By Alan Foster
Dance Teacher
Dance, an activity common to all cultures and as old as old can be, allows children at Northbridge International School Cambodia to simultaneously connect to a sense of unison and self-expression.
The benefits of Dance training are well documented, multiple and significant: corporal-awareness, coordination and creativity are all developed, as are balance, strength, stamina, flexibility, rhythm, resilience and musicality.
Social skills also come into play, for example, Grade 5 students are currently collaborating in groups to create and perform their own pieces of choreography. This creative process of sharing ideas, taking creative decisions and performing in front of their peers is a real boon for building confidence and communication skills, and on top of all that, Dance is a lot of fun!
As Ms Hilary Easton, our Juilliard specialist is fond of saying:
This semester the Grade 5s are also working with Juilliard Creative Classroom lessons specially selected by Ms Hilary. These lessons explore different dance genres and are designed to promote enquiry, collaboration and creativity.
In a recent lesson called 'Impatient Feet', class 5G absolutely amazed me with their focus, self-management and collaboration skills. They have begun recording their progress in digital Process Journals, which will soon be bursting at the seams with videos of improvisations, performances of their own creations and written reflections on the experience of working toward an artistic goal.
Additionally, all of our Grade 1 students recently came to the Dance studio for a workshop on creativity. They did so much dancing, which is where the unison and self-expression I earlier mentioned really come to the fore. "We learned about creativity and ballet," says Grade 1 student Maha.
The whole of Grade 1 dancing together, on beat, in time and clearly enjoying the experience was quite a sight to behold, and solid confirmation that Dance is a powerful educational tool, able to empower students to gain an array of skills and attributes that will be of tremendous benefit in all areas of their learning.
Ultimately though, the benefits of Dance are nothing without it being enjoyable, which is why I was so glad afterwards to hear Ruby reflect: "Dancing with Mr Alan was so much fun."
Look forward to seeing you all out on the dance floor again soon Grade 1.
When people think about leadership, what often comes to mind are the concepts of power, decision making, delegating and innovation. Seldom does one think about care, empathy, kindness, and generosity – however these traits that highlight the emotional skills for successful and effective leadership, including by students at Northbridge International School Cambodia, are just as important.
What are the Primary Arts all about? Is it just a load of fun and messing around? It is fun, which is why we love it but there is so much more to the programme than some people might think.
Take a visit to our early learning spaces at Northbridge International School Cambodia, both inside and out, and you will observe a wealth of play activities happening. Students are interacting in playing on their own (solo play), playing with the same thing or in the same space (mirrored play) or sharing together (collaborative play).
