Somatic Dance Education for Pre-schoolers in Singapore

The Moving Melodies Creative Movement program at Dance Theatre Arts, has been uniquely crafted for our youngest dancers. Activities are carefully designed to foster critical development in young children aged 1.5 - 5yrs. The program has been developed on the  current best practices  in early childhood development.  Our classes include the work of Anne Green-Gilbert called “BrainDance” or Brain-Compatible Dance, which comprises a series of somatic and brain-based dance instruction for neurological brain patterning.

Somatic movement help children develop a sense of physical-emotional awareness, and well being.  Physical-emotional well being, in turn lead to the development of happier and healthier young individuals, who are self- confident, expressive.  Moreover, a keen sense of physical-emotional awareness helps children develop their sense of empathy.

Neurological brain patterns are developed in the first year of life, these patterns wire the central system for sensory-motor development.  A gap in the process may lead to learning disabilities or disorders in behaviour, memory, balance, and sleep.  Thus, the program model serves to facilitate the healthy development of a young child's neurological pattering, through, dance, movement and music activities.

For more information about our programs, please refer to our website http://dancetheatrearts-sg.com

Developing an Appreciation of Nature in Young Children

Developing a love for nature and the world outdoors is pivotal in The Melody Movement® Early Learning curriculum.  The rhythms of nature, engage the senses and imaginations of a young child.  Moreover, a strong appreciation of nature helps children understand symbiotic connections, and their connectedness to the world around them.

We are all connected—plants, animals, and people. We need similar things, such as food, fresh air, water, and exercise, to keep us healthy, and we depend on each other in different ways. When children experience the links between themselves and the world around them—through caring for pets, tending a garden, reading stories about nature and the environment—they begin to understand the physical ways in which we all need one another, and learn to develop a sense of empathy.

Our Melody Movement preschool classes, help the reinforce this through Melody and Milligan Bears love of nature.  Their experiences inspire children to learn about the world around them through creative dance and music.  

Dance and Spatial Reasoning in Young Children

Spatial reasoning is essential in helping young children develop mental maps of where things are in relation to the environment around them.  In daily life, we use this kind of reasoning to organise our work areas, or to remember where we left our keys.  With a lack of mental mapping, children have a high tendency in losing their things. They are often poor organisers and keep things in piles so that their things remain in constant view.  For these children out of sight is literally out of mind.

In dance, when we wish to move our bodies in space, we use spacial reasoning to construct imaginary pathways prior  to executing our movements.  Our Moving Melodies curriculum provides young children with excellent opportunities to develop their spatial awareness and motor planning skills.

Led by 2 delightful dancing teddies teddies Bella-Rina & Benjy, the curriculum explores movement concepts that are natural to a toddlers stage of development, thus giving the brain renewed opportunities to strengthen and form the  neurological pathways for spatial reasoning.  Each session is carefully planned, to ensure a meaningful learning experience for young children, with the choice of movement concepts and use of props carefully designed to stimulate and develop their spatial reasoning skills.

For more information on our Early Learning dance classes, please refer to our website www.dancetheatrearts-sg.com. 

You may also wish to contact us at dancetheatreartssg@gmail.com