Dance workshops | School Workshop

We specialise in cultural and educational dance workshops to fit with all curriculum topics

We specialise in cultural dance styles from around the world, making our workshops really inclusive. They can also link in with the cultural and religious festival that happen through the year. You can choose one dance style for all workshops, or have several styles taught for different classes throughout the day. We bring props, pictures and costumes for the children (where possible), to enhance their learning potential. We tailor the dance workshops to suit your timetable. If you want to end the day with an assembly, the students can perform in an informal sharing. This is great fun for everyone to see what they have been working hard at, plus it gives a great sense of achievement. Let us know the topic or themes you are studying and we will create a dance workshop to inspire and challenge your students. We teach so many different dance styles - but take a look at some of our most popular dance workshops below...

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Format

EYFS: 7 sessions x 30 mins
(30 participants per session)
Primary: 7 sessions x 45 mins
(30 participants per session)
Secondary/Higher: 4 sessions x 1 hr 15 mins
(30 participants per session)

Our workshops can range in length from 30mins for early years, to 1hr + for KS2 and above.

Age Groups

All Year Groups

Indian/Diwali/South Asian Heritage workshops

Indian dance is great for boys and girls. It has infectious music that makes everyone want to dance along!

We offer Bollywood themed dance workshops, also linking in with South Asian Heritage month. We can also tailor it especially for Diwali or Holi festival.

Our Diwali workshops include showing Diva lamps, Indian costumes, telling the story of Rama and Sita and then doing lots of fun Bollywood dancing.

Dressing up:

We bring colourful scarves for the children to dress up in, to get into the Bollywood spirit.

Your teacher will also wear an Indian outfit to give the children an idea of what a Bollywood dancer would wear.

The workshops will follow this format:

Brief introduction into Indian dance and it's history (or telling about Diwali or Holi)
Dance warm up
Teaching Mudras (classical hand positions)
Teaching a Bollywood dance routine
The children may have time to work on and add on a bit of their choreography
Cool down and stretch

Decades Dance Workshops

If you are studying a particular period in history, why not make it come alive with some Decades dance workshops?

The students will listen to the music, look at photos of the period and try some fun dance workshops to get an extra flavour of the time they are studying….

Different dance periods in History:

17th & 18th Centuries: Court Dances, Tudor dance, Medieval, Baroque, Regency
1920’s: Charleston
1930’s: Swing, Jitterbug, Waltz and other Ballroom styles
1940’s: Lindy Hop
1950’s: Rock and Roll
1960’s: Twist, Hand Jive
1970’s: Disco
1980’s: Hip Hop, Breakdance, Contemporary

The workshops will follow this format:

Brief introduction into the chosen dance and it's history
Dance warm up
Teaching a dance routine
The children may have time to work on and add on a bit of their choreography
Cool down and stretch

International Day workshops

Our International Day workshops are great fun for learning about countries around the world.

You can choose different countries for each workshop, so that they get to do a range of world dance styles throughout the school.

You could end with a fun assembly so that each class shares their countries dance at the end of the day.

We bring props and costumes to show the children, linking to each country. This increases their learning, giving an unforgettable experience.

The workshops will follow this format:

Brief introduction into your particular countries dance and it's history
Dance warm up
Teaching a dance routine
The children may have time to work on and add on a bit of their choreography
Cool down and stretch

Black History Month Workshops

Celebrate Black History Month with some African dance. It's great for all ages as it's really physical and full of character.

There are 54 countries in Africa and the dance styles vary hugely. Let me know if there's a specific African country you want us to focus on, or if you are happy with a general African style?

We bring lots of African props, pictures and costumes to show the students at the start of each workshop. We also bring in African material belts for the students to wear (where possible).

The workshops will follow this format:

Brief introduction into African dance and it's history
Dance warm up
Teaching a dance routine
The children may have time to work on and add on a bit of their choreography
Cool down and stretch

Chinese Dance Workshops

For Chinese New Year, or at any time, our Chinese fan dance workshops are great fun.

During Chinese New Year, your workshop will start with the dance teacher telling the story of the new year and how the animals came to be those chosen ones in the zodiac. It’s a really fun story, especially for early years and KS1 classes.

We will then teach everyone a traditional Chinese dance using Chinese fan props.

The students can pre make their own simple paper fans before we come in, if you want to make that into an activity to link with it. Or we can bring in Chinese paper fans for everyone to use. Just let us know which you’d prefer.

Props and costumes:

We show lots of props before starting the dance workshops – this makes it really interactive for the participants and children love exploring new things. It also gives them a bit of background about a different culture.

Things such as lanterns, a Chinese flag, a lion puppet, lucky hanging ornaments, decorative fans, pictures of Dragon dances and costumes.

The workshops will follow this format:

Brief introduction into the Chinese dance and it's history
Dance warm up
Teaching a traditional fan dance routine
The children may have time to work on and add on a bit of their choreography
Cool down and stretch

Additional Info

Half day workshops from £250.00 plus travel

Full day workshops from £380.00 plus travel

The travel costs will be added if you are outside London. They are calculated depending on your school's location and we will find the cheapest option for you.

We take up to 30 students per workshop. If you have more than that taking part that is fine, we would just need to provide multiple dance teachers for your workshops.

Day Itinerary*

Half Day Workshops

We offer half day workshops which last 2.5hrs and you can choose to have it in the morning or afternoon. You can have lots of different workshops within this time.

Full Day Workshops

We offer full day workshops which are from 9am till 3.15pm. You can have lots of different workshops within this time, it is up to the school to do the timetable. We require a 10min break in the morning, and an hour's lunch break.

* The activities may vary on the day depending on the length of the sessions and the age and ability of the participants.

Gallery

A selection of cultural African costumes and props

Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Links

Teaching dance techniques
We will teach different dance techniques depending on the chosen dance style. Each dance has it's own style, so your students will get a broad range of practical skills learnt.
Creativity
We encourage everyone's creativity. In dance there is no right or wrong, so we embrace everyone's personal dance style and how they choose to move.
Performance
We love performing and there are so many benefits to it. So why not add in an informal performance from your students at the end of the day with us? Everyone will get to see the other classes and what they have been working hard at within their dance workshops.

Cost

Half day workshops from £250.00 plus travel

Full day workshops from £380.00 plus travel

The travel costs will be added if you are outside London. They are calculated depending on your school's location and we will find the cheapest option for you.

We take up to 30 students per workshop.

If you have more than that taking part that is fine, we would just need to provide multiple dance teachers for your workshops.

Testimonials

On behalf of all of the KS1 team at Greenfields, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for yesterday’s Bollywood dance workshops looking at Hindu stories. The children absolutely loved the day and when we were doing our class activities they were all really keen to find out more about the stories you told them about. Staff across the school commented on how great the end of the day assembly was and it was fantastic to see all of the children getting involved.

Natalie Sabonchan, Greenfields Primary School

Just to say an enormous thank you for your fantastic work with the children this week! It was an absolute delight to sit back and watch them perform today and I am very impressed with what they can remember. We have thoroughly enjoyed having you in school and the children have gained so much from their South American themed dance lessons with you. You provided three inspirational teachers and we love what you do!

Sophie Hughes, Kings Hawford School

Zest provides fun and engaging dance workshops on a range of historical, geographical and cultural themes; with strong subject knowledge and excellent delivery. Zest supported our school in our recent Geography Day celebration; teaching children a range of dances from around the world. She also gave some cultural background and interesting stories about the dances and her own experiences of them. She even bought in props and costumes to really engage the children; who said they felt “real like Bollywood stars” when performing! It was a fantastic day; enhanced by Olivia’s enthusiasm. Children of all ages and abilities participated with the dances and were keen to share their learning in a well choreographed performance in our celebration assembly.

Cara Murphy, St Anns Catholic Primary School

Francis was amazing!! It was really a fantastic day and the kids got so much from it. The African dance performance the day after was a huge success and they boys all remembered the dances well. Thank you so much for giving us the exact experience we were looking for. I look forward to working with you in the future.

Rachel Iddols, Dartford Grammar School for boys

Many thanks for all your assistance with our dance workshops today. Krupa was AMAZING she did an outstanding job and was wonderful with the students. She has that something special with SEN students, the ability adapt to their needs, I saw this in one workshop towards the end of the day where 3 students in wheelchairs were able to really enjoy the routine, that I noted she had adapted to include more upper rather than lower body movements. Thank you to Krupa and Zest.

Elizabeth Kosky, Shaftesbury High School

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About This Provider (Zest Dance Workshops)

Head Office: Zest Dance Workshops, London, Greater London, N8 0DB

Zest Dance Workshops offers cultural, educational and fun workshops to Primary, Secondary and Special needs schools. We offer a large range of dance themes, to tie in with all curriculum topics, to enhance the learning of your students.

Our workshops can range in length from 30mins for early years, to 1hr + for KS2 and above.

Black History Month, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Diwali, Halloween, Hindu Festival of Holi, International Literacy Day, International Women's Day, National Poetry Day, Olympics, Sports Day, St. George's Day, World Book Day, World Music Day

Locations in England
Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, East Sussex, Essex, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, London, Merseyside, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, West Sussex

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