American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

Strategies for Teaching Dancers of All Abilities
Theresa P. Cone & Stephen L. Cone

Abstract: Dance is an ideal activity for students with disabilities because it provides personally meaningful, creative, and enjoyable experiences. Students socialize while learning a dance, collaborate to create a new dance, and feel group unity when everyone is moving to the same beat. Critical-thinking skills, problem solving, memorization, language acquisition, abstract thinking, analysis, and evaluation are critical dance components that also engage students intellectually. Student increase their fitness level, coordination, balance, strength, and temporal and spatial awareness .This article offers 23 strategies for teaching students with disabilities as individuals in an inclusive environment or as participants in an entire class of students with disabilities. The strategies reflect teaching that acknowledges individual learning styles and include class management ideas. In addition, eight brief dance descriptions are included that focus on social and creative dance.