So, when I teach ballet classes we always read a short picture book (or shorten a longer book) at the end of class and then "dance like our book." Since last year I used most of my favorite books, and I want to have a two-year curriculum to keep boredom at bay, I need your suggestions.
These are the topics we discuss in ballet:
The 7 Movements of Dance (to twirl, to jump, to stretch, to rise, to bend, to dart, to glide)
High/Medium/Low
Movement through Space - Patterns
Emotion
Tempo
Energy (sharp, soft)
Example of books I've used are:
"Going on a Bear Hunt" - Dancing like swishy grass, getting stuck in mud, etc.
"Waiting for Wings" - Dancing like butterflies
"Barnyard Dance" - 7 Movements
"Room on the Broom" - High/Low
Sooooo, do you have any favorite children's picture books that have good images for children to dance like? I'd appreciate hearing all your good ideas.
5 comments:
Definitely the Elephant and Piggy series by Mo Willems. There's one about dancing, I think: Elephants Cannot Dance. I love all the Elephant and Piggy books, though. Elephants Cannot Dance might be good for the 7 motions. All of the books are great for emotions. All of Mo Willems books are great.
Swing, Gallop, and Waddle, all by Rufus Butler Seder would be great, maybe for movement through space.
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman is one of my new favorites. I would say it probably has a soft energy, if I'm guessing right. I'm not a dancer.
I love Harold and the Purple Crayon. They could dance, and pretend they are drawing an imaginary world with their crayon.
Caps for Sale, Fancy Nancy, Angelina Ballerina (too obvious?), giraffes can't dance (mentions lots of dance styles and promotes dancing with your heart), Martina The Beautiful (has a great rhythm--remember when she read it at WIFYR?), Knuffle bunny books (the first one has a similar bear hunt type journey in it).
I just packed my dance curriculum and my dance book is in my classroom in Logan, so I'm going from memory, which is not a reliable source. I like Flotsam, and other Weisner books, for story telling, improv, and energy levels. Big, Bigger, Biggest is great for levels, as is Actual Size. We play a game called 'Wiggle & Freeze' (I think you now understand the gist of the game) and I always throw in levels and locomotor steps. The book Canyons is great for space and energy. Amanda Beans Amazing Dream for emotion. And that is the capacity of my memory... I wish you were in Utah I could hook you up with such great conferences, and get you into UDEO for excellent resources - but alas, you are not.
Owl Moon is kind of a slow, graceful book with lots of "hooo, hooo, hooo" and tiptoeing in the snow.
Peter and the Wolf- doesn't that have something to do with dancing and ballet? Or is it just because it is set in Russia?
We have a picture book-skiddamarink a dinka dink (spelling?), but it is the words to that song and it has fun pictures that go along each line. Would be easy to dance to since the song is probably readily available.
If you were born a kitten is a fun picture book. The kids could pretend they are the different animals breaking from their sacks/eggs, and stuff.
I don't know, I'm not a dance guru at all, so these ideas may all sound kind of silly. They're just books that seem to evoke imagination in my kids.
Oh! I just remembered there is a book about a hippo dancing by the lady who writes the Bear books, as in Bear Gets Sick. What's her name? Karma Wilson, and the book is called Hilda Must Be Dancing. I can't wait to get home and look through my library to think of more. I'm really having a hard time coming up with some on my own.
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