that the arts play in this magical development!

New LPCW Region to Open in the Fall.....

We are so excited to announce that we will be opening a new LPCW region this fall.  The Northern New York Region will be directed by Ms. Jaymie Boudreau.  We are in the process now of the beginning stages of setting things up---and my even be able to start classes in the summer!  Already great interest and requests have been made by the area and they can't wait until things get started.