The Linda Jamieson School of Dance accepts students starting at the age of three. For its youngest students, the Linda Jamieson School of Dance encourages creativity and confidence while introducing the fundamentals of technique.

1. ENGAGING YOUNG CHILDREN IN DANCE
CLASS
Linda Jamieson, School of Dance

2. INTRODUCTION
 The Linda Jamieson School of Dance accepts students starting at the
age of three. For its youngest students, the Linda Jamieson School of
Dance encourages creativity and confidence while introducing the
fundamentals of technique.
Teaching young children can be one of a dance instructor's greatest
challenges. The student in preschool or kindergarten needs to be
constantly engaged and moving, which means that the teacher needs to
have all parts of the class planned out. The lesson plan should vary
regularly and should not have the children spending more than five
minutes on any one activity, lest they lose focus and disengage.
The teacher should also be present and highly energetic at all times
throughout the class. Experts recommend that the teacher be the most
engaging presence in the room and should model the spirit of the dance
so that the children feel enticed to join in.

3. DANCE CLASS
 Teachers can further encourage positive participation by
recognizing individual children who are performing or behaving
particularly well or by praising the class as a whole for an
especially well-executed move.
Children also find themselves engaged by imagery, so teachers
should be ready to make each exercise imaginative. This may be
as simple as asking the children to gallop like horses or flow like
the wind, though many teachers enjoy letting the children come
up with their own images. They may carry an imaginary
something to a friend across the floor, for example, or paint the air
a particular color using a graceful port de bras technique.
Music can also help stimulate a child's engagement in the class. If
the teacher plays popular soundtracks or songs, the children may
participate more fully simply because they love the music.