The challenges that dance teachers face from this pandemic are many. The ones impacting preschoolers include less movement, more screen time and a multitude of distractions at home. This is taking a toll on their behavior and listening skills when they come to dance class.
In this episode, Andrea Trench, Dance Educator and creator of Discover Dance shares tips to create an enriched learning environment in your classroom and reach and teach multiple learning styles (VAKT) through see, say, do, play. You’ll get tips that will enhance the quality of the dance education you are providing along with increased student focus and participation. This can help with choreography retention as well as it helps student understand and apply corrections and feedback. Ultimately making dance class a fun and engaging experience that your youngest students will look forward to each week!
Andrea Trench
Andrea Trench, is a dance educator with over 20 years of teaching experience. Holding a B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Andrea specializes in early childhood dance education as well as modern dance.
In 2005, while teaching preschool with now business partner, Renee Deets, Andrea began incorporating creative dance into the preschool curriculum. She decided to offer a summer dance camp for the preschoolers. The success from that summer led to the creation of Elite Dance Academy in Homer Glen, Illinois in 2006. Their early childhood program started with 7 preschoolers. Over the next decade, the vision of DiscoverDance became a reality and hundreds of little ones continue to go through the conceptual based program each year.
In 2016, Andrea was encouraged to offer her curriculum to other teachers looking for a fresh approach to early childhood dance education. She began offering tips and ideas on social media platforms before launching her complete program in August 2017. Since launching, DiscoverDance is now being taught at studios in Greece, Costa Rica, Canada, and throughout the United States. She is a sought-after presenter at teacher training workshops and conferences and continues to spread the awareness of the importance of conceptual learning in dance education, especially in early childhood classes.
Andrea lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband, Tim, and two kids, Julia and Ryan (both DiscoverDance graduates). She loves Jesus, all things Disney, and snuggling with her dog, Toby.