If you have a young child at home who loves to spin and jump, or can’t keep themselves still when music is playing, you might have a budding dancer on your hands.
Luckily, Oklahoma City Ballet has a solution for you: Creative Movement classes. These fun movement classes (typically for kids under age 5) use dance, music, rhythm and the children’s own imaginations to move, stretch, play and dance to build coordination, motor skills and spatial awareness. Dancers may also start to understand the concepts of time (e.g., fast vs slow), space (high vs low) and force (sharp vs smooth movements).
Creative Movement classes also teach skills that children will utilize later in life: teamwork and social skills (as they learn, play, and share with others in class); structure and following a schedule; and the foundation for more formal dance training in the future. Classes are also a place many young children might first start learning right from left, how to line up and take turns, or how to take direction from an adult that is not a parent or guardian.
Oklahoma City Ballet offers two types of classes for younger children. The first (“Creative Movement”) is offered for children ages 3 to 4. Each class is 45 minutes and encourages the dancers to use their imaginations while they do hands-on activities with props such as scarves and tambourines. These classes are often themed for the season, which adds a fun element of play. Dancers are encouraged to wear any clothes they can dance and move in—anything from Spiderman pajamas to tutu dresses!
Students in Creative Movement classes should be potty-trained and able to take the classes independently (but don’t worry–parents can walk their dancers to class and stay nearby in the parent lounge in case they’re needed).
Oklahoma City Ballet also offers classes for even younger dancers (ages 0 to 2): “Move with Me.” This special class helps babies and toddlers to develop fine and gross motor skills alongside their favorite adult. Teaching artists are able to adapt the classes for “baby-wearing” as well as independent movers.
Both classes are held at Oklahoma City Ballet’s Five Moons Studio (6917 N Classen Blvd.), and offer sliding scale class fees—those paying for classes may pay any amount between the “minimum value” and “class value” listed with the class.
For more information, or to view the current class schedule, please visit Oklahoma City Ballet’s website: https://www.okcballet.org/community/creative-movement/
Interested in supporting Oklahoma City Ballet, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization? Donations, as well as planned and creative giving opportunities, are available. For more information, email development@okcballet.org or call 405.848.9898.