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Leaps and Bounds, Los Gatos Ballet’s dance-in-schools program was developed to introduce ballet to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to take dance or receive other arts education classes.
“Arts education is crucial in developing well-rounded students. In addition to fostering physical fitness and an active lifestyle, exposure to the study and practice of dance helps students gain valuable skills in critical thinking and creative problem solving. Through ongoing exposure, “academic research shows a clear, positive and demonstrable link between involvement in the arts and students’ academic achievement, engagement with learning, motivation, self-esteem, and the ability to collaborate with others.”
(Silicon Valley Community Foundation Arts & Culture Issue Brief, 2007)
Los Gatos Ballet’s Leaps and Bounds program provides the following benefits:
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Teaches children ballet basics: elementary stretches and steps, simple choreography, dance vocabulary, musical timing and rhythms
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Collaborates with the school’s performing arts teacher to integrate ballet instruction into the performing arts classroom curriculum
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Incorporates age-appropriate California State Performing Arts Standards into instruction
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Provides the school children with positive role models, along with giving the dancers the opportunity to gain mentoring experience
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Offers children who rarely go on field trips the opportunity to attend the LGB performances
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Builds relationships with classroom teachers and parents with the future goal of finding ways to fully integrate dance and arts education into the classroom and the children’s every day lives
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