My gym teacher and I combine every year to do a folk-dance unit and this year we decided December would be the perfect time. I tried to find a lot of fun Winter Folk Dances and we did some party line dances and a basket ball routine as well. Students had so much fun and our most requested dance was the Troika! They love the 3 person groups and how fast the music goes :) February is a great time to start this unit as the winter doldrums are setting in, and kids are getting antsy to MOVE and play more than they can when it's always snowing/ raining!
Dances we learned were:
Sasha - a great first mixer
Rural Felicity from Sashay the Donut - We did this one to Jingle Bell rock and it worked perfectly but you could choose almost any song in 4!
Troika - of course you have to do a dance that imitates a carriage being pulled by horses through the snow! Learn more about the Troika HERE
When performing the song, I sing (to the tune of the music) the following to help kids remember what is next. The form is A A B interlude A coda
A section:
Bounce (ba da da da bup bup bup bup)
Bounce (ba da da da bup bup bup bup)
Bounce the ball with your right ha-a-and
Bounce (ba da da da bup bup bup bup)
Bounce (ba da da da bup bup bup bup)
Bounce the ball with your left ha-a-and
B section:
Pass it around your ba-ack, or do another trick
Then you pass it back and forth
Pass it around your ba-ack, or do another trick
Then you pass it back and forth
Interlude:
Throw it up (2-3-4), Throw it up (2-3-4)
Throw it up (2), Throw it up (4)
Throw it up (2), Throw it up (4)
Coda:
Bounce the ball with your right hand and
bounce the ball with your left hand and
with your right hand, with your left hand
Big Bounce (x), big bounce (x), big bounce (x), big bounce and Catch!
In addition to the folk dances. movement pieces we also did some party lines dances as warm-ups. These included:
Cupid Shuffle
Macarena
Cha Cha Slide
Electric Slide
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