The holidays are quickly approaching and it’s the perfect time to take pause with young dancers and give thanks for all that we are afforded. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how truly lucky we are when life gets busy, so… taking a moment to reflect and remember is important. What better way than to instill a tradition with students and spread kindness throughout your studio. Not only will it evoke the feeling of gratitude and joy, but it also serves as team building exercises, camaraderie and studio spirit.
Below are some of my favorite ideas we have done over the years as a festive way to kick off the holiday season.
#1 Choreography Focus: “Giving Thanks”: Create an informal choreography night for your studio families with works developed by your young choreographers. Give them the theme of “Giving Thanks,” “Thankful,” etc, and let them run with their creativity with solo works, duets and group numbers. Have the performance right before Thanksgiving or Holiday break and it’s a wonderful way to kick off the season with the innovations and interpretations of your students.
#2 The “Thankful Wall”: Create a large bulletin board at your studio. Give dancers different color post-it notes in class and ask them to write something they are thankful for. Post the notes on the lead up to Thanksgiving and the Holiday season and parents and peers can stop and read all the wonderful things each dancer is giving thanks for.
#3 Choose a charity: Have a studio vote on a different charity each holiday season. Work together on fundraising ideas and options to make collections and donations up until the New Year. This can be in the form of collecting money, sending cards and letters to our service men and women, collecting can goods and nonperishables, toiletry items, well preserved dance costumes, winter coats, hats and gloves drive, book drive, baby and new mother essentials, etc.
Photo below is one of our "Thankful Wall" boards
Have a Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving & Holiday Season!
Jess
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