Great Falls Creative Movement

In Schools

Great Falls Creative Movement leads residencies, workshops and classes in elementary schools, preschools and after school programs throughout in Franklin County. Residencies can range in length from one day to year-long, and can engage with one class or an entire school.

All dance programs focus on building social, emotional and physical health and well-being through dance and value inclusion, cultural relevance, creativity, and whole-child wellness.

So many children thrive when their bodies are in motion! During in-school dance classes we focus on learning to be respectful of and joyful in our own bodies as well as in relation to other bodies. Many classroom teachers we have worked with continue to integrate dance into their classrooms themselves after the completion of our programs. 

preschoolers take turns in the dance circle
Students participate in a cypher after studying the roots and history of breaking

Available Programs

Our programs can be adapted for any age group and program length. Programs may also be developed to fit the specific needs of your school.

How do YOU dance?

What IS dance? How do you like to dance and why? In this program we will explore and share our own dance styles and preferences, teaching eachother our favorite movements, trying on each others’ moves and digging deep to remember where we learned these ways of dancing. 

Focuses include: 

  • Inclusion and community building
  • Honoring each students own dance lineage: whether they learned about dancing from watching TV,  from their grandma, their little sister or a dance teacher. 
  • Exposing students to new ways of dancing through peer teaching 
Moving Bodies, Changing Land: Dancing into new relationship with our environment

This outdoor curriculum brings together nature study and dance. Not only will we dance outside, we will use our bodies as a way to better understand and appreciate the environment we are dancing in. 

Focuses include; 

  • Building observational skills not only with our eyes but with all of the senses.
  • Building a sense of wonder and curiosity for the natural world through physical exploration
  • Integrating new knowledge about the natural world through movement

*This program draws from Dance Exchanges, “Moving Field Guide” curriculum. 

Dancing Stories 

This program introduces students to the idea of storytelling through dance. We will learn about some of the different ways people tell stories through dance and why. Then we will make up our own story dance! Depending on the class, age, and number of sessions,  we will either use a favorite picture book or make up our own story. Story dances can include costume, music and performance! They can also be done right in the classroom without any audience as a book is read aloud. 

Focuses include: 

  • Using the imagination to bring characters to life through the body
  • Embodying different emotional states in a safe and structured way
  • Working together as a group to create something magical
Dancing in Community, Dancing Together 

This program focuses on social dance; dance which is done as a way to be together. 

We will learn about different social dance traditions, including those of the students in our class. We will practice social dances that have particular steps as well as social dances which rely on improvisation. Then we will make up our own social dances, specific to our class and community. 

Focuses include: 

  • Community building through movement
  • Adapting movement to fit your own body and needs while still participating with the group
  • Building interpersonal skills through movement 
Dance to the Music

This program focuses on music as a source and inspiration for dance. We will learn about different kinds of music and the specific dance styles associated with this music. We will build rhythmic skills and explore movement dynamics. We will craft dances that are inspired by the rhythms and dynamics in the music we choose to dance to. 

Focuses include: 

  • Learning about the important connections between music and dance
  • Practicing feeling and expressing music through the body
  • Rhythm in the body as a way to connect to and dance with others
Anna and young children dance with scarves in a classroom
Anna sits in a cirlce of young children all touching their heads
Student does a backbend in the classroom
1st graders dance in their classroom
Students hold each other up in school auditorium

All programs include the following key components:

  • An Opening and Closing: Each class begins and ends in a circle. In the circle each student is acknowledged, welcomed, oriented to the class and appreciated. 
  • A Warm Up: A vigorous set up movements to wake up the brain and increase range of motion in the body. 
  • Dance Explorations: Exercises in which students are asked to improvise or freestyle with a particular focus in mind. 
  • Skills Building: Learning and practicing new physical skills. 
  • Dance Creation: Students craft and share dance movements generated from dance explorations and skills building.

Cost

I charge a sliding scale of $50 – $150/dance session. In the past, schools I have worked with have received funding for my programs through local cultural council grants the STARS Residencies program as well as through PTOs and other in-school funding. 

Great Falls Creative Movement offers grant writing services at no cost for any school wishing to apply for a grant to cover a school residency.

If you or your institution are interested in bringing quality movement education to the children you work with please contact us!

Young students dance in their classroom
Kindergartenders dance in their classroom
Students and Anna balance with scarves

Press

Our 2019 residency at the Village School in Royalston, MA

Past School Residencies & Workshops

  • 2021 – 2022 school year
    • Gill Elementary School, Gill MA. Kindergarten classroom. Spring, 2022
    • Fisher Hill Elementary School. Orange, MA. Kindergarten classrooms. March, 2022
    • The Village School, Royalston MA. pre-K – 6th grade. January, 2022.
  • 2019 – 2020 school year
    • Fisher Hill Elementary school. Orange, MA. Kindergarten classrooms. January 2020.
  • 2018 – 2019 school year
    • The Village School, Royalston, MA. pre-K – 6th grade. May 2019
    • Musica Franklin, Turners Falls, MA. 2nd – 6th grade. May 2019.
    • Amherst Middle School, 8th grade. Amherst, MA. April 2019.
    • Gill Elementary School. Gill, MA. 4th Grade. January – May 2019
    • Fisher Hill Elementary School. Orange, MA. Kindergarten classrooms. January 2019.
  • 2017- 2018 school year
    • The Village School, Royalston, MA, January 2018
    • Fisher Hill Elementary School. Orange, MA, January 2018
    • Gill Elementary School. Gill, MA, May 2018
  • 2016/2017 school year
    • Hillcrest Elementary School, Turners Falls, MA
    • The Village School, Royalston, MA
    • Fisher Hill Elementary School. Orange, MA. May 2017.

Partnerships

Great Falls Creative Movement has offered programming in partnership with the  following schools and after school programs:

  • Fisher Hill Elementary School, Orange MA
  • Amherst Middle School, Amherst MA
  • The Village School, Royalston MA
  • The Giving Tree Pre-School, Gill MA
  • Hillcrest Elementary School, Montague MA
  • Gill Elementary School, Gill MA
  • Colrain Center School, Colrain MA
  • The Academy of Early Learning, Greenfield MA
  • The Hampshire Franklin Children’s Day Care Center, Leverett MA
  • The Enchanted Forest After school program, Wendell MA
  • The Hilltop Montessori School, Brattleboro MA