Welcome!

Welcome to the wonderful world of  Dance from the Heart!  In this program your dancer will gain solid technique at age appropriate levels. 

My technical background is steeped in Limon, Graham and Evans. My philosophy follows the Lewitski & Bill Evans traditions in honoring the body and not damaging it for the sake of a performance, a cheated extension or trick.

Dance Attire

4 to 7
Hair pulled back in a bun or pony tail 
Pink leotard and pink tights 
Pink ballet shoes 
Black tap shoes 

7 to 11
Hair pulled back in a bun or pony tail 
Black leotard and black tights  or dance pants
Pink ballet shoes 

Edgar Degas, The Dance Class (La classe de danse)c.1873-1876

                                                                                                                                                              


In the late 1800s most ballerinas started their training before the age of six. Known as the "rats" of the Opera, they came to the Opera House early every morning, practicing all day under the strict tutelage of the dance master. They had no time for school. 

When the dancers matured and perfected their movements, they joined the corps de ballet, dancing in the evening ballet sequences that were part of every opera.

 Dance can be a life long pursuit that stimulates us intellectually, emotionally and creatively. I am looking forward to the journey ahead with my new students!

Music & Movement Focus for Today: BEAT!

Our classes focus on beat, movement, and singing. We also weave in creative play that incorporates music, rhythm, movement,humor, role-playing, and props.

Children also benefit from our movement choices that include daily-life connection, humor, exaggerated contrast and problem solving .

Focus for Today: BEAT!

We know it is very important to keep a steady beat so that the children recognize the beat. Students clap, pat, shake, walk, march, dance, run, jump, to the beat.
Beat is primal.

Rare is the child who does not respond to it. Maybe the appeal derives from hearing Mom's steady heartbeat in the womb. But! The heart is not the only bodily function that has a beat. The breath has one. Walking has one. Even talking.

Research indicates that synchronizing movement to a beat improves attention, concentration, motor skills, planning and executing actions, as well as controlling aggression, and improving academic performance.

Also, by encouraging children to move to a beat, we give them a vehicle for expression. Moving to a beat is cathartic. There is also an emotional benefit in moving to a beat.

Try incorporating "BEAT awareness" at home, too. Your children will love it!

Help them notice and participate in rhythms:

• the windshield wipers   
• the turn signal
• the sound of grating cheese
• tapping a foot
• banging on a drum
• skipping
• brushing the dog
• clapping to a song
• rocking in a rocking chair
• kneading bread

Here is a painting called Rhythm of Colors. (artist: Padma Prasad) Ask your child to draw what he thinks rhythm might look like.
Talk about it with them and listen carefully. :-) All children are artists with amazing imaginations!

Dance from the Heart - week 9

MONDAY 11-12-07
What a fun day we had today!

1) We added a second verse to our ballet basics warm up song. here is the whole song - (with details in red) :
This is sung to the tune of Shalom, my Good Friends

Plie, my good friends (portabras a la second)
Tendue, my good friends (one tendue right foot)
Releve, up high! (portabra en lair)

Plie, my good friends (portabras a la second)
Tendue, my good friends (one tendue left foot)
Bourre, 1 time! (portabra en lair)

(2nd verse)
Plie, my good friends (portabras a la second)
Tendue, my good friends (tendue front right then left)
Releve, up high! (portabra en lair)
Plie, my good friends (portabras a la second)
Tendue, my good friends (tendue side right then left)Pivot turn, Pivot turn (step right pivot, step right pivot)

2) Next the students all took turns walking across the balance beam.
Then! We did pivot turns on the beam!

3) Monster feet came out next. 
All of my dancers did a great job walking on their monster feet!
Monster feet are stilt like platforms that students walk with in order to practice balance and coordination -- the base is 4 inches high & broader than their feet so it is a safe endeavor!

4) Our next activity was to rehearse our dance to "Mary Said Yes to God"

5) Last, but not least, we practiced our tap basics. Our music (The B I B L E) is an up beat little ditty that goes perfectly with our movement vocabulary!  
Toe touches, Marches, & Digs

6) Each of my dancers took home a heart bracelet that will, hopefully, remind them to Dance from the Heart!

Here is a picture tutorial so that you and your dancer can make a heart bracelet for someone special!

Dance from the Heart - week 8

MONDAY 11-5-07


We had a delightful class today. Everyone remembered our ballet basics song. The dancers remembered not just the song's words but all the correct portabra placement, tendues, releves and bourees!

All the dancers traveled across the balance beam twice with beautiful a la second portabras (carraige of the arms gracefully out to the side of the body)

Our dancers rehearsed their special *choreography to the song, "Mary said Yes to God."

We played 2 dance games today:

1. Little Red Caboose
2. Pink Dice (for tendues and jump practice)

Our tap portion of class was wonderful. The students' rhythm skills are very good. We practiced, toe taps, digs and shuffles. The students are learning to listen carefully to know when to begin their movements.



* Special Choreography word cues:

Mary said yes to GOD one day,
GOD = Portabra en lair (ballet arms up)
Mary said ye-es to God = Bouree 1X

She said YES I will be what you want me to be
YES = Step right and arms extend up to right diagonal

Mary said Lord be it done unto meMary = Step left and arms extend up to left diagonal
Mary said yes to GOD one dayGOD = Portabra en lair (ballet arms up)
I will be part of your plan = Bouree 1X

And in the meantime = Step right and arms extend up to right diagonal

And in between time = Step left and arms extend up to left diagonal

I'll do the best that I can = curtsy

Thank you! = prayer hands (face front)

I'll do the best that I can = curtsy


END WITH: prayer hands (face front)

Dance From the Heart - week 7

MONDAY 10-29-07

Our class was wonderful today! Our new space is so pretty, with new curtains and dividers and dancers' names on the floor!!

Today the students started with Ballet Basics and then had a special treat!
Students practiced balance work on a real balance beam. 

Thank you, Mr. Cortez, for making us one!

Tap was great -- almost everyone remembered the pattern of taps, marches and now -- DIGS!!

Students had one more new experience during class. They practiced their locomoter skill of leaping. . . . . through a ribbon!

This was fun AND it helped all of the students with timing and depth perception.

Dance From the Heart - week 6

MONDAY 10-22-07
What a wonderful class we had today!
We practiced our ballet basics and sang our ballet song to help us remember all the new French words.

Plie means to bend
Tendue means to stretchReleve – up high!
Bouree my good friends
Bourree my good friends
Plie . . .  Releve

(Tune: Shalom, my Good Friends!)

Our Creative Movement and Dance Games are always fun!

We practiced “Little Red Caboose” . . . listening skills & musicality is improving!!

We danced to "Roller Coaster" for the 2nd time today!
Our big surprise today was a balloon dance...AND we got to keep our balloons! :-)

Dance From the Heart - week 5

MONDAY 10-15-07
Today your dancer

1. Started class with ballet stretches
2. Then we all reviewed Ballet Basics:

We learned a ballet song 

(Tune: Shalom, my Good Friends!)

Plie means to bend
Tendue means to stretch
Releve – up high!
Bouree my good friends
Bourree my good friends
Plie . . . Releve

We put on our tap shoes next and we practiced
4 Toe touches / touch, 2, 3, &back
reverse
Repeat
7 Marches / clap 8

Our Creative Movement and Dance Games are always fun!

We are practicing “Little Red Caboose” these days . . . there are many layers of listening involved in this creative movement choreography!

We danced to "Rollar Coaster" for the first time today!

Dance From the Heart - week 4

MONDAY 10-8-07
Today your dancer

1. Started class with ballet stretches
2. Then we all reviewed Ballet Basics:
   parallel plie, tendue , releve, bouree, portabra follow

Next we
Traveled across the ballet floor with bourrees, skips and leaps
Practiced “regal balance” with crowns atop heads!
We put on our tap shoes next and we practiced
4 Toe touches / touch, 2, 3, &back
reverse
Repeat
7 Marches / clap 8

Our Creative Movement and Dance Games are always fun!
We are practicing “Little Red Caboose” these days . . . there are many layers of listening involved in this creative movement choreography!

Dance From the Heart - week 3

MONDAY 10-1-07

• Today your dancer practiced ballet basics:
  

1. first position
2. parallel plie (to bend)
3. tendue (to stretch)
4. and she also learned: releve (to rise)
   We focused on demi point and balance, remembering the names of our basic ballet and being very graceful and fluid
   
   

• Going across the floor was fun! We practiced different locomotor movements and moving across the diagonal line of the dance space.
  

• Our class had fun with creative movement! Through our creative movement we have begun to teach stage direction.
  

• Our dance games focused on listening cues. We did that by dancing to Little Red Caboose.
  

• In the tap portion of our class we practiced toe touches, marching and beginning shuffles.
  

Dance From the Heart - week 2

MONDAY 9-24-07

• Today your dancer practiced these ballet basics:

1. first position
2. parallel plie (to bend)
3. tendue (to stretch)
4. and she also learned: releve (to rise)

• Going across the floor was fun! We practiced different locomotor movements and we reached for the stars (por ta bras)

• Our class had fun with creative movement, also. Be sure to ask your dancer about “Mice and Monsters” and “Sammy.” Through our creative movement we will begin to teach stage direction and eventually some choreographed movement.

• Our dance games included: Little Red Caboose and Rollar Coaster

• In the tap portion of our class we practiced toe touches, digs and marching.

Dance From the Heart - week 1

MONDAY 9-17-07

Our After School Dance year has begun! Today your dancer learned the 5 basic positions in ballet. They also learned 3 ballet terms which are French words:

1. plie (to bend)
2. tendue (to stretch)
3. soutenu (to turn around)

We practiced 4 taps encroix in the tap portion of class and we also played a great dance game called “Little Red Caboose”

After School Dance Attire is:

• Black leotard
• Black dance pants (with no feet – to be pulled on over the leotard)
• thin white socks
• Pink ballet shoes (*before you sew the elastic: if you need help in placing the elastic correctly over the arch be sure to ask)
• Black Tap shoes

Your child is wearing her “candy bracelet” home from class today. I told all my dancers to ask Mom or Dad before they tasted them! I don't want to ruin any dinners.

Dance Attire

Hair pulled back in a bun or pony tail (off of face)

Black leotard and black dance pants (no feet)

Pink ballet shoes (no socks or thin white socks)

Black tap shoes (preKs and Kindergarten)

Bella Lewitzky

Bella Lewitzky, a modern dancer and choreographer was originally a student of ballet, Lewitzky launched a modern dance career in 1934, when she studied under LesterHorton, and later became a lead dancer in the Horton Dance Group. In 1966, she formed the Lewitzky Dance Company. Under her artistic guidance, the company became one of the leading international modern dance companies, performing to critical acclaim in 43 states across the U.S. as well as 20 countries on five continents.

"Great control of every motion and placement," she said, "is a kind of self-care. It's self-love in the best sense. I make a contract with the dancers (not literally, of course) to keep them alive and well and progressive-doing level best to see that they're not injured." One must bear in mind, she said, that "dancing is not normal, that only a strong, knowledgeable body can protect against damage."
Bella Lewitzky, from an interview w/ Donna Perlmutter, Dance Magazine, January 1997"

The originality, humanity and unconventional qualities for which Lewitzky's dances are famous often found their way into the management of her company. At a time when it was fashionable for dance companies to be based in New York -- and dangerous not to be -- she kept her company operating out of her native Los Angeles for thirty years.

Sign Language - Older Kids

Graduating from Baby Signing

If your child is ready to learn to read, using American Sign Language to help teach your child learn to read may be one of the best things you can do. And it has a long history of success.

In the early 19th century, educators realized that sign language helped the hearing siblings of deaf students learn to read. Due to political reasons, the findings were not studied further. Then, in the 1970s, other researchers found that hearing children with average or above intelligence whose parents were deaf parents actually learned to read before they began school if their parents signed and fingerspelled to them. Researchers surmised that this was due to the fact that these children made the connection between manual letters (fingerspelling) and printed letters.

But such results are not unique to the hearing children of deaf parents.

In more recent research, the children of hearing parents who were exposed to fingerspelling also had similar results. Marilyn Daniels, author of Dancing with Words, showed that signs helped kindergarten children increase their speaking vocabulary as well as knowledge of sight words, letters of the alphabet and phonetic sounds. Children who had problems remembering letters, words or sounds were often able to recall needed information once they saw the sign for the word (1996, Sign Language Studies).

In my own personal experience, I have found that my 3 and a half year old son's interest in spelling and reading increased as we began to teach him the manual alphabet. He can fingerspell a dozen words and we have noticed that his recall is much better when he learns a word using both the manual alphabet and the written alphabet.

Using sign language to increase reading abilities has even made it in to the school systems. Laura Feltzer, who has used sign language to teach general education students, ESL students and special needs students, found that students tested at or above the beginning of first grade level on the Oral Gray Reading Test. Feltzer's sign language beginning reading program is available on line for parents and educators to access with full materials and signs.

So, if you think signing is JUST for hearing babies while they are members of the diaper set, think again. As you sign with your baby now, you are creating the basis for a proven method to teach reading and phonics to your preschooler, ensuring a life-long love of reading!