Mindfulness Activities for Elementary Dance Classes: Calm, Focus, and Perform (by Expert Dance Teacher)
As educators and parents, we know how critical it is to provide children with tools to navigate the challenges of both learning and life. At Kids Yoga Stories, we are passionate about sharing simple, practical strategies that foster mindfulness, movement, and emotional wellbeing in classrooms, studios, homes, and beyond.
That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce this inspiring mindfulness and dance article by Gina D’Antonio-Spears, one of our KYS community members and a seasoned dance educator, who has integrated mindfulness into her elementary dance classes, with powerful results.
In this piece, Gina shares her personal journey—from initially undervaluing mindfulness practices to discovering their profound impact on students’ focus, stress management, and performance.
Whether you’re an educator, caregiver, or dance enthusiast, Gina’s insights and practical tips offer a perspective on how mindfulness can enhance any movement-based classroom. Let’s explore how mindfulness can bring calm, connection, and creativity to your students’ lives through the power of dance!
This article may contain affiliate links.
The Benefits of Mindfulness in Elementary Dance Classes
I am a life-long dancer and dance educator. Growing up, I never valued the “cooldown” part of dance class. I couldn’t relax. I couldn’t empty the thoughts in my head. And, I thought rehearsing was a better use of our time.
“I couldn’t relax.
I couldn’t empty the thoughts in my head.”
Looking back, I realized I was “that student.” The one who won’t close their eyes. The one who can’t sit still. The one who just wants the cooldown to be over. Sound familiar?
When I started teaching, I did not incorporate a cooldown in my class structure because I had always seen it as a waste of time.
I was the “one more time” teacher, using every possible minute of class time efficiently and (to my opinion) effectively. I taught in the studio setting for more than ten years without a single cooldown.
In 1998, I started teaching dance in public schools. This was a whole new world to me, and it became clear I needed a different approach, one with more structure. I developed lessons with a predictable routine, following the methods of some of the veteran dance teachers in my field.
“I needed a different approach,
one with more structure.”
I attended a professional development, where every lesson included a cooldown. Was I missing out on something by not including this in my lessons? I wasn’t so sure. I did have a closing exercise as part of my lessons, but it was not a formal cooldown.
Fast forward to March 2020, when we abruptly transitioned to online instruction, and everyone seemed to be anxious about the impact of the pandemic on our lives.
Social-emotional learning became an essential part of lesson planning. Our students needed a way to decompress, an outlet for their emotions and anxieties, and a way to connect. If I am honest, so did I.
“Social emotional learning became
an essential part of lesson planning.”
When our instruction was 100% remote learning, I taught the same classes for several weeks, every single day. I needed to rethink my routines and reinvent my curriculum.
I gave every day of the week a theme, kicking off each week with Mindfulness Monday.
Since I was not experienced in mindfulness, I needed to do some research to find what would work for my students. That’s when I subscribed to the weekly newsletters from Kids Yoga Stories!
I spent a lot of my time searching the internet for ideas. I signed up for some mindfulness workshops for myself, including yoga, breathing exercises, and affirmations.
It really grounded me during this stressful time, and I have been doing it ever since. As with the personal mindfulness activities, the strategies I implemented in my curriculum have continued to be an essential part of my curriculum today.
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Incorporating Mindfulness in Dance Education: Benefits for Children of All Ages
For my students in preschool through second grade, I have incorporated mindfulness through books, breathing activities, and stuffed animals.
During the pandemic, I discovered Meddy Teddy. This adorable teddy bear, which you can bend into various yoga poses, is featured in books to read to students. The first students who were introduced to Meddy Teddy are in middle school now, and they still ask about Meddy Teddy.
With my preschool and kindergarten classes, mindfulness is incorporated into each of our transitions. We smell a flower and blow out a candle at the beginning of our warm-ups. We stretch and shrink before we transition to another portion of the lesson.
At the end of the lesson, we close our eyes and do a simple mindfulness activity, such as breathing with the arms extended and then giving ourselves a big hug, or saying aloud, “I did a great job today.”
For first and second grade, I use the book Alphabreaths and Alphabreaths, Too. Sometimes I select a student who was a very good listener that day and ask them to select the letter for our breath work. When we are preparing for a dance performance, and I am teaching students to stand quietly in the hallway before they perform, we remember Ninja Breath, where you are quiet as a ninja… and it works!
For my middle grades students (3rd through 5th), I have discussions about the importance of mindfulness and how this could benefit them outside of school. We discuss ways to reduce stress and calm our emotions. I explain that we do our breathing exercises at the end of the lesson to make our bodies calm before we return to class, but that the exercises can be done at any time at school or at home.
I found that GoNoodle had a variety of calming videos on You Tube, called FLOW. Finding what students would like and what they would find silly required a lot of trial and error. I use videos for the cooldowns so that I can participate in the cooldown, as well. One of their favorite videos is Bubble Bounce by The Mindfulness Teacher.
As we approach our performance season, students may feel apprehensive or anxious about the concert, so I incorporate affirmations and meditations for anxiety to help students through the rehearsal process. I remind students that any of our breathing exercises can be used to help them calm down before they perform. We take a collective breath before going onstage as a reminder that we are all in this together (including me).
My middle schoolers (6th through 8th grade) have a hard time engaging with the cooldowns. I look out at the class and see seven or eight students who are just like me, unable to connect with the cooldowns. I explain to the students that I used to have trouble with cooldowns, too. They do not have to follow the videos for the breathing if they do not want to, but they are required make the classroom a peaceful space. They do not have to close their eyes, but they must keep their gazes slightly down so they do not distract others.
Over time, they really do participate in some way, and I think they do relax a bit. Sometimes the best thing is quiet music for relaxation allowing the students to engage as they wish. Some will look at the floor or stare at the video; others will lie on the floor with their eyes closed.
One of my students recommended Headspace as a source for videos, as she uses the app on her phone to help her decompress at the end of the day. Another recommended Calm, and this video is probably the favorite for most classes.
There are many ways to engage with the video, and the sounds take over the classroom and bring a feeling of calm to everyone. I love when the students help me find resources!
When preparing for performances, my middle school students are very nervous, and mindfulness is essential for helping them cope. I lead students through visualizations where they imagine a perfect performance and the feeling of accomplishment when they hear the audience appreciating their hard work.
We discuss coping strategies, and I encourage students to support one another on the day of the performance by breathing along with anyone who seems especially nervous or giving them positive affirmations. This really helps students work as an ensemble, and I know these skills will be beneficial in the future.
The Power of Mindfulness in Elementary Dance
Overall, mindfulness has been a wonderful addition to my curriculum. My students have come to expect the quiet moments at the end of class. Some of them ask me to send the video links to their homeroom teacher or to email it to them so they can have it at home. They are seeing the benefit!
“My students have come to expect
the quiet moments at the end of class.”
In addition, mindfulness has become an integral part of my daily routine. Each classroom cooldown helps me decompress and prepare my mind and body for my next class. I also stretch in the morning and do meditation at lunchtime.
I don’t know how I made it through my workday without mindfulness! Although I did not value mindfulness in the early part of my career, I am grateful to have found it, and it is here to stay.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gina D’Antonio-Spears is a dance educator at Portage Park Elementary School in Chicago. She has been teaching dance for 36 years, with 27 years in the K-12 public school setting. She designs and facilitates professional development on topics such as arts integration, dance curriculum development, and standards-based instruction. She loves incorporating dance history, social emotional learning, and mindfulness into her teaching. She has been mentoring early-years dance educators for over 10 years. She has a BFA in Dance Education from Shenandoah University and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from American College of Education. Her motto is “Teaching students is my joy; teaching teachers is my passion.”
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