Blog
Dance and Poetry Together as a Symbol of Hope
3 Apr 2020
In honor of national poetry month, our April post sheds light on the natural connection between dance and poetry, while also honoring the renaissance woman, Maya Angelou, who bridged poetry and dance throughout her professional career. Angelou’s body of work is just one example of how [...]
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Dancing as a Coping Skill
22 Mar 2020
Throughout the history of humankind, we can find evidence and examples of how people use dancing for celebration, story-telling, problem-solving, physical self-protection, and self-expression. In addition to all of these benefits, dance can also be a natural coping skill. Coping skills are [...]
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In the News: Chicago Students Journey from Dance Class to Ballroom Dance Floor
6 Mar 2020
In a 2-part series, a reporter from ABC 7 Chicago followed a group of Chicago Public School students from their weekly dance classes at school all the way to a city-wide performance at the Chicago Cultural Center. The series cast a spotlight on Dancing with Class, a program that helps students [...]
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Black History Month Spotlight: Dancer Katherine Dunham
26 Feb 2020
In honor of black history month, Dancing with Class honors African American dancer, Katherine Dunham. She raised awareness to African Dispora cultures (cultures of African decent that were displaced to different countries due to slave trade like Jamaica) by merging Caribbean cultures’ [...]
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2 Children’s Dance Books with Social Emotional Learning Themes
20 Jan 2020
Being a child can be hard… No seriously! Children can be easily influenced by others and are vulnerable to making comparisons to others. This is because they are in the beginning process of building their own identity and self-security. In this blog post, I will be reviewing two [...]
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A Dancer’s Guide to Gratitude
12 Nov 2019
As we seek to build community through dance, an attitude of gratitude is key to our success. In this post, we explore why gratitude matters so much and 7 things we are grateful for as dancers. What is Gratitude and Why is it Helpful? Gratitude has several definitions including: the act [...]
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Beyond Halloween – Using Holidays to Teach Social Awareness
28 Oct 2019
Fall is in the air and many children are carving their pumpkins, preparing for Halloween parties and trick or treating, but this is just one cultural group’s upcoming holiday. In the Mexican culture, children and families are preparing for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). In this [...]
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Why Dance Belongs in the School Day (HINT: SEL is its Soulmate!)
16 Jul 2019
Years of research point to dance and Social Emotional Learning as a powerful combination with great potential to address issues of equity and inclusion. The most successful Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs use active forms of learning, and evidence suggests that dance out-paces [...]
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SEL Movement Game: Super Dance Powers
3 Mar 2019
In addition to offering programs that help students build Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills through dance, Dancing with Class has developed a series of movement games that any educator can use to reinforce SEL skills in a fun and active way. “Super Dance Powers” is a [...]
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SEL Movement Game: Don’t You Budge!
25 Feb 2019
In addition to offering programs that help students build Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills through dance, Dancing with Class has developed a series of movement games that any educator can use to reinforce SEL skills in a fun and active way. “Don’t You Budge!” is a [...]
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