Dance
Creative Communication
Dance is more than the exploring of different ways to make a shape or learning a series of steps to music; it is a way of moving that uses the body as an instrument of expression and communication. Through dance, Springfield students learn teamwork, focus, and improvisational skills. Dance awakens new perceptions in our students and helps them to learn and think in new ways.
Students need to express and communicate their ideas and to be given the opportunity to make creative decisions, even at a young age. This decision making promotes self-esteem and independent thinking. By giving students the freedom of making choices within a structure (the dance), we encourage them to reach beyond what comes easy; to use their imagination and test their own personal boundaries.
Dancing beyond the Classroom
Through the arts, teachers can often teach children to recognise the contribution of all cultures to the fabric of our society and increase the understanding of diversity and values of all people. Dance lends itself well to this task through learning traditional dances and creating new ones based on student’s ideas. Dance also enhances skills of perception, observation, and concentration which will undoubtedly help students in all of their school subjects.
At St Peters Springfield, dance is encountered through the Primary and Secondary Years classroom curriculum and through the cocurricular Dance Troupe in the Secondary Years. Dance Troupe students learn a range of choreography combinations and dance routines. Modern, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance styles are incorporated. Dance Troupe provides students with an outlet and also gives them the opportunity to be inspired by professional performances at venues such as the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC).