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Benefits of Dance

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Why Dance Education Matters

By Judith Lynne Hanna, Ph.D. Many arguments for dance education have been made. For example, certainly students in dance may acquire skill sets that serve them in myriad of ways, develop embodied knowledge and kinesthetic connections, and become gainfully employed. But the most important reason to offer dance education in schools and universities as well as the broader community is what neuroscientists have revealed in the past 15 years. With at least 35 new technologies, and support from government and the private sector, researchers have been able to view the intricacies of the brain, including the brains of dancers. Dance, contrary to much public perception, is not merely art or recreation. Dance is now being studied as a pathway to [...]

By |2019-09-02T10:33:49-07:00September 2nd, 2019|
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CAHPERD: Cultural Trends

  It was a joy to attend and speak in Anaheim at the 2019 CAHPERD(California Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance) Conference. Their educational foundation emphasized current cultural trends about the importance of body health. That provoked me to think about an LA Times article from August 19, 2018 that I read last summer which discussed how adult professionals can easily stray from healthy standards of care. It’s a difficult but timely article. From USA gymnastics to churches and dance studios who cover up sexual abuse, it is important for institutions to call out and resist cultural trends that are unhealthy.  “If that tone is set well and is healthy, then the system will be healthy. You have to have [...]

By |2019-05-23T21:15:55-07:00February 28th, 2019|
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How to DANCE

How to DANCE? Go to a CDEA (California Dance Educators Association) conference to enjoy incredible expertise about ‘How to DA:NCE(you know Dance Awareness: no child exploited)’. In January I spoke at UC Fullerton for the 2019 State Conference and was welcomed by teachers who love dance and who love their students. From the opening with Co-Presidents Nicole Robinson and Kim Hoj to the closing session at the end of the day, the day was flooded with opportunities to learn about ‘How to DANCE’. Let me list a few of the offerings there: Masterclasses in the Responsive Body, Movement Matching through Dancefilm, Refreshing your Musicality, Dance Advocacy, Jazz, Salsa, Body to Body Transfer, and Ensemble Thinking. Wonderful Teaching & engagement with [...]

By |2019-05-23T21:19:11-07:00January 24th, 2019|
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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 |2018-10-08T12:53:34-07:00June 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 |2018-10-16T19:35:51-07:00March 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 |2018-10-16T19:37:20-07:00February 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 |2018-10-16T19:38:51-07:00January 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 |2018-02-07T10:26:28-08:00October 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 |2018-02-07T10:27:54-08:00September 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 |2018-02-07T10:30:50-08:00June 20th, 2017|
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