Give your Young Students what they REALLY NEED
Discover HOW to get them READY to learn Dance Skills
You want to give your youngest students the best you can.
So, What do You Do?
AND
Is it Helping or Hurting?
What are the best ways to support our dancers for all the dance skills to come?
Start Early with building Ballet Skills?
Ask Yourself:
What do these young students Really Need?
The children of today are different than 5-10 years ago.
Now more than ever, our littlest dancers need our help in completing the basic foundational movement patterns.
The daily life of a toddler ideally should have done this job, but many of our students show up to their dance classes without the foundational skills in place upon which we can build dance skills.
Children are simply not as active as they used to be thereby missing out on the movement which wires the central nervous system.
There are many reasons for this lack of complete development....with screen time a major culprit.
Introducing:
The Brain Dance
aka. The Developmental Movement Patterns
What IS the Brain Dance?
Simply, it is a series of little "dances" with music (nursery rhymes for the young students) all linked into a sequence that will have students go through all 6 of the developmental movement patters/pattern of total body connectivity.
These are the movements that as humans we are all all wired to go through in the first few years of life, preparing us for the complexity of full bodied movement with core support, range of motion and coordination.
The addition of Tactile and Vestibular Stimulation super charges the development to create the "Brain Dance".
The Brain Dance was created by Anne Green Gilbert of the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, WA.
It is fun, easy and effective way to help young dancers to experience these necessary patterns either to establish or deepen depending on what is needed.
Since each patterns builds on the next one, understanding the pyramid can give great insight into where to go to help students continue to develop coordination.
The Suggestion of The Radiant Dance Teacher:
Start your Pre-School Dance Classes with The Brain Dance
What is the MAGIC that happens in Class?
Increased Focus
Young dancers will have increased focus and concentration immediately following the Brain Dance, with those skills developing exponentially week by week.
Increased Skills
By securing the foundational patterns each class, the dancers have the chance to build dance skills with secure coordination and musicality.
Consistency & Fun
By starting the class with the Brain Dance, there is the needed consistency for your minds. The structure allows for plenty of variations bringing in the fun!
How does the Brain Dance support the Teacher & Studio Owner?
Marketable Skills
If you wish to increase your value as a teacher, then helping studios to have unique and cutting edge preschool classes is the way to do it! It is quick and easy to learn especially when balanced with the profound results that you will enjoy immediately.
Easier Classes
Starting your preschool classes with the Brain Dance will absolutely make your classes smoother and run with greater ease for teachers and students. Parents watching classes will see you managing class well because students have increased focus and concentration.
Unique Programme
As a studio, making it easy for parents to choose your studio is a key to filling those bread and butter classes so essential for financial viability. By marketing the Brain Dance, parents can rest assured that YOUR studio will give their child the best start in their dance training.
Interested to add the Magic of the
Brain Dance to your Classes?
What Steps to take Next?
Presenting:
The Radiant Dance Teacher's
Brain Dance Online Series
This programme has been designed to allow you to learn all you'll need to know to implement the Brain Dance confidently and effectively into your dance classes.
The material is crafted into easy to follow content delivered Live (if you are able) and then into an online resource.
You will have enough depth of knowledge that you will have variety and the ability to continue and grow your own practice to fit the needs of you, your students and parents and the studio environment.
A 3 Part Series:
Foundations - Progressions - Advanced Strategies
- 10 Hours of total video content over 3 workshops
- Hand-Outs/Resources
- LIVE available
- FB Community for ongoing support
What you will learn in the 3 Part Series:
Foundations
-
What are the patterns?
-
The Additions of Tactile and Vestibular
-
Why do the Brain Dance
-
How: Sitting/Standing
-
Intro to Using Concepts
-
Intro to Variations and using Themes
Progressions
-
Variations: Themes
-
Developing Concepts
-
Partners dancing
-
Using Props
-
In an Obstacle Course
-
Using as a Structure for the whole class
Advanced Strategies
-
Assessment Tool Uses
-
Guiding more specific performance for enhanced work
-
Link to Retained Reflexes
-
Application with Imagery to Dance Skills
-
How to Co-Create with Students
Self Assessment on your level of Development on each pattern will be a key element of Part 2 and 3.
As you deepen your knowledge of your patterning, you can then craft your classes aware of your modelling.
You may even find a lovely boost to your own coordination, connectivity and creativity!
Choose which is right for you.
You can always register for Part 2 and 3 later for $97 USD each.
Join the Facebook Brain Dance Teachers Community
You will be invited to join this group after attendance of Part 1: Foundations.
Available to 3 Part Series teachers, as a way to truly support you in applying this work and having an ongoing resource
for Q and A and Variations/Themes sharing.
This group will also help you to stay accountable and actually use what you are learning.
Your Instructor for these Workshops:
Mariah-Jane Thies
Mariah-Jane is the Artistic Director of The Radiant Dancer/Dance Teacher. To date she has been teaching for 37 years, including 10 years running her own dance studio, Prism Dance Centre. During these years, her cute little CRV had on the windows "Home of the Brain Dance", as a key differentiating element to her studio was the inclusion of the Brain Dance in all of her classes.
Mariah-Jane's training in the Brain Dance came first with the introduction of the Developmental Movement Patterns with Bill Evans during a summer intensive in 1999. She has since attended every year (except Covid) essentially celebrating 25 years while attending summer 2024!
She was soon introduced to Brain Dance by Anne Green Gilbert, which is Anne's coined term for putting these patterns into an easily accessible little dance for young children, along with the inclusion of Tactile and Vestibular activities.
In Mariah-Jane's continual search for knowledge she has trained with Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen of Body-Mind Centering where these patterns are all explored. Her continual studies with Bill Evans allowed her to study with the creator of the patterns, Peggy Hackney!
Her Brain Gym certification had her train directly with Carol Ann Erickson who wrote the courses on using these patterns for eliminating stress in the body and integrating reflexes.
Given that Mariah-Jane has studied this material from numerous sources, she has a unique ability to bring all of the material together, along with 25 years of using the material with students.
Her unique way of bringing worlds together with a focus to looking towards, Brain and Body Integration as a key, recently earned her the RAD Innovation in Dance Teacher Award for 2024.
You will be learning from a highly skilled and experienced teacher and presenter.
