The History of the Dance Experience
In 1998, 12-year-old Cara Padilla Jensen held her first Dance Experience workshop at Krug School in Montogmery, Illinois, to an audience of twenty-four first and second-graders. The concept was to introduce dance to children who otherwise were unlikely to have such an experience. Cara gave the kids a taste of the three major styles of dance taught in traditional studios: ballet, tap and jazz. She gave a demonstration and brief historical overview of each type of dance, followed by a short interactive workshop in which students learned some basic movements and technique. The workshop was originally intended as an integral part of a social studies unit which Cara's mother, Master Teacher/NBCT Karen Jensen, was teaching in her multi-age primary classroom. But the concept was so popular that other teachers in the building began requesting workshops for their classes as well. A few years later, Cara found herself immersed in the school climate, teaching workshops and acting as Assistant Director and Choreographer for Krug's Youngstars Drama Club. Cara continues to work with the Drama Club to this day, but has not offered more workshops in several years... until now!
As a result of her earlier experience with these in-school workshops, as well as her desire to bring dance to children on a wider scale than is currently offered, Miss Cara has developed the concept of Miss Cara's Dance Experience. The programs can be tailored to fit your school's individual needs, and workshops can be integrated into the school day. Miss Cara's Dance Experience offers a wide range of programs, and each workshop is custom-designed to be developmentally appropriate for any grade level from Pre-K to 5th grade. Miss Cara also offers all-school assemblies, to be incorporated with individual class workshops or to be held on their own without individual workshops.
To learn more about the programs offered by Miss Cara's Dance Experience, click on the Programs button in the upper right corner of this page. |
