This class theme is one of the most adaptable lessons I teach. I can bring in my ABC visuals and change a letter movement right on the spot if I need too! Here’s the details:
- Place alphabet cards (one for each letter of the alphabet) all around the room. I usually put them in order from A-Z and begin by singing the ABC’s with the dancers. Grab your printable here.
- Ask a dancer to pick a letter. (They usually pick the letter that their names start with…so be aware of possible outbursts when Sophia takes Scarlet’s letter S). Then do a movement or activity that starts with that letter! Easy peasy. Below is my list of movements for each letter. Get creative!
*With my older students we’ll sometimes play the Name Game, where we will spell our names with movement. Details here.
A- arabesque, above (arms above head), attack
B- bounce, ball, boing, beat, bang, big, balance, blink, bourre, bear walk, butterfly stretch
C- child’s pose, crouch, chasse, creatively walk, crab walk, crawl, clap, jump over cones
D-dance, developpe, dig, daintily tip-toe, downward dog
E- echappe, energetically skip, elbow circles, elevate your arms or feet, elephant stomp
F- flip, forwards march, fly, flex your muscles, do the fish dance
G-go, great big jump, gallop, grin, grow
H-hop, half-split, heavy march, move your head
I-inchworm, itch, icicles (freeze dance)
J-jump, jiggle, jell-o legs, jog, jumping jacks
K-kangaroo jump, kick, kneel
L- leap, lazily turn, loop, laugh
M- march, mash, move
N- neck movements, noodle, nod, nose to knees
O- open and close, over, on top
P- prance, pirouette, plie, push and pull, pike stretch, pat
Q- quickly turn, quietly jump
R- run, releve, reach, roll, robot, ribbon dance
S- shake, shiver, snake crawls, slowly run, skip, salute, somersault, sit, stand, stretch, spin, slither, scarves
T- turn, tendu, teeter-totter, twirl, tip-toe
U- under and over, up (go up), upside down
V- v-arms, vrooom (like a car)
W- wildly crawl, wiggle, walk, wave, waddle
X- x-jump
Y- nod yes, yawn, yo-yo
Z- zig-zag, zoom
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