Do-Si-Do and Away You Go, by Anne Marie Kraus

Folkdancing for fun? You bet. But you can also use it in your school to strengthen curriculum and community spirit

Folkdancing is a great way to bring kids, teachers, parents and community members together.

Imagine an activity that provides collaboration across academic disciplines, active involvement of parents and families, character education, multicultural connections, healthy aerobic fun and smiles all around.

Sound too good to be true? It's not. All of the benefits mentioned above can be reaped when your school participates in a program of traditional folkdancing.

By "folkdancing," I don't mean the age-old "square dance" unit of p.e. class. The folkdancing I'm talking about has a lot more going for it than that. These dances and games, passed down through the years as cultural traditions, are vibrant, living celebrations that are meant to be shared and enjoyed by everybody in the community.

Two approaches.
Any school can incorporate folkdancing into its curriculum. You can start small, with a single classroom enjoying a game or dance from a country or culture that's currently being studied. Or you can make a school-wide thing of it with all of the students and staff participating, and with the program culminating in a Family Dance Night with live musicians. At my school, we've used both approaches with great success over the past four years.

Our larger folkdancing projects have been a component of our annual "All-School Theme." Each year, the teachers develop a theme to give shape and direction to our school-wide interactions. One year, we selected a "Round and Round" circular theme and embarked on a study of cultures around the world, the reading of circle stories, the singing of rounds and circular folkdances. Another year, our activities focused on our state of Iowa and we hosted a down-home barn dance. Still another year, we adopted "Reach for the Stars" as our theme, which included goal-setting, a family star-gazing night and dances that utilized a "star" figure.

On a smaller scale, a second-grade student teacher included a classroom celebration as part of a social studies unit on "communities." The celebration featured folkdancing, which the teacher taught the students after watching a how-to videotape. One year, the third and fourth grades prepared for a visit by guest percussion artists by learning a West African "welcome" dance. Wherever there's a bit of creativity and a willingness to create, folkdancing can add new dimensions to learning.

Many resources.
You don't have to have a dance expert handy to bring folkdancing to your school. Fortunately, there are many resources available in the form of videos, CDs, instruction books, local folkdancing enthusiasts and guest artists. In our school, we've used all of these resources at different times.

There's nothing difficult about the way we introduce a folkdance to our school. Initially, the music teacher, the p.e. teacher and I look through some how-to materials. We then pick our dances and teach them to the kids. Sometimes we teach in our respective classrooms and sometimes we team-teach. Classroom teachers and parent volunteers often join in with their students.

The PTO funds visits by guest artists, both locally and nationally known, to work with our students and host a "Family Dance Night." However, whenever we have a guest artist, we don't wait for the artist to teach the first dances. We do it ourselves. We've found that our guest artists can do much more when students have been dancing for several weeks.

Dance basics.
What kind of learning takes place when kids (and adults) are folkdancing? First of all, there are the dance basics – when to circle left, when to make a bridge, when to hold hands and when to turn around. Beyond this basic kinesthetic and sequencing knowledge, there's the honoring of the culture of the dance.

There's also movement in time to the music and the beat, which is not only a joyful sense of motion but an important skill with implications for neurological development. Brain research (and common sense) tells us that kids need movement breaks in their learning day. Traditional folkdances give them the breaks they need.

Dancing teaches inclusion and cooperation; everyone is part of the dance and everyone helps make it work. No one competes with anyone else. To become part of a dance circle or line requires not only cooperation, but acceptance of one another. There are sometimes a few students who are initially reluctant to hold hands with other students, but they gradually join in the sense of trust and companionship. And when school staff, families, friends and siblings take part, there's a tremendous sense of community that builds. There's no substitute for full participation; face-to-face, smile-to-smile, hand-in hand.

Shared spirit.
You say you "can't dance" or that you have "two left feet?" Forget it. As teachers, we're in the business of helping learners believe that they can learn new things. So can we. Anyone who enjoys a shared community spirit can initiate dance activities.

If you're waiting to gain experience and confidence before you teach these dances yourself, just look up "folkdance" on the Internet. You'll find announcements of area dances you can attend, and there you'll find people who will be happy to share your experience. Who knows? Some of them may even be willing to teach your students or lead a Family Dance Night.

You can start small: one dance, one classroom. Then you can weave in some literature, another dance, another classroom and you're off and running, or rather, off and dancing your way to multifaceted learning, community building and multicultural celebration. Join the circle – there's plenty of room.

Anne Marie Kraus is a library media specialist at Roosevelt Elementary School, Iowa City, IA.