The Contribution Of Dance To The Development Of Creative Dramatics For Children

There is a growing awareness in Early Years education that an essential part of children’s development involves creative engagement through language, gestures, body movements, drawing and music; creating shared meanings in playful contexts. Supporting Children’s Creativity through Music, Dance, Drama and Art brings together contributions from a range of professionals and early years practitioners, to help readers implement the themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework in a creative way. Emphasising the need for responsive adults and a creative atmosphere for learning, this book covers: How to promote a creative classroom effectively The importance of talking and listening in groups Working with community artists Music-making and story-telling in the classroom Practical resources and theoretical grounding Making use of the ‘talking table’ technique With practical case studies drawn from a range of contexts, this book highlights the contribution that creativity makes to children’s learning and social development, illustrated through practical suggestions and feedback from tried and tested methods. Appealing to all with an interest in Early Years practice, this book demonstrates how practitioners can put excitement and inspiration back into the learning process, and guides them to encourage and support the creative capacities of young children.

Introduces a creative movement program to foster confidence, creativity, and problem-solving skills in children ages three to eight.

Creative Dance for Learning: The Kinesthetic Link is a comprehensive teaching guide that addresses the “what”, “why” and “how” of creative dance. It provides theoretical and practical guidance on teaching creative dance, particularly in educational settings. The authors’ approach is heavily influenced by Barbara Mettler, Margaret H’Doubler, and Rudolph Laban, all legendary figures in the field of creative dance. Their theories are combined with the authors’ insights from thirty years of dance teaching experience to: * validate dance as art education, adaptable to all ages and abilities * explain a conceptual framework for teaching dance in common language * highlight the kinesthetic sense as a guide for creating dance forms * provide methods of linking movement across the curriculum * address cultural material through creative dance * outline teaching progressions that develop student skill and understanding * guide readers into building and presenting lessons of their own * provide models for assessing student learning * relate creative dance instruction to achievement standards in dance and other disciplines * offer over 25 well-tested lesson plans and 40 adaptations that extend the lesson material.

Dance and Dance Drama in Education attempts to explain the arts of dance and dance drama as they take place in schools and colleges, and to relate them to other, more familiar creative arts in education. It takes into account the needs of young people in so far as they relate to these arts, and sets out to some extent to observe and to estimate the balance or lack of balance in school curricula, establishing the possible place of dance and dance drama in the education of children. Special attention is given to the place of this work in the curriculum of the Secondary Modern Girls' School, where such arts could play a most important part. The book begins by tracing the history of dance leading to the present place of dance and dance drama in education. This is followed by separate chapters on the language of movement; aims of the teacher of dance and dance drama; the link between the arts of dance and dance drama; and dance and dance drama as therapy. Subsequent chapters deal with movement, dance, and dance drama in primary and secondary schools; and work with students in a teacher training college.

Although children's theatre has been a part of American culture from early times, historians have not always included it in the documentation of our theatrical heritage. Sometimes more the product of the educator and the social worker than the producer or the theatre artist, theatre with and for young people has been neglected in traditional theatre history studies; yet as early as 1792 Charles Stearns began creating his plays and dialogues for school children. The traditions and success of eighteenth-century school drama inspired social workers to explore similar activities in their playground and settlement house work, and at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, professional producers began experimenting more vigorously with the commercial possibilities of children as audience. This book is a collection of essays by leading authorities in the field on various aspects of the historical development of children's theatre in the United States. The discussions focus on the marked differences that have occurred from group to group and examine the ways in which children's theatre began to find definition, as theorists and writers such as Winifred Ward and Charlotte Chorpenning strove to articulate the differences between the child as participant in creative drama and the child as audience member. The introduction provides a review of early concepts and the evolution of present-day thought, and the essays illuminate facets of the rich and varied history of American theatre with and for children. This trailblazing study will serve as the beginning of a fuller understanding of the field and a challenge to others to document the missing pieces.

The creation of a professional therapist and former dancer, Danceplay brings to parents a new and wonderful way for interacting with their very young children--even before verbal exchange has fully begun. Designed for eighteen-month--to four-year-olds--and their mothers and fathers--it is a stimulating approach to fostering a child's social and intellectual growth through creative physical play. The exercises, based on the insights and knowledge of developmental psychologists, progress from simple movements suitable for the eighteen-month-old, to sequences involving complex ideas and actions for the four-year-old. Levell One begins with stretching adn limbering and gradually moves to an exploration of the body and its parts. In Level Two the child learns to distinguish self from environment through a variety of danceplays. And the focus of Level Three is integration, as games, music, and movement develop the ability to percieve a situation as a complex experience. Touching is emphasized throughout, and the fun and sharing add immeasurably to the everyday interaction between parent and child. Charming line drawings illustrate an easy-to-follow text, and necessary equipment is limited to simple household items. It is difficult to imagine an easier, more pleasurable way to help your child develop as he or she grows.