Toddler Dance

Our Toddler Dance Sessions

Celebrate your child’s developing movement skills with Toddler Dance as we explore body awareness, cooperation, and movement preferences, all accompanied by exciting music.

Our Toddler Dance sessions are crafted for parents and their young walkers, toddlers, and under 5s. We delve into the fundamentals of dance, focusing on body control, highlighting different body parts, spatial awareness, and group collaboration. The aim is to provide toddlers with a space to expand their experiences and try new movements, while fostering a playful connection between parent and child.

In our sessions, we explore various movement qualities through dance games and structured improvisations. We emphasise connecting with ourselves (our own body and preferences), our family member, and the group. The expansive space allows for exhilarating, child-led play and individual responses. The atmosphere is relaxed and social.

Benefits of Toddler Dance

For Parents: Provides a creative outlet to dance together, supports bonding through attunement and playfulness
For Toddlers: Encourages trying and enjoying new movements, self-expression and collaboration with others
For Both: Spend quality time together, which fosters a deeper connection that can help alleviate temper tantrums (it’s true!).

Toddler Dance Curriculum

Our curriculum is based on Rudolf Laban’s BESS system:

Body: What part of the body is moving? Leading the dance with different body parts.
Effort: How is the body moving? We explore moving fast and slow, with great effort or ease, through curves and bends or in straight lines.
Shape: What shapes can we make with our body, with others, and as a group?
Space: Where are we moving? We explore personal space, taking up a lot or a little space around us, and different ways to use the space as a group.

Each session will have a key theme: body parts, fast and slow, stop and start, shapes, big and small, close and far, bringing it all together in an end of term season special.

What to Expect in a Session

Check-In: Begin with a group check-in
Warm-Up: A gentle warm-up exercise to build routine and memory
Parent and Child Dance: Engage in dance games like making tunnels, shapes and letting the child lead the dance where parents copy their movements
Group Dance: Participate in dance games for the whole group such as musical statues, follow the leader, and grandma’s footsteps
Cuddle Dance: A calm dance for just you and your child
Check-Out: Reflect on the session and share experiences

See FAQs below for more info.

When And Where

Book the term for a discounted price, or buy flexible drop-in sessions that can be used at any time. Read when and where below.

The Green Nunhead Community Centre
5 Nunhead Green, Nunhead, SE15 3QQ (https://thegreennunhead.org)

Current Term: Apr 24th to May 22nd 2025

Thursdays 10:15 to 11:00

What else we offer:

Baby Dance

Family Events

Family Dance