Tag: dance

Dance: Telling Stories with Dance – Infants 2 Arts

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Dances can tell stories! Long ago, people danced to tell about the harvest, the sea and their heroes. Let us make our own story dance.

Make a 1-minute group dance

  1. Choose a theme or story: the sea, Carnival, planting crops, a rainy day.
  2. Pick 6 to 8 steps that fit the story.
  3. Put them in order and practise.
  4. Everyone gives ideas; everyone listens.
  5. Perform for 1 minute. Bow at the end!

Traditional steps

Many Caribbean folk dances, like those you may see at a Best Village show, use simple steps:

  • heel and toe: tap your heel forward, then your toe back
  • turn: turn around on the spot
  • sway: rock side to side
  • shuffle: small sliding steps

Add 2 or 3 costume pieces: a scarf, a madras head-tie, a long skirt, a feather or a straw hat.

Dance a hero’s story

Find out 5 or 6 facts about a hero (someone in your family, or a hero of our country). Show each fact with a different movement: marching for being brave, reaching out for helping, rocking a baby for caring, lifting for strength, spinning for joy.

TRY ITStory dance

Choose a game.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. How long is your group dance?

Show answer

About 1 minute.

2. Name two traditional dance steps.

Show answer

For example heel and toe, turn, sway, shuffle.

3. Name two costume pieces you could use.

Show answer

For example a scarf, a madras head-tie, a feather, a straw hat.

4. How can you be a good group member?

Show answer

Give ideas, listen to others, take turns, encourage.

5. Show a movement for being brave.

Show answer

For example marching strongly with head up.

Quick check

1. What does a dance need to tell a story?

Show answer

A theme, steps in order and movements that show the story.

2. Where can you see folk dances?

Show answer

For example at a Best Village show, a cultural concert or a festival.

3. How many facts about your hero should you find?

Show answer

5 or 6.

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

theme · sequence · heel and toe · sway · shuffle · costume · folk dance · perform

Try it at home

  • Learn heel and toe with a grown-up. Do it to a calypso or folk song.
  • Find 5 facts about a hero in your family and make a movement for each.
  • Make a costume piece from a scarf or old cloth.

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • create and present a 1-minute group dance of 6–8 steps on a theme
  • give ideas and listen in a group
  • use 3–4 traditional steps and 2–3 costume elements
  • research and dance a hero’s story with 5–6 movements

Previous: Dance: Moving in Space
Next: Drama: Faces, Feelings and Frozen Pictures

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

Dance: Moving in Space – Infants 2 Arts

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Dancers use their whole body! They move through space, change speed and freeze like statues. Clear a space and let us dance.

Personal space and general space

Personal space is the bubble around you – stretch your arms out and turn: you should not touch anyone. General space is the whole room or yard that everyone shares.

Ways to move

Travelling (moving across the space)On the spot
walk, run, hop, skip, jump, gallop, glide, slidereach, bend, stretch, twist, turn, sway

Words that describe movement

  • Direction: forward, backward, sideways, up, down
  • Speed: fast, slow
  • Force: lightly (like a feather), strongly (like a giant)
  • Freely: loose and floppy; tightly: stiff like a robot

Stillness and motion

Moving and then freezing makes a dance exciting. Try: run lightly for 4 counts, freeze for 4 counts, glide backward for 4 counts, freeze!

⚠️ Rolls, somersaults and flips must only be done on a soft mat or grass with a teacher or grown-up watching.

TRY ITDance space

Choose a game.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. Name three ways to travel in a dance.

Show answer

For example walk, run, hop, skip, glide, gallop.

2. Name four words that describe movement.

Show answer

For example forward, backward, lightly, strongly, fast, slow, freely.

3. What is personal space?

Show answer

The bubble of space around your own body.

4. Make a sequence: move, freeze, move, freeze. Which moves did you use?

Show answer

Your own answer.

5. Where is it safe to roll?

Show answer

On a soft mat or grass with a grown-up watching.

Quick check

1. What is general space?

Show answer

The whole space everyone shares.

2. Is a twist a travelling move or an on-the-spot move?

Show answer

On the spot.

3. Why freeze in a dance?

Show answer

Stillness makes the movement stand out and is exciting to watch.

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

personal space · general space · travel · forward · backward · lightly · strongly · freely · glide · freeze

Try it at home

  • Play freeze dance with your family using music you like.
  • Make a 3-part sequence: travel, freeze, travel. Show a grown-up.
  • Describe your sequence with 3 words (for example: forward, lightly, freeze).

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • move the whole body in personal and general space
  • use 4–6 words to describe space and dynamics
  • create short sequences with stillness and motion
  • try new ways of moving, such as gliding
  • describe ways of travelling

The freeze-dance drum is made by the page itself (no internet audio). Make sure there is a clear, safe space with no sharp furniture corners.

Previous: Art: Collage, Buildings and a Model Street
Next: Dance: Telling Stories with Dance

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.