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SQUARE DANCING'S BENEFITS AS A SCHOOL ACTIVITY

by Dottie Welch

Physical Activity

• Constant activity but not extremely strenuous
• Little physical stress from bumps or falls
• Develops coordination and quick reaction time

Mental Activity

• Develops listening and concentration skills
• Good for visual, auditory and tactile learners because it involves seeing, hearing and doing something.

Social Activity

• Builds ability to work in a team
• Provides a common interest that encourages friendships with other dancers.

Factual Learning Experience

• Music awareness
• Spatial orientation
• Left versus Right
• Geometrical concepts - Squares, Circles, Parallel Lines
• Counting skills and simple fractions Circle 1/2, Square Thru 4, U Turn Back, Cast off 3/4
• History - Roots are French, English and Scottish Dancing

Short Term Satisfaction

• May be competitive but ususally is not
• Satisfaction comes from team success but other teams can also succeed at the same time.
• Proficiency can be demonstrated by performing for an audience.

Potential Life Long Benefits

• Learning a skill, which can be enjoyed throughout life.
• The same vocabulary is used worldwide so it's a skill which can open doors to friends everywhere.

All this and it's fun too!

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POSSIBLE SQUARE DANCE PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS

Learning to Square Dance begins with "Circle Left".

• Square dancing can be a casual half-hour introduction for entertainment.
• It can be an hour dance once a year, with variety from year to year.
• It can be an hour dance once a month with some assumed memory and some increase in skill level.
• It can be an hour or two dance once a week with incresing skills.
• It can aim to attain a certain proficiencey level that matches the level of other groups with whom larger dances can be enjoyed.

Program can be tailored to the age.

• For grades 1-3 the emphasis would be on music awareness, listening skills, comprehension and coordination. Beginning with Circle dances, they would progress to Trio and Partner dances and then to simple Squares and Contras.
• For grades 4-6 in addition to the above skills, the dances would require greater coordination, include more complicated spatial orientation, and a larger vocabulary.
• For teens Square Dancing offers a world of structured interaction with other teens while learning an interesting and fun skill that simultaneously challenges several mental and physical abilities. The Basic vocabulary of 50 calls is just the beginning of a potentially life-long fascination with the possibilities of movement and interaction between eight dancers.

Program can be tailored to the dance experience of the students.

• A 6 or 8 week package could be structured to repeat basic concepts with different dances for a partly new group of students.
• For a continuing group of students there is sufficient complexity in Modern Square Dancing to keep them involved learning new material for a life time.

Teenagers can learn to call.

• Teenagers are capable of learning to call square dancing and we have the local expertise to teach that skill. There is potential for interested and committed teens to train as callers.

LOCAL RESOURCES

ANSSRDT: Association of Nova Scotia Square and Round Dance Teachers

FUNDING: Perform Nova Scotia shares funding with the school through grants in their Artists in the Schools Program.

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