Hundreds of students at six Putnam City elementary schools will cap five weeks of dance instruction with performances at their schools on Thursday, Oct. 11, and Friday, Oct. 12.
The students have learned about dance through an innovative Putnam City program known as "Dancewise." Unlike the paired and precise dances TV viewers see on Dancing with the Stars, students in the program have focused on learning dances emphasizing improvisational, creative movement.
Dance instruction has been provided to 5th-grade students at Overholser Elementary, Northridge Elementary, Central Intermediate Elementary, Dennis Elementary, Wiley Post Elementary and Apollo Elementary by dance artists of the Oklahoma State Arts Council and recent college graduates certified in dance instruction. Instruction has taken place in physical education classes with the help of elementary school physical education teachers who partnered in the experience.
The cost of the five weeks of instruction has been covered in part by a grant from the Oklahoma State Arts Council.
Dance benefits elementary students in numerous ways, says District Fine Arts Coordinator Barbara Gabel.
"As physical education, dance helps build strength, balance, coordination and flexibility, while as an art form dance help students use movement to communicate ideas, thoughts or feelings. Participation in the experience promotes students self-discovery, builds self-esteem, engages positive social interaction while increasing their cultural understanding in many ways," Gabel says.
Gabel plans on dance instruction in this fashion reaching all district elementary schools by the end of next year.