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Incorporating a Brain Dance warmup into each creative drama class a playful way to create focus. As students reach, climb, and curl in self-space, they are actually building focus and regulation. Once the movement patterns are learned, you can even make up your own Brain Dances! You’ll find this warmup and other fun activities in the full Occupations Themed Creative Drama Lesson.
The Brain Dance, developed by dance educator Anne Green Gilbert, is an 8-step movement sequence based on the developmental patterns humans naturally move through during the first year of life. Cycling through these patterns helps organize the central nervous system and integrate the brain and body at any age.
The 8 Patterns:
Breath
Tactile
Core-Distal
Head-Tail
Upper-Lower
Body-Side
Cross-Lateral
Vestibular (In these videos, we use “whole body” instead of vestibular)
Learn more about Brain Dance here:
Brain Dance Lesson
Brain Dance Video
