This past fall I started and volunteered to coach a cheer and dance team for our middle school students. I had about 12 cheerleaders which evolved into having a dance class during the school day. I now have 27 amazing children of all genders learning dance everyday with me. Just in the class since January, we have done some basic meringue, and Waltz, as well as having learned the original choreography to the "Bye Bye Bye" chorus and an original contemporary choreography to "House of Gold" by 21 Pilots.
These students live to be active, and dance has allowed them to channel their energy into a positive group experience.
We live in a place where playing outside is not an option most of the year, so finding indoor activities is incredibly important. Dance is not big here, and I hope with the right tools and encouragement more of our students and community will fall in love.
My Project
Currently our dance class uses my classroom assigned computer speakers. This means being limited to an area of the gym where there is an outlet and where a laptop can be put. It also means I have to primarily remain at the front of the gym to control the music. The speakers are old, and while they can be loud, it becomes easily muffled.
Having two small sturdy bluetooth speakers set around the gym will allow the students the best opportunity to succeed as a team.
The BoomJacket Jolt portable speakers allow for close movement that doesn't hurt the speakers. Having two, will allow us to have one in the front and one in the back of the gym. This will create a surround sound vibe that allows all the students to hear the music clearly. If they can all hear the music in sync, they will be able to dance in sync. They would also no longer have to worry about the vibrations of their movement muffling the sound.
This is the first time we have had a dance class that has the intent of doing dance shows. I want to ensure that they have the best class possible to be fully prepared for a show, and to show the community that having a dance class is a worthwhile class.
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