School Incursions Program

Kindergarten & Primary School Workshops

LVDP Dance Incursions
Dance as an Experience / Dance as a Performance / Dance as a Discipline

What are dance incursions?

Dance incursions are a fantastic way to expose students to new ways of learning through movement.

Through teamwork, collaboration and imagination, students use dance to improve their health, fitness and understanding of the capacity of their bodies. Dance incursions are also an ideal way to bring together the school community, with students being able to perform what they’ve learnt on stage in front of their families!

How are these sessions structured?

Sessions always start with a warm-up, which is an important part of safe dance practice to activate the students’ muscles and focus their minds on the session ahead. Once warm, facilitators take students through the ‘main activity’; which depending on the type of incursion booked will involve dance technique exercises, choreography or movement concepts related to the specific incursion theme (see below).

The majority of the session is dedicated to this creative process to focus on developing students skills in line with the objectives of the incursion. Before finishing, students are often given the opportunity to perform their choreography or exercises to their peers where feedback can be discussed to identify strengths and potential areas for improvement.

Please allow sessions to go for 45-60 minutes each (depending on the size of the group).

What do we need from you?

• An open space (school hall, multi-purpose or Performing Arts room are ideal)
• Speakers or TV (something to connect a laptop to play music)
• Students to have comfortable shoes and clothing to move around freely

LVDP offers three types of dance incursions:

Dance as an Experience

This incursion is about experiential dance / movement.

The foundations for our ‘Dance as an Experience’ incursions focus on students learning through dance. By using dance as the medium of instruction, students explore real-world concepts as they move, create and express themselves in relation to their reality.

These incursions are designed as a tool for multi/transdisciplinary inquiry units where students make meaningful connections with simultaneous topics such as Health & Physical Education, English, Civics & Citizenship, History, Geography, Critical & Creative Thinking, Intercultural, Personal & Social Capabilities.

LVDP’s vibrant, experienced instructors will work closely with your school to ensure our programs meet the needs of your students. Book us using fully structured LVDP programs or talk to our staff about tailoring the experience to your school’s term theme, values or focus for the year. Inquire to find out more!

All facilitators have a valid Working With Children Check, First Aid & CPR training.

Themes

• I’m Australian Too (Multiculturalism)
• Time Traveller (History / Fantasy)
• Who Am I? (Identity & Belonging)
• Anti-Fragility (Resilience)
• Dance Art (Multimodal Arts Practice)
• Digital Self (Social Media)
• Navigating Discomfort (Setting Boundaries)
• Body Proud / Positivity

Dance as a Performance

This incursion is about dance choreography and how to perform to an audience.

The foundations for our ‘Dance as a Performance’ incursions focus on students learning how to dance effectively when performing for an audience. By working with their peers to embody a sequence of movements, students develop their capacity to perform on stage with confidence and expression.

These incursions are designed for students to learn a fun piece of choreography that can then be performed to the school community! It’s ideally suited for schools to utilise this incursion as a performance at assemblies, events, Wakakirri competitions or EOY concerts.

LVDP’s vibrant facilitators will come and work with your school, with the ability to choose the scope of the engagement, such as working with one class, one year level or all students across our time with you. Our program is fully flexible – we are able to teach each class or year level its own choreography / styles that can be adapted to your school’s theme or focus for an upcoming event. Inquire to find out more!

All facilitators have valid Working With Children Checks, First Aid & CPR training.

Styles

Book us for an individual or set of sessions for students to learn a routine from:

• Ballet – the classical style of grace, strength, flexibility, balance and self-discipline.
• Contemporary – an abstract version of ballet with less strict ‘rules’.
• Jazz – an energetic, upbeat style that leaves students feeling confident and smiling.
• Hip Hop – a vibrant, face-paced style that focuses on attitude and self-expression.
• Musical Theatre – singing, dancing and acting in one character-driven style.
• Bollywood – a cultural immersion into the vibrant Indian style known as Bollywood.

Levels

What level of dance routine do your students need?

• Beginner dance routine (no experience)
• Intermediate dance routine (1-2 years experience)
• Master dance routine (3-5 years experience)
• Mixed dance routine (varied levels of experience)

Dance as a Discipline

This incursion is about dance technique.

The foundations for our ‘Dance as a Discipline’ incursions focus on students learning about the discipline of dance. As students practice the technique of a dance style, they gain an understanding of both the technical movements involved in dance styles, as well as what goes into the fundamentals of safe dance practice.

LVDP offers ‘Dance as a Discipline’ incursions in a range of styles. Our vibrant facilitators have all undertaken extensive industry training, performed professionally to countless audiences and have many years of dance teaching experience.

All facilitators have valid Working With Children Checks, First Aid & CPR training.

Styles

Book us for an individual or set of sessions for students to master the discipline of:

• Ballet – the classical style of grace, strength, flexibility, balance and self-discipline.
• Contemporary – an abstract version of ballet with less strict ‘rules’.
• Hip Hop – a vibrant, face-paced style that focuses on attitude and self-expression.
• Musical Theatre – singing, dancing and acting in one character-driven style.
• Jazz – an energetic, upbeat style that leaves students feeling confident and smiling.
• Brain, Body & Breath – developing students’ wellbeing by using mindfulness and stretching techniques to strengthen self/body awareness.
• Dancing Strong – incorporating strength exercises with dance to develop dancers’ technique.

Levels

What level of dance class do your students need?

• Beginner dance class (no experience)
• Intermediate dance class (1-2 years experience)
• Master dance class (3-5 years experience)
• Mixed dance class (varied levels of experience)

Who we are

La Vérité Dance Projects is a collaborative creative arts company which was founded by Stephanie Georges in 2015. LVDP teaches the technique and discipline of dance, whilst creating a platform for self-discovery and development. Our name, La Vérité, is derived from the French word meaning ‘the truth’. We teach, perform and connect through dance because we recognise its potential to explore and comprehend the truth about ourselves. Ultimately, we want to be good to dance and to do good with dance, because when nurtured correctly, it can do incredible things.

LVDP’s Objectives:

• To increase students’ social development by connecting them to their community through dance workshops.
• To offer workshops that allow students to learn about dance, to dance, and through dance as a process of meaning making.
• To develop students’ balance, coordination, strength, stamina and grace through dance technique classes.
• To offer students a platform to develop their creative expression and self-discovery through experiential dance classes.

Program Facilitator

LVDPs dance incursions are led by Nicole Hrissis; a dancer and qualified primary-school teacher. Nicole received her Bachelor of Primary Education (Honours) from Monash University, where her honours research paper focused on, ‘In what ways do movement-based practices increase student engagement?’

Nicole’s recent work has included the role of Performing Arts Specialist at a primary school in Melbourne’s South-East. She has developed a wealth of experience in facilitating an engaging and rigorous dance program, where students cover the Victorian Curriculum whilst exploring creative ideas.

By combining our training and experience in education, dance and creative arts therapy, LVDPs dance incursions draw on movement concepts that are age-appropriate for young children, whilst also promoting greater awareness and wellbeing.