To explore the concept, choreograph a simple routine to a nursery rhyme, songlet or chorus.

It only needs to be 4 x 8 counts it needs to be repeated with a 5 second pause in the middle.

I like to choreograph a slightly harder routine for the 4yr olds and over and a very simple one for the 2 and 3 year olds.

Each week this ‘concept’ dance is exactly the same choreography but the way it’s done is different depending on what the movement quality for the week is.

For Example: I choreographed a simple dance for the 2yr olds to a Hi-5 song called Jump Forward, Jump Back (turn around, Jump forward Jump back touch the ground etc…) I chopped the song selecting only the phrase i wanted, inserted a silence in the middle – for the statue shape – and repeated the same song phrase again.

Using this choreography in this class plan you can instruct and show the children how to do it LITTLE ie ‘baby steps’ with all movements close together; creating a LITTLE shape in the pause. Second time through emphasise BIG as much as possible with all movements, jumps, turns with ‘far reach’ making a BIG shape or two at the end.

Planning ahead – in a class with the concept of direction you would use this same choreography but emphasise the direction you were moving in. In a plan with the Speed concept you could do the same choreography first time through as slow as possible and second time through as fast as possible.

This certainly gives your class a sense purpose that’s different each week without you having to spend hours making up new choreography for each part of your class plan.

How have you used the dance concepts in your class plans? Is it successful? Please comment on what has or hasn’t worked for you.

Seth Godin will say that I have failed to ship!

Why? Is it my busy? Need to do it perfectly? Fear? or just that being a dance teacher is a time consuming passion even for people whom want to create our new world of great content for early childhood dance.

Was I attempting to be a martyr? I personally do believe that this is the case.

I feel that this blog will evolve, I feel more inclined to share my process rather than deliver the results.

I will promise to finish the class plan that I have started here for you to get some ideas from and use. I will finish it this week whilst on holidays.

Have your best intentions ever fallen flat? I’d love to hear your stories.

Verbally inform the dancers of the movement quality of the week – SIZE.  “Today our words are going to be BIG & LITTLE because we are going to be dancing in different sizes” For this age group we only explore Big & Little the extreme contrasts are effective we don’t worry about middle size.  Be careful what you demonstrate as size isn’t the same as level or height as you can have a LITTLE shape on a high level.

LITTLE refers to close together, close to the spine.

BIG doesn’t mean tall it refers far apart, far from the spine as possible.

Ask the children to demonstrate movements with you; BIG shapes and LITTLE shapes.

Create, invent and choreograph a short catchy theme song for your class with high energy choreography.

• You’ll commence & finish every class with this dance.
• Think of the Play School format – they always use ‘There’s a bear in there….’ at the start and finish of the show, it’s very comforting for the children.
• Approximately 12 sets of 8 counts is ample.

Remember the 2 -6 yr olds your choreographing for  – don’t make it too hard, I suggest choreographing with the 4yr old child in mind.  Spend some time watching children’s television, especially the performing arts oriented shows and see how the entertainers commence, look at choreography and energy – and then create your own.  Don’t copy.

Take a look at the many popular children’s CD’s for ideas, the ABC Shop, Borders and Target have a great range.  My preference if you can’t compose your own unique song is to search itunes for an abundance of suitable songs; you’ll certainly find something fun.

The class commences with this theme song – do not mark the role, do not add circle activities like stretching. Simply gather the children to a ‘home base’ 2 minutes before the class is scheduled to start – briefly welcome the children to class today and them ask them to get to their starting spot  slightly away from ‘home base’ and commence welcome dance, volume high and energy high.

• ‘Home Base’ is my term for the habitual area in the dance space where you always gather the children to start class.  I use a huge rug that I roll out toward the bottom end of my hall near the music and props station.
• Starting spots depend on age.  I tend to use a long line of tape on the floor and ask the children to spread out along it making sure we don’t touch shoulders, sometimes I use non slip shapes on the floor or carpet squares for the children to stand on (it becomes their spot)
• 2 year olds will not stand on a spot or line and this is fine; often a circle works well or simply stand and start in the home base area giving them little down time to wander away – if they do it’s okay they will come back to the group eventually or the sweet and clever assistant can quickly take their hand or carry them back to the group.
• If the 2  yr olds are with their mum – direct the mums to make a bigger circle, the children will follow mum.

Your Theme Song - will become the most consistent piece of choreography in your class plan, it will not change and you’ll start and finish each and every lesson with this dance.  The children will eventually know this choreography inside out – however to start with it will take a little time to teach the moves.  Please don’t teach it all at once, build up the instruction each week.

For example: In week 1 teach the first one or two sets of 8 and then get the children to mirror you as best you can until the song ends.

You only do the Theme Song once – don’t repeat it. (even if the children don’t get any of what you were doing – they will over time.)

Keep the class moving.

Welcome to the first step in my class plan.

Rules:

1. No stopping class to correct children nor are you to ever ask the them to do it better, harder or neater,
2. No slack teaching,  you must be fun, engaging, up beat and excited.
3. Write and print out your class plan so that you can take notes and write your evaluations.
4. Put all your music in order on an mp3 player – I use an ipod.
5. Become a savvy user of music editing software – I use  WavePad.  Quickly learn to cut and fade music, repeat tracks, insert silence, adjust tempo and mix two tracks.
6. A teaching assistant is essential.
7. Parents will need to stay with the 2yr olds and they’ll need to participate if children need them to.
8. Organise all props and stimuli before class starts.
9. Did I mention you must exude mountainous energy and plenty of sing a long fun??
10. Be an inspiration to the young dancers in your care, you are privileged to be working with children.

I've so many folders of class plans - many I don't even use any more.

I used to have an Australia wide license to create and teach  Hi-5 dance classes – this was a first for Australia and what I created was basically creative movement with Hi-5 music.  Hi-5 is a popular and very successful Australian children’s entertainment enterprise.  Writing and developing this program to teach to children from 18 months to 5 years was a very amazing and rewarding.

• For the first time I felt that I had created a plan for a jazz based dance class that didn’t follow the old format of warm up, centre, corner work with dance at the end.
• I was also able to seamlessly add content that met the developmental needs of young children in a very enjoyable way.
• A lot of the creative dance content is from Ann Green Gilbert and her fantastic books (see Bibliography).  Ann prefers that her class plans are taught the way she has written them or planned them, however I like to break rules and experiment with the material before me,  I like to pull things, ideas, plans apart and toss them back together with my own ideas and intentions.  Sometimes they work sometimes they don’t but I just keep creating and putting it out there.
• As with everything I do I was able to measure the effectivness of the program and analyse, evaluate and tweak it as the classes progressed to end up with a great plan that hopefully others can follow for the benefit of children.

So this is my gift to you.  I’ll be posting class plans based on the work I created for the Hi-5 classes.  However there is a lot of information to absorb once with each of my class plans so I shall create a separate blog post for each section of the class plan allow you to absorb the info instantly and build your plan like blocks of lego.

I want to know how well teachers follow my plans & instructions or

• do you like to take bits of information to incorporate into your existing classes,
• do you like the structure but add your own content.

Whatever you do with this material make sure you write a plan; turning up to teach without a plan is not good, it’s not professional and it’s not beneficial to the children.

Don’t forget to comment how you went.  Remember these plans are the WHAT to teach.  HOW you teach it is vital – I’ll have a few pointers for you later on this.

My ultimate aim in doing all of this is to deliver my beautiful Rainbow Ballet program to remarkable teachers whom want to make a difference and really connect with their clients, prosper financially and deliver the program as outlined in my vision.

The Award is for employess not contractors and if you only use the services of contractors you would obviously have to pay more than the Award – your lawyer will best help you here but I hope to save you a little bit of time by sourcing this information for you.  I’m sure you will be surprised as I was at the rate of pay for the Award, let me know what you think???

The new award is called Fitness Industry Award 2010 – fitness industry means the operation or provision of:
(a) fitness centres;
(b) fitness services or classes;
(c) group fitness organisations;
(d) weight loss/control centres;
(e) aquatic centres;
(f) aquatic services or classes;
(g) indoor sports centres;
(h) golf driving ranges;
(i) dance centres;
(j) martial arts centres; and
(k) recreational camps.

You are best to Google Fitness Industry Award 2010 as I’m yet to work out how to attach a file to this blog.

For your reference the old award for NSW was called Health, Fitness and Indoor Sports Centres (State) Award [AN120240]once again google this to find the pdf document.

I certainly believe that great staff that suprise you, go the extra mile, make them indespensible to your business are worth so much more than any Award Wage.

I also now believe that new assistant teachers should work at or slightly above the Award and once 500 hours and at least one professional development course has been taken they get an increase in hourly rate.  Loyalty has to be created, encouraged and rewarded!

Those mediocre teachers looking for some quick cash in between performance jobs, need not bother to work with young children or expect a huge hourly rate.  Kids needs consistency and businesses need loyalty and the world needs teachers whom genuinely make a difference and that is worth paying for.

Anyway, back to the many bits of ‘just one little bit of advice’ I got; one was very simple and has stayed with me forever.  This person saw me loitering in the cool room/freezer of the local liquor store avoiding the intense summer heat.  A rather incongruous conversation started in between the bubbles and beer; she said “You’ll be fine Kate, all a child needs is to be fed, clothed and loved.” This simplicity was a shock as the 15 baby books on my bedside table told me I needed a bunny rug, a tea tree mattress and a very expensive pram with matching leather satchel (…or was that me trying to justify the last shopping spree).  Then again I shouldn’t be shocked by the simplicity as I had got myself into this ‘condition’ by doing the three things that adults need for survival; food, sex and water (for me – it was too many glasses of Champagne.)

This simple statement on the needs of children has led me to think of why I insist on making sure my dance classes meet the developmental needs of kids.  What are the developmental needs of kids? We throw terms around such as social, emotional, physical, cognitive, kinesthetic development it all seems rather dull yet very important yet rather insipid.

Most googling on the topic results in; the complex needs of traumatised children, or the needs of children of asylum seekers or the needs of indigenous children in remote rural Australia.  Whilst all of this information is valid and fantastic I’m simply requiring information on the developmental needs of all children regardless of their circumstances.

I decided to ask some of the 5 & 6yr olds that we teach in Bondi; ‘What do you need?’

They replied ‘We need rainbows, a headband and to eat healthy food.’

So back to my ‘just one little bit of advice’ – which was ‘….all a child needs is to be fed, clothed and loved.’  Perhaps the kids of Bondi are right; headband = clothes,  rainbow = love and fed healthy food.

So the question I must ask myself now as a dance teacher and business owner is, How can we feed, clothe and love the kids we teach and create programs for?  Should we evaluate the effectiveness of the class based on such simplicity?  Did we feed the children creativity? Did we clothe them in appropriate props and resources? Did we offer love? in this setting love refers to compassion and kindness.

Only then can our dance classes be seen as a ‘gift’ that – simply meets their needs.

Before I commence the publishing process – I’m blogging – ascertaining the best way to deliver to you.  What do you specifically require?  I would prefer to create something that teachers really want, rather than publish Rainbow Ballet in any form and then find a market for it.

Your thoughts on how you would best like the Rainbow Ballet program delivered to you would be ideal….Would you like a book, video with all the music/props specified?  Do you just want ideas to make your classes better or assistance with writing your own program?

Would you download the class plans from the internet?  Would you like online support through the year as you begin implementing the program?  Would you prefer to travel for a course or participate in webinars? What price if any would you pay for such a program??

There are many questions I’m asking – market research is the aim.

Rainbow Ballet is so successful not just because we have a great class plan (that’s different) each week – it’s in the way it’s taught.  If it’s taught in a strict old school manner like a syllabus class – the magic will be zapped very quickly.  A big part of making my program accessible to you is delivery on how to teach it and why we teach it that way – ie no correcting, stopping class, making them try harder.  It’s allowing the kids to contribute to the class, explore their creativity and physical capabilities as a young growing dancer.

Please forward me your thoughts, comment on my blog or take the poll.  Let me know what you are currently doing, what’s working, what isn’t and what that ‘something’ is that you do incredibly well.