10 Resources for International Dance Day

International Dance Day is celebrated every year on 29th April and it aims to raise people's awareness of dance, encouraging new people to follow dance events and activities. If you're planning to take part with your children, try using some of these ideas and resources...

1) BBC School Radio - The BBC offer some fantastic free audio resources that can be used in dance lessons with children aged 5-7, 6-8 and 9-11. These are available as downloadable podcasts and also include notes for teachers.

2) Dance Ideas - Our own site features a number of dance teaching ideas and resources including some plans for Years 1, 2 and 3 and a Freestyle Dance plan.

3) National Dance Teachers Association - The NDTA have a number of free PDFs available to download on their Primary Resources page. These include many dance ideas linked to different geography, history and literacy topics.

4) imovesdance offer videos and lesson plans to help you teach PE and dance. Their products aren't free but they do currently offer a free 45 day trial so that you can evaluate the content.

5) Thought of You - This beautiful animation tells the story of love and loss. Could you use this as inspiration for your own dance activities?

6) Primary Resources have a number of lesson plans to support your dance teaching. These are linked to The Enormous Crocodile, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Space, Greek Myths and more!

7) PECentral have an enormous list of dance lesson ideas, many of which have related videos. Take a look at the Dance of the Storm Troopers!

8) Giraffes Can't Dance - This popular book by Giles Andreae tells the story of Gerald the giraffe. He wants to go to the Jungle Dance but everybody knows that giraffes can't dance... or can they? This book could be a great starting point for a range of activities with your children. The National Dance Teachers Association also have some related ideas.

9) This Pinterest board is full of ideas and resources too. 

10) Youtube has a huge collection of dance videos and dance tutorials which your children can follow. Here are some examples:

Are you getting involved in International Dance Day this year? Leave a comment below to tell us how you're taking part!