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Benefits of Dance

/Benefits of Dance

Blog posts relating to benefits of dance.

Ebook Release: Healthy or Harmful Children’s Dance

              How can concerned parents or concerned adults know if their child’s dance studio teaches healthy, educational dance or unhealthy, sexualized dance? The answer to this practical question is clarified in a free ebook that I have written. ‘Healthy or Harmful Children’s Dance’ combines my last 4 DA:NCE blogs into 4 chapters. Look below to see the breakdown. The New Trend in Children’s Dance: In some dance studios around the nation, there has been an increase in sexualized, objectified movement for children under 12. In this article, we explore what concerned parents, grandparents and dance studios can do about it. How to Pick a Healthy Dance Studio: We understand the benefits of healthy dance. So, now, [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:41:52+00:00September 1st, 2018|
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How to Pick a Healthy Dance Studio

Once a year most studios plan a dance recital to celebrate a year of student maturity, growth, and technique in their dance classes. It’s a lot of fun when children present the joy of what they have learned coupled with wonderful music, artistic costumes and age-appropriate choreography!  Woo-hoo! I just got back from Alabama where I enjoyed the dances that my 2 grandchildren participated in. I’m bustin’ with pride. Yes, it’s recital time and because I get lots of questions about end-of-the-year presentations, I thought that I’d share some pointers on what to look for in a healthy, age-appropriate studio versus what to observe about a studio that is unhealthy. When I use the word unhealthy, let me clarify. I [...]

By |2018-10-08T12:53:34+00:00June 1st, 2018|
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Spiderman and IT Transformation

     I really enjoyed attending the State CAHPERD Conference in Oakland. I flew up there on Thursday February 22 with my husband (he came as my helper; thanks Rich); of course, I had a passion for the subject matter I spoke on: Children's Dance: Educational or Sexualized (the topic on my website from DA:NCE-dance awareness: no child exploited). And of course,  I like to learn, and I like to meet people. But there were two added extras: I got to see the Olympic women’s long ice-skating program (I wouldn’t miss it) on TV Thursday evening, and Rich and I were able to meet for dinner (after the conference was over)on Saturday evening with my sister-in-law Sally. BTW, Sally has [...]

By |2018-10-16T19:35:51+00:00March 16th, 2018|
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CDEA 2018 Statewide Conference in Santa Clara: Moving Bodies/Changing Minds

I left Redlands on Friday January 22 for the California Dance Educator's Association Conference(CDEA) feeling a bit apprehensive. On the other hand, I was rested and healthy. Moreover, the main thing was the main thing. Right? I was prepared to speak on ‘Children’s Dance: Educational or Sexualized’ and I had my hand-outs ready. So what was the problembow? For one, I wasn’t sure if my laptop would align with conference equipment.  In my world, there always seems to be an IT glitch. And if you know me, you’re aware that I am not a computer whiz(BTW, that is an understatement). Do you ‘get me?’ So I went early to check things out. That was Friday afternoon. Of course, I found [...]

By |2018-10-16T19:37:20+00:00February 14th, 2018|
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Be F.I.T. and dance into the New Year! Hola from Central and South America!

Hola- Surprised to see the picture of me above in my new Panama hat? It’s hand-woven and very inexpensive. But what does that have to do with dance? Actually, it doesn’t have a thing to do with dance. It has to do with a trip I just took.  My husband and I celebrated 44 years of marriage with an anniversary cruise from Miami to Lima Peru. The trip began on our actual anniversary: December 29. It was wonderful! Of course, no matter where I am or what I do, I like to explore the joy of dance in my surroundings. Now you get the connection. The pictures below share a few instances of what I saw. In Central and South [...]

By |2018-10-16T19:38:51+00:00January 22nd, 2018|
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A Premise for Catching my Breath

Every time I see people ‘dance/move’ in appropriate, God-honoring ways, it catches my breath because it’s worship. Of course, underlying that opinion is a premise I have. Everybody is a dancer because everybody moves in lifestyle choreography. That doesn’t discount the value of trained, technical dancers. It just means that the dance family is larger than any of us expect it to be. It’s rare to see the culture evaluate that premise but I’d like to encourage you to do just that. Even if you didn’t attend the worship workshop on scripture choreography a few weeks ago and create within that context, think about what kind of lifestyle dances you choreograph. Is your morning movement crafted with anger or peace? [...]

By |2018-02-07T10:26:28+00:00October 18th, 2017|
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Welcome to Scripture Choreography!

One of the easiest and most effective ways to combine movement & dance ministry with trained and untrained dancers is scripture choreography; it high-lights favorite scripture verses and then uses them as the foundation for choreography accompanied by words. Not only do we hear specific verses as they are read, but we SEE them come to life; this movement expression often captivates the hearts of onlookers (as well as the participants themselves). The technique is a win for embodied faith. How does this happen? For many years, I have used a focused scripture verse to either end or begin dance rehearsal with the group that I am leading; that’s what makes it so specific and so special. It’s always a [...]

By |2018-02-07T10:27:54+00:00September 15th, 2017|
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Choices: Age-Appropriate Children’s Dance Produces Positive Results with DA:NCE

Hi all- Dance is a wonderful art form. Let's cheer-lead the positives in dance with 3 articles that can show how all of us can enjoy the positive benefits of children's dance: Learn about how movement helps children deal with stress: http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/children-s-traditional-dance-performance-was-perfect-cure-for-exam-stress-1-8556239.    Then read a second article: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patients-at-st-josephs-childrens-hospital-in-tampa-get-a-prom-of-their-very-own-300461131.html to hear about the healing components of dance from a hospital perspective. Last, enjoy another wonderful article about story-telling through dance: http://www.mi-reporter.com/life/island-youth-ballet-presents-excerpts-from-cinderella/ May I remind you that there are many terrific dance studios and many wonderful dance educators who know how to work with children and teach dance in transforming and positive ways but parents need to understand that dance studios have a variety of philosophies. So adults, reflect and make a wise choice(like you need to [...]

By |2018-02-07T10:30:50+00:00June 20th, 2017|
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Movieguide Article: A Bipartisan Issue

Hi all- Good stuff going on! I told you that I would let you know when movieguide published my article re: DA:NCE. Take a peek! And yes, readers presented me with some thoughtful responses to my article. Look below to read a few of them: Jadon · My mom watches Dance Moms and Bring It and those shows and the inappropriate costumes and choreography that the girls wear and do plus the fakeness and staged unhealthy conflict makes me feel uncomfortable. This is the direction dance for young girls is going and it kinda upsets me, especially since the shows just influence people further. I remember when I was taking dance classes in 2009 when I was 12 and our practice and recital wear were [...]

By |2018-02-07T10:31:55+00:00May 20th, 2017|
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Washington(and Cuba and Birmingham) Update

Hola! I’m back from a wonderful trip that I took to Washington DC concerning DA:NCE (and then on to Cuba and Birmingham Alabama-look at the pictures below where I went to see the Cuban Ballet and later observed a ballet class that my grand daughter was in). On March 20, 2017, I attended a meeting at the Capitol Building Auditorium called ‘The Freedom from Sexploitation Agenda.’ There, speakers defined the public health issue of sexual exploitation that has changed the cultural landscape. I also attended meetings with Arina Grossu Director, Center for Human Dignity of the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America with intern Chaney Mullins, Melissa Henson Program Director of Parents TV Council, President Patrick Trueman and and Executive Director Dawn Hawkins [...]

By |2018-02-07T10:33:13+00:00April 21st, 2017|
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