Candy Cane Lane: A Peppermint Twist on Dance Class!
Our winter poem for you:
It’s holiday time, and your dancers are crazy!
“What to do for dance class?,” you ask, feeling a bit lazy hazy.
Winter is here, and you want to entertain,
So, take your dancers through our Candy Cane Lane!
Make dance fun with a simple peppermint twist on your regular dance class during these cold months by transforming your classroom into Candy Cane Lane! These fun adventures are perfect for anytime during winter months, so don’t feel limited to just the holidays!
To start, tell your dancers to wear red, white and pink to class. You can hang shimmery fringe curtains or streamers in red, white and pink to create a fun backdrop for your class. It’ll be a bonus if you have some candy cane props–your dancers will really get excited and engaged in the red, pink and white candy-striped activities. You don’t have to buy expensive props…transform items you already have in your studio with fun additions: Add some duck or washi tape to a styrofoam ring or hula hoop, or run some colored tinsel around a cane you already use! Once your room is a magical candy cane land, you’re ready to travel down Candy Cane Lane!
To begin the adventure, incorporate your props into your regular warm-up. Then, create a Candy Cane Lane obstacle course around your dance room. You can even use tape to draw the course into the shape of a candy candy. Have stopping points along the way…pliés (or shuffles) while holding the candy cane, elevé/relevé (or dig jump together) while raising the striped candy ring, or do the peppermint twist with a hula hoop. You can also place our Twirl Flashie Cards at each station to show a step or even 567cre8 cards to inspire creative improv!
Our 567cre8 cards offer so much inspiration, and it just so happens that a lot of them have a wintry feel! For our elementary-ages version of 567cre8, each card includes an image and three descriptive words to help inspire the imagination. A few of the cards you can use for this activity include ice cubes, ice skates, swan, drum, fairy, pony, ballerina, donut and kick line!
Instead of (or in addition to) using the 567cre8 cards in your obstacle course, you can add an improv section of class where each dancer takes a turn at drawing one of the cards. You show the card to the class and read the three words, and then everyone improvs according to that card for 2 eight-counts. Continue until every dancer has a turn at selecting a card. Play a fun song during this activity like Peppermint Twist (by Joey Dee), Candy Cane Jane (by Laurie Berkner Band) or Candy Cane Lane (by Sia).
And, did someone say kick line?! How about a fun candy cane kick line to cap off the class!? You can tell each dancer to wait to begin kicking until you stand behind them holding the striped candy ring above their head. Travel to each dancer until everyone is kicking in the candy cane kick line!
Of course, at the end of class, your dancers will love receiving a special candy cane or peppermint stick as a reward, or even candy striped stickers!
You needed some help, and you needed it quick!
We hope our Candy Cane Lane is just the trick!
To make it more magical you can even do more,
And throw some candy cane confetti on the dance floor!
