Let's Dance!

"First position, round those arms, pinch the penny!"  My voice echoed off the walls of Hope Hall this summer every Tuesday and Thursday morning this past month.  Though I've never taught a dance class before, I had the pleasure of sharing my love for dancing with about a dozen  4-10 year old girls.

We had a blast exploring different elements of dance, i.e. quick, slow, sharp, smooth, high, low, big, small.  We explored how to dance with streamers and hula hoops!  We learned about the importance of stretching and even did a bit of line dancing!  And of course, we learned ballet!  The girls were ecstatic to learn and practice their positions and ballet technique.  Using the backs of chairs for our "bar" and clearing a few rows for circle exercises, we managed quite well.

Though the age range was challenging, I was happy to see progress in each student.  At the end of each class, we held hands in a circle to pray and thank God for giving us the gift of dance.  We always discussed that one of the main reasons we dance is to bring glory to our Heavenly Father.  I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to bring dance to some of the girls at Sahel Academy and within the community.  Bringing joy to these little dancers has definitely been a summer highlight!

"Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp."  Psalm 149:3