Much thanks to the children, educators, parents and administrators who participated in and supported the first Kids Make Dance pilot project: Kids Make Hip Hop.

Kids Make Hip Hop was a week-long program that took place in Queens, New York from July 27-31, 2009. Kids Make Hip Hop represents our initial exploration of a new educational approach and framework for child-centered dance-making that integrates proven dance teaching methodologies and practices with the Internet, digital technologies and social media.

Our goal is to empower children of all ages, with and without a background in dance, to create their own dances, and document and share their movement explorations with inexpensive multimedia tools and the reach of the global Internet.

On our Kids Make Hip Hop website, you can explore all aspects of this pilot project and access a wealth of multimedia content in video and image formats.

Kids Make Dance - Focus and Benefits:

The Kids Make Hip Hop pilot and Kids Make Dance projects in general provide participating children (1st through 12th grades) with:

• The skill sets and analytical tools they need to make, document, review, revise, perform, evaluate and share their dance-making.

• Opportunities to partner with choreographers, dancers and dance companies who provide fresh ideas and expanded possibilities for creating different types and styles of dance.

• A multidisciplinary approach to education that combines a range of relevant art forms that build upon different dance styles and genres.

• A community-oriented approach that connects dance-making and learning with important historical and local resources that add greater meaning and a richer educational opportunity for students.

• An introduction to digital tools and technologies that enhance opportunities for exploration and instruction, enabling children to document, self-assess, analyze, offer feedback and share their work, creative process, choreography and dancing with the global Internet audience.