Off the Wall Dances for young children
2 - 8 year olds

by Gary & Carol Crees

Contents
Introduction
About the Authors

Volume Two 
Introduction

Folk dancing has many learning implications for children.

It increases body awareness, gross motor skills, social and emotional as well as physical development.

So, it is a whole person activity.

It encourages cognitive and language development, is a means of self expression & social contact.

It is a wonderful way to explore the great diversity of our multicultural heritage & of course is fun & relaxing.

PLEASE NOTE

The activities are in order of difficulty, easy activities first, more difficult later (except for activities specified for children with disabilities). So, for young children you may not complete all the activities. For older children the first activities are a good way to familiarise them with the music & you will be able to move through them quickly. I have deliberately avoided giving age suitability as all groups have such diverse abilities & dance experience.

All dances are traditional, except for Mirrors, Robots, The Train (authors unknown), Hungry Goanna & Toe the Line composed by Gary & Carol. © 1998 G & C Crees.

Teachers notes written by Carol. Design, Layout and Music notation by Gary.
Cover illustration & design by Steve Panozzo, Noz Productions.
Music adapted, arranged & recorded by Gary Dec 97 - Jan 98.
Mixed and mastered by Kerry Lambe, Creative Options.
Lynne Crane: sax, recorder & flute.
Derek Davies: violin
Jill Brown: vocals.
Illustrations by Shannon McIntyre Crees, Joshua & Hannah Fodera, John & Benjamin Mclntyre-Grimau,
and children from Telarah Public School Pre-school, Maitland & Mosman Pre-school.

The teaching material and songs are aimed at 2 - 8 year olds.
We have endeavoured to the best of our abilities to research and record the music as authentically as possible.
We have adapted the dances to make them more suitable for early childhood use.

This resource kit is dedicated to the spirit of reconciliation, tolerance and harmony between all the various wonderful cultures represented in Australia today.

Contents - 30 pages

.

Song

Country

Time

1

Bridge of Avignon

France

2'22"

2

Carnivalito

Bolivia

4'37"

3

Hungry Goanna

Australia

2'39"

4

Itchigomichi

Japan

2'57"

5

Jibidi

Finland

1'41"

6

Kukuvicka

Bulgaria

4'22"

7

La Raspa

Mexico

3'18"

8

Let's Dance Together

Vietnam

2'24"

9

Mirrors

China

2'03"

10

Pour Passer Le Rhone

France

2'04"

11

Pulu Te Vaka

Tuvalu

2'10"

12

Rabbit Polka

France

2'00"

13

Robots

3'02"

14

The Dancing Snake

Holland

3'07"

15

The Train

Holland

4'45"

16

Toe the Line

Australia

4'21"

.

Music notation for the Dances

The Authors

Gary & Carol Crees

Gary & Carol are trained teachers with many years of experience performing & leading groups in early childhood, school & family gatherings in N.S.W.
They are accredited performers with the N.S.W. Dept. of Ed. in recognition of consistent, quality educational performances.

Adventures in Music & Off the Wall Dances are their most recent performances.

Leading workshops in music, dance & singing is something that Gary & Carol enjoy particularly at early childhood level. Producing tapes & resources for teachers is a current enterprise that is keeping Gary & Carol busy. These resources include Singasongalon, Ready or Not! Dances for Young Children & a new collection, Songs from Around the World for Young Children. Recent highlights in their career have been leading workshops for groups such as Continuing Education, Macquarie University, Macleay College, Bankstown TA.F.E., Milperra T.A.F.E., Macarthur Migrant Resource Centre, Orff Schulwerk National Conference & M.E.I.S. Conference.

Gary has wide ranging musical abilities gained from a career that has seen him working as a professional performer, composer & arranger & musical director. This new production uses all his diverse skills & all from home!

Carol's interests are in multicultural dance & music for Early Childhood. Selecting appropriate songs & finding ways to move, sing & play to that music have given her a challenge & a lot of fun during the compilation of this tape.

 

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