It's Cool to Dance

Healthy lifestyle is an important issue for the children of Stoneyholme Primary School.  Identifying new and fun ways of children learning to take responsibility for their health and fitness and developing staff's skills and confidence in delivery of this work, is a school priority.

The school was particularly keen to develop boys' interest in dance, and street dance was selected as a means of engaging both genders.  This project has built on children's interests in fashion, music and youth culture.  This project recognises the dance styles that these children are interested in and gives them the opportunity to express this within school.  The project also aimed to extend their skills whilst developing physical fitness, stamina and discipline.  The Rossendale Dance and Drama Centre was selected to develop links between the school and this accessible local resource, and to give children who were interested the possibility of continuing independently with regular dance classes outside of school, which may not previously have been obvious to the children.

A professional dance practitioner worked alongside the school Sports Coach to develop new approaches to dance in the KS2 curriculum, working with street dance to modern pop music. The dance practitioner worked with the Year 5 children to teach street dance routines, help the children to choreograph their own work and to give the Sports Coach skills and sustainable resources to continue this in school.

As the project progressed, dance steps became increasingly complex, and children had clearly practiced between sessions to improve their skills. They also responded well to the mental challenges of staying engaged and maintaining discipline even when finding learning new steps difficult, and the processes of co-ordination and memorising routines. Boys whose behaviour may have previously been distracting for others managed to sustain their concentration. Children also seem to have benefited from learning dance alongside the Sports Coach, who they new hadn't danced before.

The project culminated in performances in the school during theme week and a workshop for parents. Children visited the Dance and Drama Centre during theme week and did related work organised separately by the school around rap and graffiti art.