The DANZKOOL

confidence, focus, friendships

IT'S ABOUT THE KIDS AND LEARNING

My name is Tim . I work with kids (Grades 3-7) who are often labeled as ‘learning challenged', but what I see are kids who learn best through movement. I have witnessed amazing transformations take place—a 4th-Grader overcoming Dyslexia to spell compound-words; an Indigenous youth breaking her truancy-habit to embrace dance class in school; a teen who is "on the spectrum" nervously practicing newfound social skills with his classmates. To share but a few stories from the classroom.

"I wish the dancing could go on forever." - 5th-grader, Luna

DARE-2-Dance-Your-Brain is a parent- and community-led, research-informed learning experience that helps children build confidence, focus, and self-regulation—especially those who learn differently or are navigating new learning environments. At every class, a team of teaching-artists uses joyful, structured and progressive movement to strengthen cognitive, social and emotional skills needed for higher executive function—helping diverse learners build focus, regulation, confidence, and readiness for learning.

"My shy students shone; my struggling students took risks." – Alicia M., Gr 7 teacher, Douglas Elementary.

We’ve partnered with the Charitable Impact Foundation to maximize our impact. Thanks to our generous donors, the program is free for schools and family support services which serve marginalized and income-stressed communities.

To date, over 2,000 students across Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, and Surrey have benefitted from our teaching residencies and after-school programs. A gift of $150 sponsors one child for the 6-week in-school program.

'Charitable Impact' is a registered Canadian charity. To find out more, or make a donation, visit the ‘DARE-2-Danzkool Project’ page.

NEWS & VIEWS