Koresh Kids Dance

Bring Koresh Kids Dance to your public school 

Beginning in 2006, Koresh Kids Dance provides free high-quality weekly in-school creative dance instruction to Philadelphia public school students in grades 2-5.

Through KKD, students learn fundamental dance techniques, how to create choreography, and to bridge dance with life skills including self-confidence, discipline, and collaboration.

Koresh Kids Dance enables children to tell their own stories through movement vocabularies that are meaningful to them. The program is geared toward educating the whole person and enriching the lives of students. We believe dance is a powerful tool for educating individuals and are committed to doing our part to include dance in the curriculum of Philadelphia’s school students.

Students experience the joy of dance both as a participant and viewer, and gain meaningful educational experiences to supplement their existing education.

MISSION

Koresh Kids Dance provides high-quality weekly dance instruction to students in Philadelphia public schools. The classes teach students fundamental dance technique while educating the whole person. Koresh educators create a safe space for children to learn to dance, create dance, and to bridge dance with life skills including self-confidence, discipline, respect, and healthy self-expression. The program culminates with a performance at the end of the year that cultivates teamwork, leadership skills, and a sense of accomplishment.

CURRICULUM

Our creative dance curriculum invites students to create their own dances. While our professional teachers teach students fundamental dance technique, the entire experience is geared toward connecting to the whole child. Koresh Kids Dance prioritizes flexibility in working with schools and classroom teachers, connecting to schools’ cultures and ongoing projects, and incorporating elements of classroom curricula.

“In an age where arts programs are being cut left and right from public schools, Koresh Kids Dance is a beacon that provides an important outlet for young students, fostering their creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills” - Philly is Dancing.

THE KORESH EFFECT

Koresh Dance Company’s Artistic Director, Roni Koresh, started dancing as a child in Israel. It was in Philadelphia that he became a choreographer, choosing to tell human stories based in passionate memory and the everyday gestures of his own experience—learned not only in the dance studio, but in dance clubs, during his military service, and in the casual postures and movements of the city street. In developing the Koresh Kids Dance program, Director Lindsey Jaynes builds on parallel artistic commitments, designing a curriculum that enables children to tell their own, human stories through the movement vocabularies that are most meaningful in their own lives.

2022-23 Year in recap

Koresh Kids Dance is excited to be wrapping up our 17th year of bringing dance education to elementary schools throughout the School District of Philadelphia. This year our programming reached 11 schools, 32 classrooms and 700 students in 2nd-5th and special education classrooms. Students and teaching artists explored our 2022-2023 program theme "Creating Together" throughout the school year, discussing and creating dances focused on the challenges and joys of collaboration and teamwork.

In April, we celebrated the return of our annual program field trip, held in-person for the first time since 2019, as we welcomed our 11 partner schools to a performance and interactive lecture-demonstration by the Koresh Dance Company. Koresh Kids Dance is also excited to be participating this spring in the "Festival of Strong Practice" professional learning project hosted by WolfBrown and the William Penn Foundation. 

Our 2022-2023 teaching artist team: Lindsey Jaynes, Loren Groenendaal, Margot Steinberg, Julianna Boylan, Jessica Afflerbach, Cameron Bridgers, Angelica Spilis

Quotes

Hear from our students…

I felt very proud of myself and my classmates. When we were finished it felt like I was on the top of the world! -5th grade student

It taught me how to by myself instead of trying to be someone I’m not - 5th Grade Student

 I felt proud because we looked like real dancers. -3rd grade student

When I dance, I feel like a winner. -4th grade student

At first I felt worn out and tired, but then I was excited for what we would do next. I don't really like to dance, but I feel safe when I dance with [Koresh] and the class. -5th grade student

Hear from the Teachers…

I have seen students express themselves in ways that they never have through the Koresh Kids Dance program. -4th grade teacher

Every student was engaged in the activities. It was a safe space where students were able to express themselves creatively. Each class was well planned, choreographed and built on concepts taught in previous classes. -5th grade teacher

One highlight of the program was watching children who do not always have success in the classroom succeed at dance. Students used dance to express themselves and learned tenacity to achieve a goal. -3rd grade teacher

Hear from the Press…

The Philadelphia Tribune “Childs Elementary has lots of programs in its learning equation” - March 3, 2020 // Click Here for full article.

Koresh Kids Dance by the Numbers

24 classes per week • 4 grade levels • 6 credentialed teaching artists • 10 public schools
• 13 years of instruction, creation, and care

Fostering Creative Change in Philadelphia since 2006

Thanks to the support of...

The William Penn Foundation

The Dexter F. and Dorothy H. Baker Foundation

Allen Hilles Foundation

Philadelphia Cultural Fund through the Youth Arts Enrichment Grant

Sheila Fortune Foundation

Joseph Skilling Foundation

Zeldin Family Foundation

Interested in seeing

Koresh Kids Dance at your school?

Please contact Lindsey Jaynes, Outreach Director: koreshkidsdance@gmail.com or click below...

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