Thompson 1

Savannah Thompson
Philosophy paper
Kathleen Sheffield
8 December 2014
Philosophy Paper
When I first began teaching creative movement to three and four year olds at Jacquelines
School of Ballet, I thought that creative dance was just a kick-start for higher level technique
classes, but as I expanded my knowledge and experience during this course I have come to see it
in a whole new light. I have come to appreciate the values that creative movement teaches
dancers at every age. Creative movement is the foundation for individuality and personal
expression through dance. It is the opportunity to explore and to find ones truest self through
discovering strengths and passion within. The confidence, creativity, awareness, and selfexpression that creative dance encourages, is the bridge between just another robot technician
and the truly exquisite artist.
Creative dance builds confidence for students of all ages. The youngest dancers, who are
enrolled in creative movement beginning at three and four years old, learn that they can use their
bodies to be anything they want. These small dancers discover that the princesses, flowers, swans
and bunnies that they play with in their dollhouses come to life through dance. As imagery and
imagination are implemented, these characters are developed within their own bodies. Not only
do the dancers see that they can become anything they want, but they realize who they are, and
that they have their own unique voice.

Thompson 2
Creative dance provides an opportunity for students to explore their creativity. As the
dancers are given problems to solve and prompts to guide them, they have time to discover
different ways to move and ways to express. The dancers are given the chance to create their
own choreography as they search for a variety of ways to communicate specific ideas. As I
assisted in Saras class, I saw these nine year olds entranced with the creative portion of every
class. Ms. Sara found it difficult to try to get the dancers to enjoy anything else in class. If she
phrased the locomotor or sitting and standing technique as a combo then the girls would
respond with cooperation and sometimes even excitement. Ms. Sara found that when she used
the word technique that they would act lethargic as if all of their energy had been expended
fully in the warm-up before hand. We both learned very quickly that nine-year-old children love
to create more than anything else. They are gaining confidence and feel that what they have to
express is sometimes more important than what they have to learn. Ms. Sara found that this
became a problem with some of the girls because they had bad attitudes and a bit of an over
confidence issue.
Creative dance expands body and spatial awareness. Sensory stimulation provides a
catalyst for the dancers to gain greater understanding through experiencing multiple senses while
moving. During my final teaching I observed the dancers using sensory stimulation to initiate
each body part on their partner. As they did this they had to listen to their own body while also
being aware of their partner in space. This is only one example of the opportunity that creative
dance provides for dancers to gain an increased awareness. They not only gain body and spatial
awareness during the creative and improvisation portion of class, but also in the warm-up, and
technique portions. As the dancers skip, slide, leap, and hop across the floor they are learning to
be aware of the other dancers in the space.

Thompson 3
Creative dance is the means for students to gain a sense of personal expression through
non-verbal communication. All humans yearn to communicate ideas. As dancers we learn to use
our bodies, our own personal instruments, to communicate. I have seen many incredible dancers
who are technically nearly flawless but who unfortunately dont know how to communicate
much more than that. I appreciate their high level of ability but I am not moved to try to be better
or smile a little bigger. I am not inspired to see myself, or the world around me any differently.
This gap between a robot technician and a truly exquisite artist is filled through developing the
skills that creative dance provides to its students. Many of the young dancers that I have worked
with who are preparing to become professional ballet dancers, loose their passion for dance very
early on in their training. I feel that this is because they have forgotten that dance is an art form
that includes not only the body but also the spirit. Dance is created to bring unity to the soul, but
when personal expression and creativity are stripped from the training, dancers loose the why
behind dance, and get too caught up in the what of the technique. Throughout this course, I
have had the opportunity to put what I am learning into practice as I have implemented these
concepts into my contemporary class that I am teaching at Jacquelines Ballet School. I have
found that these ballet students yearn for these practices and I have come to the conclusion that
creative dance is so important in keeping the imagination and spirit alive. I saw that creative
exercises should always be coupled with the intense technical training. They go hand and hand
and should not be separated because they both are essential ingredients to creating a successful
dancer and artist in the field.
In conclusion, creative dance is an effective facilitator to produce confident, creative,
aware, and expressive dancers, who will mature into artists. The skills and qualities developed
through the use of creative dance are essential to the training of pre-professional dancers. The

Thompson 4
elements explored in creative dance keep passion alive and unite the mind, body and spirit. As
these three come into harmony dancers learn to express their deepest emotions and beliefs,
inspiring others, one audience at a time.