“Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.” ~Gail Godwin

WHY performance arts? The kinesthetic arts improves: Self-concept Learning and cognition Creativity Social Skills Emotional Intelligence

How Do Performing Arts Improve Self-Concept? Ability to express personal ideas without fear of censorship Beauty of movement Skills of choreography Compositional structure, sequencing, collaboration skills, and interpretation Develop rhythm, coherence, and flow Refine technical skills including artistic problem-solving, time- space issues, emotional impact, and the logistics of production work.

How Do Performing Arts Improve Learning and Cognition? Dance can develop balance, which can improve reading skills Improves learning from role-modeling, nonconscious acquisition, trail and error, experimentation, and peer demonstration Facilitates the maturation of the brain’s cortical systems. Reading, counting, speaking, and problem- solving are all maturation correlated. Kinesthetic arts activate far more brain areas than traditional seatwork. National Institutes of Health say that when athletes achieve excellence in a sport, “they are probably using close to 100% of their brain.”

How Do Performing Arts Improve Creativity? It empowers children There is a correlation between movement arts and higher college entrance scores It primes the brain for new ideas and the will to carry them out. It can bring history, math, literature, and social studies to life!

How Do Performing Arts Improve Social Skills? Young people have an opportunity to relate to the opposite sex in a nonthreatening setting that includes social discipline and emphasis on courtesy and consideration for others. It can break tension and help build community. Children learn how to interact with others in a structured setting, which provides a set of social markers for acceptable social behavior. Theater games and movement help children become less self-conscious in a safe environment.

How Do Performing Arts Improve Emotional Intelligence? Movement arts promote emotional and physical health. They produce “feel-good” chemicals in the brain (noradrenalin and dopamine) which improves learning and well being! Children often think that, “the world happens to me.” This belief hinders their self-efficacy, sense of empowerment, and it can lead to depression. Students who participate in the movement arts know that they have control over how they feel!