The Importance of Partners in Folk Dance

The students in my classroom have started the year off on the right...and left foot! They have been exploring different cultures and different genres of music through musical stories and folk dance. We have had a blast learning about other places in the world and even some right here in the United States.

Not only is folk dance one of the important factors in preserving history and culture around the world, it also has many other educational benefits. Some of those benefits include hand/eye coordination, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and possibly the most important is social/emotional skills and teamwork. Social/emotional learning accompanied with teamwork is a very valuable skill to have to be successful and by reinforcing those skills with a fun folk dance, it makes learning more accessible and enjoyable.

While performing these folk dances, students must have a partner. If they do not have a partner, they will be unable to complete their portion of the task (dance). They learn to work together and acquire the skills to be able to work with anyone in the class, regardless if they are the best of friends or not. This is important because they are building relationships with others and learning tolerance and acceptance of all students. They are also having fun with one another and once they know all the steps to the dance, they are able to relax, follow the music and enjoy the finished product that they worked so hard to accomplish TOGETHER!

Below are two examples of these folk dances. The first is a Russian dance called "Sasha," and the second is a traditional country folk dance called "Alabama Gal." Enjoy!