It’s July 4th…
The day Americans celebrate our independence from England and the birth of our nation.
Since many of you will be busy with family barbeques and local festivities, here are a few quick links to festive movement activities that will help you celebrate Independence Day (or other high-spirited holidays) with dance.
Fizzling, Sizzling Fireworks
Two of my favorite early-childhood dance teacher/bloggers put their own spin on fireworks dances. I think you’ll agree these are a blast!
It’s all in the timing at Maria’s Movers:
Maria’s fireworks display teaches little dancers to wait for the appropriate count.
Leaping Legs’ is exploding with great vocabulary:
Stacey Pepper Schwartz provides a list of spectacular, movement-inspiring words. Stacey helps you put them in sequence, encouraging next-steps in movement creation. Little dancers are sure to light up the sky.
Perfect Parades
Maria’s Movers, armed with colorful music, proves that every day can be a parade in creative dance class.
Letters From Leaping Legs leads the band with 6 ideas and Seventy-Six Trombones to make your parade a success.
Independence For The Differently Abled
There are a lot of reasons to celebrate this post from The Healthy Dancer. In it, she shares a lesson plan she created to help children experience this often noisy observance in a comfortable environment.
Yes, it includes an instrument-filled parade and another enCOUNTer with fireworks.
Marching Music and More
If you’re in need of tunes, Kimbo Education has a few historical hits up its sleeve… or at least on their ‘History’ page.
For a little more historical perspective, straight from the horse’s mouth, you might want to check out a song by Steep Canyon Rangers called, Me and Paul Revere.
I’m also a fan of the musical 1776 – though the musical overall is not very dance-y, He Plays The Violin is a pretty waltz and you may find others inspire a bit of July 4th fun.
What are your go-to Independence Day activities?
Red, white, and blue tendu? Stars and Stripes partner dance? Share your favorites in our comments!
Nichelle Suzanne is a writer specializing in dance and online content. She is also a dance instructor with over 20 years experience teaching in dance studios, community programs, and colleges. She began Dance Advantage in 2008, equipped with a passion for movement education and an intuitive sense that a blog could bring dancers together. As a Houston-based dance writer, Nichelle covers dance performance for Dance Source Houston, Arts+Culture Texas, and other publications. She is a leader in social media within the dance community and has presented on blogging for dance organizations, including Dance/USA. Nichelle provides web consulting and writing services for dancers, dance schools and studios, and those beyond the dance world. Read Nichelle’s posts.