Nederlands Dans Theater
Dance apps
With these four interactive whiteboard apps, primary school pupils can explore dance in their own classrooms. Each lesson starts with video clips of dance pieces by choreographers Crystal Pite, Alexander Ekman, or Johan Inger. Teachers and pupils are encouraged to discuss what they see, dance along with the videos, and create their own movements. This approach ensures that every child in the Netherlands has an opportunity to experience dance in an accessible and enjoyable manner.
Cacti
The dance app ‘Cacti’ is designed for young children in Dutch grades 1 and 2, aged 4 to 6 years. It is inspired by the dance piece Cacti by choreographer Alexander Ekman. Young children are invited to move along with catchy dance videos, watch video clips from Cacti together, and engage in discussions using guided viewing questions. They can also invent their own movements by playing with imaginative tasks and interactive animations.
Parade
The dance app ‘Parade’ is designed for children in Dutch grades 3 and 4, aged 7 to 9 years. The application is available through web browsers and is intended to be used in class on a ‘digiboard’. The apps are structured in themes, each with its own parts such as do, watch and play.
The dance piece Parade by Crystal Pite forms the foundation of the lessons, where pupils discuss what they see in selected video fragments, dance along with energising routines, and create their own movements using interactive dance animations.
Dreamplay
The ‘Dreamplay’ app is designed for children in Dutch grades 5 and 6, aged 9 to 11 years, and takes inspiration from the dance piece Dreamplay by Johan Inger. School children discuss what they see together, talk about the themes ‘dreams’ and ‘friendship’ with each other and are inspired to put together their own virtual dream world with interactive animations.
The clips from Dreamplay can be used as a tool for classroom discussion. Dreamplay also features six energizers for pupils to dance to in the classroom. These interactive dance animations allow teachers and pupils to experiment with various types of dance.
The Statement
The dance app ‘The Statement’ is tailored for children in Dutch grades 7 and 8, aged 11 to 13 years, and is based on the dance piece The Statement by Crystal Pite. Pupils watch excerpts from the choreography, discuss the themes presented, and experiment with creating their own dance movements.
The app provides tools for them to play with image fragments and develop their own choreography, which they can perform. Each theme concludes with a lesson encouraging creative interpretations that link the dance themes to the concept of citizenship.
"My experience has been very positive! The app is user-friendly and clear. The students were fascinated and all participated(!)."
Art Teacher, grade 7