#totesadorbs Beastly BFFs to Dazzle Your Class

by on Oct 12 '16

As a dance teacher of young children, chances are you already know that adding props to your dance class is a no-brainer. The anticipation of the fun activity that accompanies your props can literally hold the full attention of a classroom of twelve 4-year-olds for, what, at least… 30 seconds! Right?!

In keeping with our fun + fanciful approach to dance class, we love to create imaginative props that are both awe-inspiring and budget-friendly. They are super simple to craft, and they make dance class more fun!

Meet three of our new beastly prop BFFs we created to DAZZLE our classes! They are #totesadorbs!

Salina the Giraffe Ballerina

Dabney the Tap-Diggity Dino

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Holla the Hip Hop Triceratops

Before we provide suggestions on how to use these fun props in class, first we want to share the simple way we bedazzled these adorable…beasts!

To start, we purchased the three large, plastic toys at a local craft store. Your options are limitless, so choose any animal (or creature) of your liking! We knew we wanted to dazzle a prop for ballet, tap and hip hop, so we looked for anything that inspired us in each style.

We used spray paint, glitter, ribbon, pipe cleaners and colored pompoms that we already had on hand from our fun faculty fall crafting party to make each of our props look the part! The only items we purchased were the top hat and bow tie for Dabney and the sparkly sneakers for Holla, all of which came from Hobby Lobby. And, a hot glue gun did most of the work!

Now that we have our bedazzled, beastly prop friends, how do we use them to elevate the creativity in our classes and capture the limited attention spans of our youngest dancers? Here are a few suggestions, but there really is no end to the fun ways you can incorporate these cuties into your classes!

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Salina the Giraffe Ballerina can be used to demonstrate the elongated neck desired in ballet and general stretching of the body. Place her strategically atop a stool or at center stage before you begin the activity. You can remind the dancers that ballerinas stretch tall like a giraffe when they bourrée, relevé, etc., and that they always have an elongated neck. When they reach the spot where Salina stands, give them an action to do (stretch, curtsy, etc.) before they return to the line.

Dabney the Tap-Diggity Dino loves to tap! You can use her in a “Simon Says” fashion with different tap steps, like shuffle, dig or ball change, by announcing to the class which steps Dabney wants to see. For example, “Dabney says…SHUFFLE, Dabney says…STOP, Dabney says…” You could also allow dancers to hold Dabney while doing their shuffles! Dancers will love the engagement with their adorable new Dino-friend!

Holla the Hip Hop Triceratops is a reminder to dance full-out and have fun! Bring her out when you want to pep up the class, and tell them that she wants to see them do their absolute very best! We suggest making up a few DINO-mite dance moves with dino arms, stomping their feet, and even shouting “Holla!”

All three of these amazing beastly BFFs make great decor when not being used in class and are guaranteed to get a fun reaction from kids and adults alike!

We would love to hear your ideas on how these three characters can make dance class more fun and engaging! And, if you decide to make your own characters, make sure you share them on social media and use our hashtag #confettionthedancefloor!

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Happy crafting and dancing!

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4 Comments

  • These are awesome! Thanks for the great ideas!

  • I’m just loving your blog and ideas!!’ This is too cute and I’ll have to post what animals we end up with:)) we did a pumpkin decorating party last weekend with staff and that was a hit too! Thanks for being inspiring and for sharing

    • Thank you so much, Katie! We are so excited that you are feeling inspired by the posts! We would love to see pics from your pumpkin party and definitely want to see your fun props once you create them! Tag us when you post using #confettionthedancefloor, and for your pumpkin party, use hashtag #halloweekonthedancefloor. Have fun!!

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