#1 - How do you keep the students engaged over zoom for 2.5 hours?

As with our onsite programs, the kids will be moving and dancing in this class, with breaks, discussions, and team activities in between, so the kids will not just be sitting in front of zoom. This will be an active program meant to engage your child physically and mentally!

Part 1 = Dance!
The first part of the class will include a warm-up, a focus on specific dance techniques from different styles of dance, and an instructor-led dance piece.

Part 2 = Topic of the Day
While the kids take a break from dancing, they will be actively engaged in activities around a topic for the day that is meant to help them with their team project.

Part 3 = Teamwork!
Small teams will then be divided into breakout rooms over zoom, allowing the kids to get creative with a smaller group to create their own dance choreography. Instructors will rotate between zoom rooms to make sure they are not stuck on their project. When the kids are ready, we’ll start to have them show and teach each other the team-led choreography.

Part 4 = Reflect and Close
With the challenges they will face working together, comes valuable lessons that can be applied to their day-to-day lives. We’ll reflect on learnings and celebrate the progress made as we close the day.

#2 - What will my child need for the virtual class?

Required: Access to Zoom on their device
As we want the students to be actively engaged, kids will be asked to keep their video on the entire time.

Required: Music that they can play on their device
The students will be working on choreography in small pairs or groups. They will need to be able to listen to and work on the song together during the zoom room breakouts. They may also want to access the music individually at home. Having the music available on their device is easiest as they can easily hear the same song together when working together. However, if the music is playing from a different device and shared from their device speakers, that can work too.

Optional: Ability to record themselves dancing outside of class
To create a virtual performance, we will need to be able to record our students “performing” the instructor-led dance pieces, as well as their own created dance pieces. We can record using Zoom, but to really create a visually appealing video, we will encourage students to have confidence and record themselves in their own environments. They can also submit videos of concepts they want to include in their dance video (eg. birds flying, rain drops, etc.) So we would like the kids to have the ability to record using a device, or a camera where they can email us their file after class.

Note: Yes, some students will be shy and may not want to do this. This is an optional activity for those who are willing to challenge themselves. It’s all part of their growth journey and every child will be on a different path for their journey.

#3 - Will dance videos created by my child be shared publicly?

No, dance videos will not be shared publicly by our instructors. Our purpose for recording a video is so that we can let the kids “create” their performance which will only be shown in a private virtual viewing party at the end of the program. Videos will be kept private to class participant families.

#4 - What is the virtual Viewing Party? Why is it one week after the program is finished? Can we invite guests?

In an ideal scenario, our showcase at the end of the program is a large stage performance that the students can be really proud of creating. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 and continued restrictions on large gatherings, this will not be possible. Instead, we will be helping the kids create a dance video to showcase their self-expression in a virtual viewing party, one week after the program is complete.

As this program is more focused on creating and self-expression through dance, the technology aspect of producing videos will be done by our instructors. That said, if there is interest from the kids to produce their own videos outside of class at home, we will support them in providing access to Canva.com tools, and answer questions they may have about making a video. The week after the program completes allows our instructors to finalize all videos and prepare for the video showcase.

Families may invite their friends and family to this viewing party and celebrate the work of their kids. Family guests will be asked to register to receive the zoom link and to ensure that we keep this a private virtual party.

#5 - What if we can’t attend the virtual viewing party? Will you provide us with the videos to watch on our own time?

We will make the final videos viewable on a private platform for one week after the virtual viewing party. This will give families a chance to watch it together on their own time, while ensuring that we adhere to music licensing restrictions.