Creating Art
Inspiring Community
Dance to exciting ethnic music while gaining multicultural awareness and having fun!
Bringing a “Field Trip” to your school or location!
Grab your passport for a folkdance adventure! Dance to exciting historical and ethnic music while gaining multicultural awareness and having fun! In this unique program, students will learn basic folkdances from around the world, and will experience concepts of rhythm, coordination, sequencing, and patterning, while wearing colorful, ethnic-inspired costumes. Passport to Dance can complement your school or students' classes in music, social studies, foreign language, history, or physical education. Workshops are available for Schools, Homeschool Groups, or Girl Scouts. Easy, fun, traditional dances are a great way to celebrate the cultures of the world! Choose your adventure and away we go!
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What is folk dancing?
Folk Dances are “dances of the common folk” as opposed to the dances that were done only in the courts. Folk dances are social dances, bringing people and communities together. They have been done by people all over the world and have been passed down for generations, typically done at celebrations, parties, special events, and festivals. No special training is required for most folk dances and can be enjoyed just by joining in. There are some more advanced dances that take a bit longer to learn or may be more suitable for older ages. These dances may include several patterns and formations, or intricate footwork. But there are many, many dances that are very easy to learn and everyone can get started dancing right away!
Folk dancing is a wonderful way to help instill a sense of community and belonging, gain confidence as well as a great way to get exercise, keep fit and be healthy. Children learn respect for others, taking turns, and courtesy. Just about any time people get together and music is present is a great time to folk dance!
About Passport to Dance
About the Instructor
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My adventure into world cultures, make-believe, and dance began at an early age. When I was about 5 years old, my parents helped me to collect a variety of dolls from around the world. I adored their colorful, ethnic costumes. My mom also created a home environment of make-believe, which came alive through singing nursery rhymes and reading fairytales. This was the beginning of my love for the magical world of fairies and characters from far-off places. All of this sparked my interest for the world beyond my neighborhood!
My first introduction to folk dancing came when I was introduced to Maypole Dancing at the little Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington, where every spring they celebrate with a May Festival. We would go as a family and I loved to watch the dancers as they weaved and wrapped the ribbons around a huge Bavarian Maypole! They would also get the audience involved teaching a few easy dances to the tourists! Several years later, while living in the Midwest, our family discovered the exciting world of barn dances! Placing our baby in a carrier, we danced the evening away to lively jigs and reels!
I also studied classical ballet from the time I could walk, and was placed in the Tacoma Ballet Company when I was 12 years old. I went on to perform professionally with Disneyland, The Crystal Room in Tokyo Japan, Sesame Street Live as Betty Lou, with Siegfried and Roy, and at the MGM in Las Vegas, NV.
Having a love for folk dance, I became a member of an international folk dance group in the Midwest, and performed dances from Europe at festivals and local events. I have also held a variety of teaching and director positions in dance, drama, creative arts, and musical theatre. I have taught freelance classes at camps, schools, day cares, mommy and me groups, Montessori and Waldorf schools, Head Start, music, dance, art studios, birthday parties, and Girl Scouts. I am proficient in American Sign Language, a Kindermusik Instructor, and I owned and operated a creative ballet studio for five years. I have been teaching creative arts to children for over 20 years. I have two talented children and have homeschooled them both for several years.
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Miss Alene is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
