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Brain-
Compatible
Dance
Education
SECOND EDITION
Anne Green Gilbert

Photos by Bronwen Houck
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gilbert, Anne Green author. | Gilbert, Anne Green. Brain-compatible
dance education.
Title: Brain-compatible dance education / Anne Green Gilbert.
Description: Second Edition. | Champaign, Illinois : Human Kinetics, Inc.,
[2019] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018008787 (print) | LCCN 2018032765 (ebook) | ISBN
9781492561248 (ebook) | ISBN 9781492561231 (print)
Subjects: LCSH: Dance for children--Study and teaching. | Movement education.
| Child development.
Classification: LCC GV1799 (ebook) | LCC GV1799 .G54 2019 (print) | DDC
792.8019--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018008787
ISBN: 978-1-4925-6123-1 (print)
Copyright © 2019, 2006 by SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerog-
raphy, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden
without the written permission of the publisher.
The web addresses cited in this text were current as of July 2018, unless otherwise noted.
Acquisitions Editor: Bethany J. Bentley
SHAPE America Editor: Thomas Lawson
Developmental Editors: Bethany J. Bentley and Melissa J. Zavala
Managing Editor: Kirsten E. Keller
Copyeditor: Joanna Hatzopoulos Portman
Permissions Manager: Dalene Reeder
Graphic Designer: Dawn Sills
Cover Designer: Keri Evans
Cover Design Associate: Susan Rothermel Allen
Photograph (cover): Bronwen Houck
Photographs (interior): Photos courtesy of Bronwen Houck
Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen
Senior Art Manager: Kelly Hendren
Illustrations: © Human Kinetics
Printer: Sheridan Books
The video contents of this product are licensed for private home use and traditional, face-to-face
classroom instruction only. For public performance licensing, please contact a sales representative at
www.HumanKinetics.com/SalesRepresentatives.
SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators
1900 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191
800-213-7193
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Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry program.
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In the United Kingdom/Europe, email hk@hkeurope.com.
For information about Human Kinetics’ coverage in other areas of the world,
please visit our website: www.HumanKinetics.com E7226
Dedicated to these pioneers in creative dance education, whose writings
inspired my own: Ann Barlin, Joyce Boorman, Norma Canner, Geraldine
Dimondstein, Gladys Andrews Fleming, Bonnie Gilliom, Margaret H’Doubler,
Mary Joyce, Barbara Mettler, Ruth Murray, and Virginia Tanner.
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
PART I Foundations of Brain-Compatible

Dance Education
1 The Body–Brain Connection 3
2 Principles of Brain-Compatible Dance Education 23
3 Planning Brain-Compatible Lessons 31
4 Assessment Strategies 51
PART II Brain-Compatible Lesson Plan Sections

5 Warming Up 65
6 Exploring the Concept 95
7 Developing Skills 137
8 Creating 189
9 Cooling Down 219
iv
Contents
PART III Brain-Compatible Lesson Plans

10 Ages 2 Months to 4 Years 231
11 Ages 5 to 8 Years 251
12 Ages 9 Years to Adult 265
13 Older Adults 279
14 Bonus Lesson Plans 291
References 303
Resources 307
About the Author 315
About SHAPE America 316
v
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Preface
I have always been interested in how the brain works. I realized that if I understood how
people learn, I could use that information to structure dance classes that engaged both
bodies and brains. My aim was (and still is) to develop holistic dancers of all ages who
are skilled technicians, critical thinkers, successful collaborators, inventive creators, and
thoughtful responders. I treat my classes as research laboratories. I read books and articles
about learning, teaching, and movement, and I experiment with new ideas, concepts, and
structures in my classes.
At the beginning of my teaching career in the 1970s, I read books about perceptual
motor development and sensory integration by Newell Kephart, Marion Frostig, and A. Jean
Ayres. In the 1980s and 1990s I saw an increase in behavior and learning problems in my
students. I thought children were watching too much television; and they were spending
too much time in containers, such as car seats and school desks, and not enough time
actively moving. I read books about somatic practices including Body-Mind Centering,
Bartenieff Fundamentals, and the Feldenkrais Method. In 1995, I read the first edition of
Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford (see Hannaford 2005). This seminal book emphasized the
important role of movement in learning. Smart Moves led me to books by Eric Jensen and
John Ratey, who also write about the body−brain connection. In the early 2000s books
by Norman Doidge, James Zull, and John Medina gave me a deeper understanding of how
the brain works. In these books, I found validation for theories I had been exploring and
writing about since the 1970s.
In recent years, the number of people diagnosed with behavior, learning, and sensory
integration issues has increased (Kardaras 2016, Dunckley 2015). People spend even more
time in front of screens and sitting at desks, and less time moving. More people are depressed
and feel lonely despite the increase in social networking (Hari 2015). Standardized testing
is moving schools back to teacher-driven rote learning and away from student-centered
education. Fortunately, advances in brain imaging technology have led to an explosion of
articles in scientific journals and the popular press, as well as books and blog posts about
the brain and the role that movement plays in developing—and maintaining—healthy
humans (Rehfeld et al. 2017, De La Cruz 2017, Berg 2010).
As a dance educator, you play an important role in people’s overall health. You have
the power to change lives by helping people develop strong brains and bodies through
joyful and meaningful movement. The lessons in this book introduce young and old to a
variety of dance concepts. Exploring contrasting movements increases movement options.
This increase in turn opens up new ways of being and thinking. Dancing with partners,
trios, and in groups improves bonding and social skills, increasing a natural (not drug- or
screen-induced) release of serotonin and dopamine. Improvising and choreographing bring
awareness to the many possible approaches for solving problems and in turn create an
appreciation of diversity.
This book teaches you to bring novelty into the dance class. Novelty increases atten-
tion and makes repetition, a necessary aspect for developing skills and memory, more
engaging. The structure of the five-part lesson plan presented in this book promotes deep
learning; students of all ages and abilities construct new knowledge by building on current
knowledge. The curriculum presented in this book is sequential and holistic. Movement
is the key to learning. Movement combined with creativity is the key to living a healthy
vii
Preface
and fulfilled life. As a dance educator, you can use current research to make sure your
students receive engaging, brain-based instruction. I call this pedagogy brain-compatible
dance education because the method is based on understanding brain function and its
relationship to movement and learning.
This edition of Brain-Compatible Dance Education shares new lesson plans, tips, and
tools to not only strengthen teaching skills but also to provide a foundation for advocat-
ing for dance in schools and communities. The material in this new edition is geared to
help you understand the vital link between movement and cognition, gain confidence in
developing holistic lesson plans for any age and population, and be inspired to bring the
joy of movement into your life and the lives of those you touch.
This new edition is divided into three parts. The four chapters in part I present the theory
behind brain-compatible dance education. Chapter 1 is an overview of new brain research
and the important role movement plays in learning. Chapter 2 outlines the 10 principles of
brain-compatible dance education that underpin the theory. Chapter 3 goes into detail on
planning engaging lessons for the very youngest mover to the oldest, including invaluable
class management tips. Chapter 4 discusses assessment and includes tools for evaluation.
Part II contains five chapters that outline the five-part lesson plan from warming up
to cooling down. Each chapter describes the goals for the lesson section and provides
a plethora of activities geared for different ages. Chapter 5, Warming Up, offers new
research behind the developmental movement exercise called the BrainDance as well as
new BrainDance variations. Chapter 6, Exploring the Concept, discusses the importance
of the conceptual approach, defines the dance concepts in detail, and describes many
engaging ways to explore the concepts with infants through elders. Chapter 7, Developing
Skills, presents new ways to teach steps through rhymes and circle dances for the youngest
dancers, movement combinations for the advanced dancers, and folk dances for people
of all ages. Chapter 8, Creating, describes a variety of visual and tactile prompts to inspire
structured improvisation and choreographic projects. Chapter 9, Cooling Down, offers ideas
for relaxation, review, and reflection.
Part III contains new lesson plans for ages 2 months to 4 years, 5 to 8 years, 9 years to
adult, and adults young and old. The web resource, found at www.HumanKinetics.com/
BrainCompatibleDanceEducation, allows you to view video clips demonstrating variations
of the BrainDance and download lesson plans, assessment tools, posters, charts, and more.
Teaching brain-compatible dance lessons is not as daunting as it may seem. Make
gradual changes in planning and presentation. Do not try to overhaul the curriculum all at
once. Remember the mantra Patience and practice. Be patient with the learning curve of
yourself and your students. It takes patience and practice to modify any teaching style. It
takes patience and practice for students to gain the knowledge and confidence to create
well-crafted dances and to dance skillfully. Remember that students mirror the teacher’s
attitude and manner. If you are stressed, your students will be too. If you smile, so will they.
Engaging in serious fun is brain compatible, because students learn better when they are
emotionally engaged in a positive way.
Being an exemplary dance educator requires lifelong learning. Take risks, and teach
students to do the same. Write articles about dance, then teach the students to write.
Reflect on your teaching, and teach the students to be reflective. Sharpen your visual
skills, then teach students how to observe with objectivity and clarity. Become familiar
with dance concepts to teach students a language that goes beyond steps so that they
have the knowledge to create. Break down the boundaries between dance cultures, styles,
and disciplines, the private and public sectors, and theorists and practitioners. If all dance
educators in all arenas use a brain-compatible approach, we will reach all learners. We
will change the bodies and minds of our students as well as ourselves. We will become a
culture that dances, thinks, feels, creates, and fully expresses our humanity.
viii
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the following people and organizations:
•• All my students, young and old, who inspired me for the past 50 years to be the
best teacher I can be—you are the reason I am still dancing!
•• The Creative Dance Center and Summer Dance Institute faculty, past and present,
who generously share their ideas and help spread the word about brain-compatible
dance education—Ines Andrade, Tom Bergersen, Sarah Boeh, Eric Chappelle, Sara
Coiley, Char Curtiss, Kitty Daniels, Angelica DeLashmette, Debbie Gilbert, Terry
Goetz, Krista Harris, Gail Heilbron, Ingrid Hurlen, Kechelle Jackson, Katie Johnson,
Stephanie Johnson, Dionne Kamara, Bette Lamont, Helen Landalf, Amanda MacDon-
ald, Meg Mahoney, Anna Mansbridge, Kerri Lynn Nichols, Joanne Petroff, Andrew
Rishikof, Alina Rossano, Rebecca Schroeder, Hayley Shannon, and Maria Simeone
•• My dance colleagues in the United States and abroad from the National Dance
Education Organization (NDEO), Dance and the Child International (daCi), and
Dance Educators Association of Washington (DEAW), who share so much at con-
ferences and offer support through emails and conversations; thank you for your
scholarship and friendship
•• Summer Dance Institute for Teachers participants, who spend the summer at
the Creative Dance Center (CDC) learning about brain-compatible teaching and
then generously share the work around the globe
•• The following people who have supported me in different ways: Mary Lynn Babcock,
Lorena and Fernando Barbosa, Mady Cantor, Tina Curran, William Evans, Nyssa
Everhart, Barbara Gilbert, Ann Hutchinson Guest, Julia Heneghan, Martha Johnson,
Barbara Lacy, Claudia Lawrey, Susan Taylor Lennon, Marcia Lloyd, Cheryl Marek,
Mary Neifert, Judith Nelson, Chris Roberts, Vincent Thomas, Kelly Treadwell, Shana
Wagner, and Cheryl Willis
•• The amazing people at Human Kinetics who have brought this book to life, espe-
cially my talented and generous editors and designers, Bethany Bentley, Joanna
Hatzopoulos Portman, Gayle Kassing, Kirsten Keller, Dawn Sills, and Melissa Zavala.
•• My husband, David, for helping me find the words when I was floundering, for
proofreading my words, and for dancing with me for 50 years
•• My three children—Huw, Bronwen, and Griffith—who support and inspire me;
special thanks to Bronwen for the photos
•• My grandchildren—Pryor, Emerson, Owens, Hope, Finn, Kaija, and Calder—who
love to dance
ix
Foundations
of Brain-Compatible
Dance Education
I
PART
Over the past decade, advances in the field of neuroscience

have provided new ways to look at human brain develop-
ment, brain health, and behavior. A clearer understanding
of how people begin learning early in life and how they
continue to learn in later years provides a strong foundation
for brain-based teaching. The four chapters in part I provide
insights into the theory behind the practice of brain-compatible
dance education, a structured methodology for teaching dance using
strategies that create an environment in which the brain is ready, willing,
and able to learn.
Chapter 1 describes the parts of the brain and their functions. It explains
the reflexes that help build the brain in the first year of life, why their integra-
tion is important, and what learning and behavior problems may arise when
reflexes linger. The chapter ends with more neurological information that will
help you design an age-appropriate curriculum. Chapter 2 outlines key principles
of brain-compatible learning and teaching. Chapter 3 delves into the details of how
to plan brain-compatible lessons. The chapter helps you understand the benefits of the
5-part conceptual lesson plan and how to adapt each section for different ages, learn class
management tips, and know how to work with diverse learners. Chapter 4 contains an
in-depth examination of assessment; it explains why assessment is valuable, how assessment
should be conducted, and what assessment tools are available.
Before you browse through the activities in part II and the lesson plans in part III, take
some time to read part I. It contains some interesting and valuable information that is
written in an accessible manner. When administrators and parents ask how your classes
are brain compatible, you will have the knowledge to answer them.
1
1
The Body–Brain
Connection
“In dance you have more than your

mouth to say what you want.”
~Tali, age 11
3
4 Brain-Compatible Dance Education
Learning to dance requires connecting the brain and the body. In fact, all your actions require
this connection. Your body’s senses receive information, your brain makes connections
based on your experiences, then you take appropriate actions; your actions in turn create
more sensory input, and your brain makes new connections that lead to further actions. For
example, consider this scenario: You smell smoke, through past experience you connect the
smell to fire, and you follow the smell to the kitchen; then you see flames, your experience
tells you to call 911 and grab a fire extinguisher, and you suddenly realize you forgot to buy
one; then you run out of the house as you hear a siren; and the cycle of sense−connect−act
continues. Your brain and body are continuously engaged in this cycle, so it seems automatic.
How did the brain develop to accomplish all those actions automatically?
Brain development begins in utero. It continues after birth through reflexive movements
and a cycle of sensory input and motor output, termed sensorimotor skills. Infants receive
sensory information from their bodies and the environment through their sensory systems,
namely vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, vestibular, and proprioception. Babies learn that
specific movements produce specific results. They sense the results of the movements,
the brain makes connections, and an active cycle of testing and learning begins. Neural
connections are produced through concrete experiences. These concrete experiences
teach babies about themselves and the world. Integrating reflexes and developing the
sensorimotor system take a lot of work and repetition. Babies need a lot of practice and
the appropriate environment to learn from the inside out and the outside in.
Since the early 21st century, research in brain science and birth psychology has revo-
lutionized the way people think about early development. Three pioneers in the field of
cognitive science were among the first to call babies “scientists in the crib” (Gopnik, Meltzoff,
& Kuhl 2000). Once scientists started observing and listening to infants, they realized the
infants had a lot to say. Babies are not blank slates. They come into the world after months
in utero fully sensing, with neurons in place ready to grow dendrites, and create synaptic
connections and myelinate axons. In other words, babies are born with an action plan
for developing the brain. This plan is sometimes referred to as the neurodevelopmental
movement sequence or sensorimotor phase. In the first few years of life after birth, 90
percent of the neural pathways in the brain are set for life. How does this happen? Babies
develop physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively into healthy human beings when
they have plenty of floor time for developmental movement and exploration, caregivers
who lovingly interact and bond with them, good nutrition, and sleep.
Teachers are working with an increasing number of students of all ages whose brains
do not appear to be very healthy. Why is this true if humans appear to only need play,
love, food, and sleep to develop and maintain strong brains and bodies? Reflecting on
how society has changed since the turn of the 21st century as well as understanding brain
structure and development may provide some answers.
Societal Changes
Among the greatest societal changes since the turn of the 21st century is the advance and
proliferation of communication technology and the Internet. The smartphone and social
media are ever present in the lives of a majority of people around the globe. While the
Internet has many benefits, it also has pitfalls. People today spend hours sitting in front
of screens. Corporations convince parents that educational videos will turn babies into
geniuses, and tablets are often used as babysitters. Younger and younger children are
using social media, although social media has been found to decrease social and emotional
intelligence and cause depression. Addictive video gaming causes a host of problems
resulting in “a significant decrease in functional connectivity” (Kardaras 2016, p. 66). In
2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published new recommendations for
The Body−Brain Connection 5
children’s media use. The AAP recommends that children younger than 18 months avoid
use of screen media; children aged 2 to 5 years limit screen time to 1 hour per day of
high-quality programs in the presence of an adult; caregivers of children ages 6 and older
should “place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and
make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other
behaviors essential to health” (American Academy of Pediatrics 2016).
When people sit and watch videos on screens they go into ocular lock, staring with
no movement stimulating the brain. During the critical years of brain development and
throughout life, people must move, dance, and play as well as interact with others and
nature rather than stare at screens. As recent studies have indicated, dance, play, and social
interaction are beneficial for all ages (Burzynska et al. 2017; Rehfeld et al. 2017).
The rise of cognitive, social, and emotional problems is a result of other reasons, too. In
the beginning of life, infants may spend too much time restrained in car seats and unnec-
essary baby equipment such as bouncy chairs and infant swings, and not enough time
playing on the floor. Near the end of life, many older adults do not have enough oppor-
tunity for touch, meaningful social interaction, music, or movement. In the middle years
children are overscheduled with extracurricular activities and organized competitive sports,
leaving little time for free play and the development of a variety of motor skills, creativity,
and imagination. Children are often pressured to learn and perform at levels that are not
age appropriate, with little opportunity to develop their social and emotional brains (the
limbic system). Government and school districts put pressure on children to achieve high
test scores, which leads to an even greater imbalance in the classroom and in society. When
rote education prevails and test scores are the priority, children become disengaged in their
learning. Research shows that a multisensory, multi-arts approach increases brain growth,
yet the arts are being defunded in schools while digital media proliferates (Barker et al.
2014; Jensen 2001; Lewis 2016; Mardirosian, Humphries, & Pelletier). Added to these issues
are family stresses, conflicting parenting advice, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyles.
Educators must be proactive in teaching the benefits of movement. They need to
appreciate the necessity of a balanced brain. Understanding brain structure and function
is an important starting point, providing the knowledge and confidence to promote dance
education for all ages.
Brain Structure
The brain evolved from that of reptiles to mammals to humans, creating three main layers:
the lower (reptilian) brain, the limbic (mammalian) brain, and the cortex (human) brain.
These layers surround and interact with each other (figure 1.1). The human brain is formed
of two tissues: gray matter (15% of brain cells) and white matter (85% of brain cells). White
matter “consists of millions of cables that connect individual neurons in different brain
regions, like trunk lines connecting telephones across a country” (Fields 2009, figure 12).
These communication lines are called axons. Oligodendrocytes (a type of glial cell, Greek
for “glue”) form the myelin sheath that serves as fatty insulation around the axons and
speeds transmission along them. For many years, glial cells were thought to be unimportant
cells that surrounded and supported the more active and important neurons. However,
21st-century neuroscience has recognized that “glial cells are constantly communicating
with one another, interacting with neurons and modifying their electrical circuits. They
are also ‘neuroprotective’ of neurons, helping them to wire and rewire the brain” (Doidge
2015, pp. 36-37). It is now known that the brain has plasticity. Through movement, sensory
input, and repetition with novelty, the brain can create new neurons and neural pathways.
Scientists are changing the way people think about the brain as they develop a more holistic
view of this complex organ.
Dendrites
Gray matter Myelin sheath
White matter
Axon Glial cell
Cortex
Limbic
brain
Low
brain
Figure 1.1 Structure of the human brain.

E7226/Gilbert/Fig.01.01/591140/TB/R1
Gray matter contains cell bodies, dendrites, and axon terminals that make up neurons,
which lie on the surface layers of the brain. Each neuron has a cell body, one axon, and
many dendrites. The cell body contains the nucleus and oversees the cell’s basic major
metabolic functions. The axon, which may be a centimeter to a meter long, has two respon-
sibilities: conduct information in the form of electrical stimulation, and transport chemical
substances. When an axon is insulated with myelin, it conducts information faster because
the myelin reduces interference from nearby reactions. Dendrites are branchlike wires that
grow out of the cell body. Dendrites receive incoming information.
Neurons pass on information through synaptic connections: the end of the axon sub-
divides, sometimes forming many branches called axon terminals, then connects with the
dendrites of another neuron. Information flows in one direction from the cell body, down
the axon, to the synapse. This information is carried inside a neuron by electrical impulses,
but is transmitted across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another by chemicals called
neurotransmitters (Jensen 2005).
At 3 weeks of fetal development, the brain’s billions of neurons begin developing through
a process called neurogenesis. Within 4 months’ gestation, these so-called building blocks
are for the most part fully formed. Neurons migrate to the areas of the brain where they
are needed immediately after their formation. By the end of neurogenesis, most neurons
take their final position so that all the major brain structures are in place (Eliot 2010).
However, contrary to previous centuries of scientific belief, in the 21st century scientists
have discovered that neurogenesis can actually take place throughout a person’s lifetime
(Doidge 2015). In fact, movement helps stimulate a protein called brain-derived neurotropic
factor (BDNF), which keeps brain cells functioning and growing and also spurs the growth
of new neurons.
An important part of brain development is synapse formation. Many new synapses and
dendrites grow at a rapid pace in the first few years of life. Synaptogenesis is a slower
process than neurogenesis and migration. It begins at 2 months of gestation and continues
through much of the first 2 years of life. Throughout this developmental phase, 1.8 million
new synapses per second are produced (Eliot 2010). To accommodate this huge synapse
formation, neurons expand their dendrite surfaces by producing dendritic spines. As much
as 83 percent of total dendritic growth occurs after birth. Critical windows of opportunity
for brain growth open in the first years of life. An overproduction of synapses begins these
critical periods, followed by necessary synaptic pruning. For example, most children are
born with the neurons to speak any language but, because of their environment, certain
synapses are pruned and they only speak the language (or languages) they hear daily.
Babies learn language through repetition of words. The repetition creates myelination for
easy acquisition. A multisensory environment increases dendritic branching, whereas too
little stimulation may cause irreversible synaptic pruning.
How all the neurons and synapses correctly link together is one of the most intriguing
puzzles of the brain. Neuroscientists are still trying to find all the answers to brain wiring,
but it appears that a fine balance exists between nature and nurture. Genes (nature) direct
the growth of dendrites and axons to their approximate locations in the brain, but then
environment (nurture) takes over, refining the rough circuits to customize the individual
brain. Babies’ brains are works in process and sculpt themselves in response to the world
around them.
In order for the brain and body to fully function, all areas of the brain must work in an
integrated way. A strong lower brain and limbic brain, which develop primarily through
sensory and motor activities in the first years of life, are vital for overall brain function.
These lower and mid-brain areas provide the foundation for the human “thinking” brain.
Without this foundation, basic processing that our lower brain handles automatically has to
be conducted by our cortex, which makes solving complex cognitive tasks more difficult.
The brain is programmed to develop in stages within a certain sequence. When that
sequence is disrupted and stages are missed, the brain compensates. As the brain devel-
ops, gaps cause problems in processing information, which may compromise cognitive
function. Understanding the role of each part of the brain highlights the importance of all
parts working in harmony.
Lower Brain
The lower brain, sometimes referred to as the hindbrain, is the unconscious or automatic
brain that regulates self-preservation to ensure survival. The lower brain has the shortest
window for development, generally between birth and 18 months. During its development
an estimated 100 trillion nerve nets are created that link all bodily senses with muscle
movements. These nerve nets are encoded with the sensorimotor patterns upon which all
of our learning will be based (Eliot 2010).
The lower brain houses the cerebellum and the brain stem (figure 1.2). The brain stem
includes the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain. The brain stem, located at the top of
the spinal cord, is the autopilot. All sensations must first go through the brain stem. It serves
as a highway that connects the cortex and cerebellum to the spinal cord, and through the
spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the rest of the body.
Located in the brain stem, the medulla oblongata helps maintain and organize the brain
stem. It controls circulation, respiration, breathing, heart rate, and wake and sleep patterns.
The pons, located near the top of the brain stem above the medulla, controls the switch-
board that carries messages from the spinal cord to the brain. The midbrain, located above
the pons, serves as the nerve pathway of the cerebral hemispheres and contains visual
and auditory reflex centers.
Located next to the brain stem and

below the occipital area, the cerebel-
lum “contains half the total nerve cells
in the entire brain and is involved in
integrating sensory and automatic motor
function. It is constantly busy, updating
Midbrain and computing incoming and outgoing
information. Within the past two decades,
scientists have recognized that the cere-
bellum is involved in maintaining rhythm
and continuity for many brain functions
such as emotions, memory, language,
Pons Cerebellum and social interactions as well as allow-
Brain stem ing us to walk in a straight line” (Ratey
Medulla oblongata 2013, p. 276). It is critical to understand
how much information the lower brain
Figure 1.2 Lower brain. receives and processes. It is crucial for
E7226/Gilbert/Fig.01.02/591141/TB/R1
infants to have the opportunity to move
in their own time through the neurodevelopmental patterns; these patterns are the building
blocks for healthy brain development.
Less and less time is being spent on low brain development. For example, many of
our infant rearing practices are emphasizing early and out of sequence eye-hand
and bipedal activities (infant seats, baby bouncers, early walking) and less and less
time is devoted to prone, supine and quadrupedal development which stimulates the
lower brain. Infants are being placed in advanced postures before they have devel-
oped the means to move in and out of them on their own. Without fully developed
automatic physical survival mechanisms, higher brain consciousness lacks a balanced
grounding. (Cohen 1981, p. 6)
Limbic Brain
The limbic system, also called the mammalian brain, lies behind the frontal lobes, and below
the parietal lobes of the cortex and above the brain stem (figure 1.3). It combines conscious
and unconscious thought and connects with the cortex to allow emotional and cognitive
processing. It also links with the lower brain to elicit physical signs of emotions. Think of
it as the emotional and social brain. It houses many of the biochemical neurotransmitters
that stimulate or inhibit activity in other parts of the brain. Two important neurotransmitters
associated with movement and learning are serotonin (vital to self-esteem, mood, impul-
sivity, and learning) and dopamine (fundamental to movement, cognition, motivation,
and addiction). “The intricate wiring of the limbic system shows that in order to learn and
remember something, there must be sensory input, a personal emotional connection and
movement . . . emotions, and the release of neurotransmitters that they elicit, are intimately
intertwined with cognitive function” (Hannaford 2005, pp. 60-61).
The limbic system includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus.
The thalamus serves as a receptionist for all incoming senses except smell. It helps interpret
temperature, pain, and light and strong touch; and it is related to emotion and memory.
The hypothalamus rules over the pituitary gland to act as a thermostat for appetite,
thirst, digestion, hormone secretion, and sleep patterns. It regulates the autonomic nervous
system (ANS) with its two branches: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympa-
thetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system provides superhuman strength or
endurance in life-threatening situations,

known as the fight-or-flight response.
This system, when turned on for long
periods of time, can often inhibit brain
growth and learning because it requires
so much brain and body energy. The
parasympathetic nervous system turns
off the sympathetic nervous system and
brings you into a relaxed and calm state.
It helps you conserve energy, quiet the
noisy brain, and increase sleep (Doidge
2015).
The amygdala, a critical processor for Thalamus
the senses, is responsible for controlling Hypothalamus
emotions. It contains 12 to 15 distinct Amygdala
emotive regions; without it, you lose
Hippocampus
the capacity for imagination, nuances
of emotion, and key decision making. Figure 1.3 The limbic system.
Because the amygdala is fully formed in E7226/Gilbert/Fig.01.03/591142/TB/R1
utero, it plays a role in emotionally laden memories, particularly those dealing with fear and
threat. It helps you recognize facial expressions and body language and therefore helps
you respond appropriately in social and emotional situations (Jensen 2005). Therefore, it is
understandable that children with attachment disorders and rage issues are often diagnosed
with problems in midbrain functioning.
The hippocampus governs memory. It uses sensory input, coming through the thalamus
and emotions in the hypothalamus, to form short-term memory. Short-term memory, with
nerve net activation in the hippocampus, can then enter permanent storage as long-term
memory throughout the brain (Eliot 2010). “In recent years, it has shown to be a critical
component in the biology of stress and mood since it contains a vast number of cortisol
receptors and is the first step in regulating the feedback loop of the fight-or-flight response.
Its close relationship with cortisol leaves the hippocampus vulnerable to the ravages of
stress and aging. Conversely, it is one of the only two structures in the brain that clearly
produces its own nerve cells” (Ratey 2013, p. 278). The other structure capable of neuro-
genesis is the subventricular zone, associated with the sense of smell.
Cortex
The cortex (forebrain) includes the cerebrum, the largest part of the brain, which has two
hemispheres (right and left; figure 1.4). Each hemisphere has these four lobes: frontal,
parietal, temporal, and occipital. The two hemispheres are connected by white matter
called the corpus callosum, a bundle of 200 to 300 million nerve fibers. The cerebrum
has a crossover pattern so that each side of the body communicates with the opposite
hemisphere.
The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the cerebrum. It is 1/4-inch (about 6 mm)
thick, six layers deep, and packed with brain cells or neurons—85 percent of the total
neurons in the brain. This part of the cerebrum is referred to as gray matter, because the
axons are not myelinated. The white matter of the cerebrum, which is made up of myeli-
nated axons, quickly carries sensory information to the cortex and then carries its motor
commands to the body (Hannaford 2005).
The frontal lobe controls voluntary movement, creativity, problem solving, verbal expres-
sion, and planning. The parietal lobe handles proprioception (the body’s understanding of
Gray matter
(cerebral cortex)
White matter Cerebrum

(corpus callosum)
Parietal lobe
Frontal lobe
Occipital
lobe
Temporal lobe
Figure 1.4 The cortex (forebrain).

E7226/Gilbert/Fig.01.04/591143/TB/R2
its position and place in space), touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. The occipital lobe pro-
cesses vision by interpreting shape, color, and movement. The temporal lobes are respon-
sible for hearing, gravitational understanding (vestibular
system), language, and memory storage (Jensen 2005).
“I feel alive when I dance. Understanding the intricacies of the brain highlights
the importance of integrating all parts of the brain. In
I join in community and order to learn, you must first have a sensory experience,
celebrate the shared lifting then reflect and make connections. Finally, you must take
action based on the experience. The knowledge that your
of our spirits.” first movements, even inside the womb, help build your
brain, underscores the fact that you actually move to
~Kari, age 65 learn. In other words, movement is essential to learning.
Reflexes and Their Integration

When people dance, they move in a constant interplay of flexion and extension. They
close and open, contract and expand, shrink and grow, gather and scatter, yield and reach,
collapse and burst, plié and relevé, and fold and stretch. Dancers constantly replicate the
baby’s early movement patterns that initiate brain growth. Perhaps this is why modern
research shows the study of dance to be beneficial in slowing dementia and regenerat-
ing brain cells (Burzynska et al. 2017; Hanna 2014; Rehfeld et al. 2017). These very early
patterns of flexion and extension, first with the whole body and then with differentiated
body parts, are called reflexes. They underpin the patterns of the BrainDance exercise
described in chapter 5.
Reflexes are motor patterns that develop in utero and after birth to help with survival
and developmental needs while initiating brain growth. These reflexes are activated by
sensory triggers such as touch and proprioception. In typical development these involun-
tary, automatic patterns disappear as voluntary movement develops. “Without automated
Movement stimulates brain growth and promotes brain health.
movement a child will not be able to think” (Connell & McCarthy 2014, p. 8). The reflex
patterns do not go away; they become the scaffolding behind voluntary movement. This
transition is called integration. The integration of the majority of these reflexes typically
happens in the first year of life. The activation and subsequent integration of these reflexes
build the lower brain and limbic system. A strong foundation makes possible higher-order
thinking skills such as creating, memorizing, and performing complex dances, as well as
reading.
However, a variety of environmental constraints may cause some reflexes to linger or
be retained. Problems arise, as early as conception, if mothers are unable to get enough
exercise or have extended bed rest because the vestibular (balance) system is activated
in utero. Assisted deliveries prevent babies from initiating important reflexes necessary for
brain growth. After birth, babies may spend too much time in containers such as car seats,
swings, baby seats, and walkers. This restriction of movement prevents the development of
the sensorimotor system that wires the brain. For optimal brain growth, babies need a lot
of time on the floor to explore the developmental patterns in their own time. To move with
ease, babies aged 0 to 2 months can be naked on a waterproof pad. Babies 2 to 12 months
can be in a onesie, on a uncarpeted surface, so that they can move their limbs freely and
belly crawl with ease. Floor time can be free time for the baby as well as interactive time
with caregivers who are also on the floor relating to their own little scientist. When people
try to rush development by propping up a baby to a sitting or standing position before they
accomplish these milestones on their own, gaps may appear in brain processing.
Retained reflexes may affect physical, social, and emotional development as well as
educational progress. “The longer a primitive reflex remains after its intended life cycle,
the longer it may take for a child [or adult] to unravel its effects” (Connell & McCarthy
2014, p. 40). The knowledge that movement creates brain growth and neural pathways
inspires us to exercise and dance to help fill in missing developmental gaps created by
retained reflexes.
Most reflexes have two phases—flexion or contraction (folding joints in toward the navel)
and extension or expansion (stretching joints or reaching away from the navel). Retained
reflexes are the most noticeable because they are usually hyperactive; they remain in a
high state of anxiety in extension. Hypoactive reflexes are harder to see, because they were
never activated in the first place. These patterns must first be activated and then integrated.
Children with hypoactive reflexes may appear to have a slumped posture and low muscle
tone. Frozen reflex patterns (being stuck in a pattern) can cause physical and emotional
problems for people of all ages. During lower- and midbrain development, primary reflexes
are initiated and integrated through physical, sensory, and emotional experiences (Oliver
2009).
Moro Reflex: Breath, Core–Distal

and Vestibular BrainDance Patterns
The Moro reflex (named after pediatrician Ernst Moro) develops in utero to stimulate
the baby’s first breath after birth. It helps the baby adjust to unexpected sensations in its
environment such as changes in temperature, sudden noises, changes in head position,
quick changes of light, and unpleasant tactile input. It is also known as the startle reflex.
For example, when moved from a folded position in a caretaker’s arms to a more stretched
and flat position on a surface for diaper changing, a baby startles and cries. Then the baby
is cradled and soothed. This reflex is a regulator for emotional development and control.
When in extension, the reflex initiates a fight, flight, or activate mode (by way of the sym-
pathetic nervous system). In flexion, it initiates a withdrawal, protect, or calm mode (by way
of the parasympathetic nervous system). It is the mother of all reflexes; other reflexes are
refinements of the full-body flexion and extension Moro reflex.
Dancers stretch and curl in core−distal movements.

The Moro reflex develops in utero. It should be integrated by 4 months after birth and
replaced with the adult version of the startle reflex. Some factors that may cause a delay in
the integration of this reflex include: assisted birth; too much time swaddled or contained
in car seats and other devices; not enough floor time; lack of tactile stimulation such as
hugs and massage; lack of vestibular stimulation such a rocking and being held in different
positions; early exposure to screen time in the first two years of life; and prolonged expo-
sure to screen time in childhood. The prolonged retention of this reflex may be disruptive
to development and learning. Symptoms of a retained Moro reflex may include fear of
change (a person may be overly shy or clingy), outbursts of anger or frustration, poor
coordination that leads to poor sequencing and memory, balance problems, oversensitivity
to sensory stimulus, motion sickness, weak immune system, lack of emotional flexibility,
difficulty interacting with others, and visual perception problems.
Babies activate and integrate the Moro reflex through the alternation of flexion (being
swaddled, cuddled, and fed, as well as curling up spontaneously) and extension (being
diapered and clothed as well as stretching spontaneously). Gently massaging a baby while
stretching the limbs away from the navel and folding the limbs back in is another loving way
to help the baby integrate this pattern. Because the Moro reflex is so intertwined with the
vestibular system, gentle rocking, swaying, and spinning movements also aid in integrating
this reflex. “Developing—and automating—a strong sense of balance, orientation, motion,
and gravity is a mandatory prerequisite for children’s overall development and readiness
for school” (Connell & McCarthy 2014, p. 84).
Children and adults review and integrate the Moro reflex through the exploration of
breath, core−distal, and vestibular movements as well as limiting exposure to video games,
especially ones that contain images of violence as these images keep the sympathetic
nervous system in a constant state of hypervigilance.
Palmar and Grasp Reflexes:

Tactile BrainDance Pattern
The palmar reflex allows an infant to grasp objects (including toes) and bring them to
the mouth. The tongue is the second largest sense organ, so grasping and mouthing safe
objects is essential to sensory development. The palmar reflex emerges in the first trimester
in utero and is usually integrated between 2 and 3 months after birth.
The grasp reflex allows an infant to hold on tightly to an object (breast, bottle, caretaker)
for survival. It emerges in the first trimester in utero and integrates between 11 and 12
months after birth. Echoes of these reflexes may appear later as self-soothing mechanisms
such as thumb-sucking, hair twisting, or stroking a soft object. The skin is the largest sense
organ. Babies and children take in a great deal of sensory information through their own
touch of various textured objects as well as being touched in a variety of appropriate ways.
Integrating these reflexes helps develop optimal fine motor skills, speech and articula-
tion, as well as the ability to hold on to and let go of objects. Touching and being touched
throughout one’s lifetime stimulates bonding and attachment necessary for emotional,
social, physical, and cognitive growth.
Spinal Galant and Tonic Labyrinthine Reflexes:

Head–Tail BrainDance Pattern
The spinal Galant reflex (named after Russian neurologist Johann Sussmann Galant) is
activated as the baby’s back rubs against the uterine and vaginal walls during birth. This
motion helps the baby twist out of the birth canal. After birth, the reflex encourages hip
movement to prepare the baby for crawling and walking. To activate this reflex, gently
stroke a baby on one side of the spine on the lower back. The baby will flex sideways
and raise the hip toward the touch. If both sides of the spine are stroked, the baby usually
urinates. The spinal Galant reflex emerges in the second trimester in utero and integrates
between 3 and 9 months after birth.
This reflex is sometimes referred to as the squirming reflex. When retained, it may cause
a host of problems, including the inability to sit still, bedwetting or poor bladder control,
poor concentration and short-term memory, clumsy movements, being irritated by tight
waistbands, and irritable bowel syndrome.
To help babies activate and integrate this reflex, they should be unswaddled so they can
wiggle and squirm freely. They need firm massage, as well as plenty of free and interactive
floor time so they can explore rolling, twisting, and stretching movements.
The tonic labyrinthine reflex (TLR) is a refinement of the Moro reflex (extension and
flexion) and stimulates proprioception and balance, as well as muscle tone in the neck and
shoulder muscles. Tonic refers to muscle tone. Labyrinthine refers to the internal ear, hence
the association with balance and proprioception. When the baby’s head moves forward, the
limbs fold into flexion and tone is decreased. When the baby’s head moves backward, the
limbs straighten, causing extension and increasing muscle tone. The TLR emerges in the
second trimester in utero, and it actually has two separate reflex patterns. The TLR-forward
pattern should integrate at around 4 months after birth. The TLR-backward pattern should
be fully integrated by 3 1/2 years of age.
When this reflex is retained in the forward position, problems may include low muscle
tone (slumping), overly flexible joints, and weak neck and eye muscles. When the reflex is
retained in the backward position, problems may include tense muscles and toe walking.
Other characteristics of a retained TLR include poor spatial awareness, mixed dominance
(right and left sides compete for dominance, which causes confusion and slows down
decision making), poor sequencing skills, problems with balance when looking up or down
(e.g., during stair walking), and poor auditory processing.
To activate and integrate this reflex in babies, carry them in many different positions,
and provide firm massage and plenty of free and interactive floor time. Children and adults
review these reflexes through an exploration of head−tail (spinal) movements on all spatial
levels, in various directions, and using various pathways.
Plantar, Symmetrical Tonic Neck, and Landau

Reflexes: Upper–Lower BrainDance Pattern
The plantar reflex prepares the feet and legs for prone and upright locomotion by devel-
oping tone in the lower body. During the birth process, the reflex is activated as the baby
pushes against the uterine wall to help with delivery. This reflex activates after birth when
a baby is held upright in a caregiver’s lap. The baby reflexively pushes away and bounces
up and down. However, this upright position does not strengthen the lower body and may
actually suppress the integration of this reflex. The floor is still the playground for babies,
waddlers, and toddlers. Movement on a low level develops the lower brain and limbic
system. When prone, the baby flexes the toes on the floor and uses them to move the
body in a forward and backward push−pull pattern that eventually leads to crawling and
creeping. This reflex emerges at birth and is integrated by age 2.
When the plantar reflex is retained, the gait may appear clumsy. A hypoactive plantar
reflex may cause pronation of the feet, genu valgum (knock-knee), and fallen arches. A
hyperactive plantar reflex may cause supination of the feet, locked knees, and toe walking.
To activate and integrate this reflex in babies, provide plenty of free and interactive floor
time in the prone position. Gently press the soles of the feet, and watch baby push away.
It may activate another reflex, called the Babinski response, in which the big toe stands up
and the other toes fan out.
Children and adults review this reflex through prone push−pull movements with ankles
flexed and toes curled under to press the floor, belly crawling, and plié and relevé. The
exploration of lower-body movements on different spatial levels and in self and general
space develops brain and body strength, flexibility, and expression.
The Landau reflex finishes the TLR, increasing muscle tone in the back and neck. This
reflex helps the baby achieve and maintain an aligned posture. When the baby is prone, it
lifts the upper body off the floor to free the arms to grasp and bring objects to the mouth.
Because the Landau reflex does not emerge in utero, it is called a bridging or postural
reflex, aiding the baby’s journey from prone to upright position. Near vision is developed
as the baby works to integrate this reflex. The reflex emerges around 2 months after birth
and integrates by 3 years of age.
Retention of this reflex may lead to low muscle tone in the back and neck, poor balance,
clumsiness, difficulty in coordinating upper and lower body parts, and back pain in adults.
Activate and integrate this reflex in babies by providing plenty of free and interactive
floor time for them on the back, side, and stomach. Firm massage is always beneficial.
Children and adults review this reflex in the so-called superhero position—lying prone
while grounding the lower body and lifting the upper body off the floor with core support.
To increase core engagement, lift the arms and legs up and down. Exploring a variety of
upper-body movements (while grounding the lower body) on different spatial levels and in
self space and general space develops brain and body strength, flexibility, and expression.
The symmetrical tonic neck reflex (STNR) is activated when a baby rises up to the hands
and knees and does a push−pull (rocking) pattern from upper to lower and vice versa.
This reflex helps integrate the TLR and strengthens the neck and upper-back muscles.
The STNR emerges between 6 to 8 months after birth and integrates between 9 and 11
months. Although the baby practices the rocking movement for only a few months, it is
extremely important because the baby is learning a whole new pattern of coordination,
moving from whole-body movements to body-half differentiation. This reflex prepares the
baby for creeping on the hands and knees. When walking (before 9 months) is encour-
aged, this critical pattern may be missed. The upper body and lower body move in two
different ways: when the legs are straight (extension), the arms bend (flexion); and vice
versa. Near−far eye focus and balance are also strengthened as the baby moves from belly
crawling to creeping on the hands and knees. Fewer body parts are on the floor, so more
balance is needed. The vestibular system continues to be strengthened.
If this reflex is retained, problems may include poor eye−hand−foot coordination, dif-
ficulty separating upper and lower body halves, poor posture (tendency to slump when
sitting), poor focus, headaches, and messy eating.
Babies integrate this pattern through plenty of free and interactive floor time in the prone
position. While interacting with the baby, a caregiver may initiate and mirror the baby’s
position while prone and on hands and knees. This interaction develops strong brains and
bodies for both the baby and the adult.
Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR):

Body-Side and Cross-Lateral BrainDance Patterns
In utero, the asymmetric tonic neck reflex (ATNR) helps the baby to twist out of the birth
canal. After birth, this reflex coordinates movement on both sides of the body, utilizing
each body part separately as well as one whole side as a unit. This reflex is an example of
how the body is using flexion (bending or curling) and extension (stretching or reaching)
in a more complex way. The baby starts with the Moro reflex—full-body stretching out
and curling in—and then, like origami, the baby opens and folds in increasingly complex
ways (Johnson 2016). Articulation of all quadrants of the body lays the foundation for
cross-lateral movement. The ATNR, commonly called the fencing reflex, is activated when
the baby turns its head to one side, reaching the arm on that side toward the gaze (exten-
sion) while bending the opposite arm toward the back of the head (flexion). The ability to
turn the head when in a prone position prevents the accidental obstruction of the baby’s
airways. This side-to-side movement also develops horizontal eye tracking and laterality (the
dominance of one body side over the other). It lays the foundation for belly crawling and
crossing the midline. The ATNR emerges in the second trimester in utero and integrates
between 3 and 8 months after birth.
The retention of this reflex may cause frustrating learning problems with reading and
handwriting because of poor eye tracking, poor bilateral and cross-lateral skills, delayed
dominance or lack of a dominant hand, and poor balance and coordination.
To help integrate this reflex, while the baby is supine, gently stretch one arm to the side.
The head should turn toward the arm. Gently stretch the other arm. Touch opposite hand
and foot to initiate the release of the ATNR and give baby a sense of cross-lateral movements
to come. Starting at around 3 months, place toys of various textures in front of the baby
when it is lying prone. The baby will discover it can use one arm for support and one for
functional or expressive movement—a helping hand and a moving hand. Hand dominance
plays an important role in eating, writing, playing an instrument, and sport skills (Johnson
2016). Firm massage continues to be beneficial.
Children and adults review this reflex through a full range of movements on one side
of the body (while stabilizing the opposite side), then moving the side that was stable. All
ages benefit from doing the fencing pattern lying down, sitting in a chair, or standing. This
movement strengthens eye tracking, balance, and both brain hemispheres.
It is amazing how much work babies need to accomplish in the first year of life to build
a strong foundation for complex thinking, creative problem solving, and physical and
emotional health. Pioneers in somatics including Moshé Feldenkrais, Frederick Matthias
Alexander, Mabel Elsworth Todd, Ida Rolf, Milton Trager, Irmgard Bartenieff, A. Jean Ayres,
and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen shared their insights on the brain−body connection long
before neuroscientists were able to map the brain. Now, movement educators have research
to back up what they previously studied and instinctively knew. How powerful is that!
Neurological Development
Informs Dance Curriculum
Understanding brain development helps teachers choose appropriate content for brain-
compatible dance classes. Ages discussed in this section are approximate; they may overlap
because of individual differences.
Conception to Birth: Cell Explosion

•• Trillions of brain cells form (neurogenesis) and take their appropriate places in the
brain (cell migration).
•• Cell malformation in the fetus may be caused by chemicals ingested by the mother,
severe stress causing cortisol secretion, health problems, illness, insufficient folic
acid, or lack of exercise.
Dance classes for pregnant women include the following:
•• BrainDance sitting on the floor or in a chair.
•• Fun and meaningful content.
•• Opportunities to embody the dance concepts through verbalization and movement.

•• Collaborative activities in duets and trios.
•• Simple circle dances that include swinging, swaying, tipping, and waltzing.
•• Clear improvisational structures, and support through cueing of dance concepts.
•• Relaxation exercises.
•• Information about proper alignment, exercise, nutrition, and infant development.
•• Opportunity to express meaningful feelings about life issues.
•• Discussions about connections between exercise, brain function, and healthy living.
Birth to Age 3: Synaptic Connections
•• Wires start to grow and connect. Brain mapping occurs through developmental
movement patterns, sensory input, and reflex integration.
•• Myelination of axons is triggered by physical, sensory, and emotional experiences.
Neurons that fire together, wire together. In other words, the stronger the experi-
ence (one that includes multiple inputs) and the more the experience is repeated,
the more myelin (white matter) will grow. More thickly myelinated axons produce
smoother and faster transmissions.
•• Trillions of brain cells become available and “look for work” during this critical
learning period. Infants must be allowed to progress at their own rate from prone
to walking in order to develop a strong foundation for later learning.
•• It is natural for brain cells that “don’t find work” to die, but severe sensory depriva-
tion may cause irreversible synaptic pruning (elimination of synapses).
•• An enriched environment (without digital devices), lots of floor time, a loving
caregiver, behavioral boundaries, good nutrition, and sleep develop a healthy brain
and body.
This baby demonstrates a variety of reflexive patterns.

Dance classes for infants from birth to age 3 include the following:
•• BrainDance with rhymes, including crawling and creeping patterns.
•• Exploration of dance concepts through an adult’s touch and support.
•• Basic movement skills.
•• Partner work in which caregiver and child interact with each other as well as with
other caregiver−child pairs.
•• Vestibular activities on various spatial levels and in different directions such as
swinging, rocking, turning, and tipping. Babies and waddlers are held by a caregiver.
•• Playing (and hearing) child-proof rhythm instruments with different sounds and in
various meters and tempi.
•• Simple circle dances that move in various directions and integrate the lesson’s
dance concept.
•• Obstacle courses for waddlers to age 3.
•• Sensory activities with props of various textures and colors.
•• Music with age-appropriate words; instrumental music with a clear pulse in a variety
of meters and styles.
Ages 4 to 12: Dendrite Expansion

•• The brain glows with energy. Billions of brain cells are stimulated, dendrites branch
out, and synapses create countless neural connections.
•• The brain learns fastest and most efficiently during these years. It grows and devel-
ops by learning to make sense of everything around it. Novelty, repetition, and
stimulation lay the foundation for later learning.
•• An enriched environment with plenty of movement, multi-arts experiences, appro-
priate challenges, timely and positive feedback, good nutrition, sleep, caring adults,
and a focus on process rather than product, will continue the development of a
strong and healthy body and mind.
Dance classes for ages 4 to 7 include the following:
•• BrainDance with and without rhymes.
•• Opportunities to embody the dance concepts through verbalization and movement.
•• Partner work, moving together and apart, and connecting with others.
•• Expression of feelings through movement.
•• Appropriate imagery (coming from the children), story dances, children’s literature,
and dance games.
•• Rhythmic activities with instruments exploring pulse and pattern.
•• Learning and practicing more advanced locomotor and nonlocomotor skills such
as hopping, skipping, balancing, lunging, melting, and so on.
•• Repetition of patterns and movement phrases that include stillness.
•• Composing simple dances as a group, with teacher facilitation for ages 4 and 5; in
pairs and trios for ages 6 and 7.
•• Sharing dances followed by simple reflection.
•• Receiving positive and descriptive feedback from the teacher.
•• Visual arts activities such as drawing the concepts and simple movement maps or
notation.
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“I know you were at the bottom of it,” charged Frances.
“My dear child—” began Champney.
“I’m not your child, and I’m not a child, and I won’t be deared by
you,” cried Frances.
“Madame Antiquity,” responded Champney, bowing, “I assure you,
that far from wishing to force you to go on this trip with me, I only
agreed to take you, at your father’s request, and at a great personal
sacrifice to myself.”
Frances turned, and banged down the lid of her trunk. Then she
banged it again, to get the hasp to fit. Then she picked up a pair of
discarded boots and threw them across the room, hitting Freddy,
who entered at that moment.
“Why, sweetness!” gasped Freddy, who did not see Champney.
“Oh, go away,” cried Frances, blushing. “Don’t bother me! Can’t
you see I’m too busy to waste time now?”
And to illustrate the callousness of man to true love, it is
regrettable to state that Champney slipped out of the door at this
point, with an expression of great muscular tension about his mouth,
and no sooner was he in the hall than the brute reeled up against the
wall and, leaning there, laughed to a sinful degree.
Then he walked to the end of the hall, and entering a room, also
cluttered with trunks, he sat upon one of them and retold the scene
to the woman packing. “I never saw anything so delicious in its way,”
he laughed. “I really believe the medicine’s begun to work already.
But do you know, Frances promises to be a tremendous beauty. Just
now, when her cheeks and eyes were blazing so, she was simply
glorious to look at.” Which shows that Champney’s cool, disregarding
manner was not more than skin deep, and that unlimited
possibilities lay underneath. Perhaps, too, another potion was
beginning to work.
“I’m sorry she is so childish with you, Champney,” said Mrs. De
Witt.
“Don’t trouble yourself about that. I really don’t mind it; indeed, I
am afraid I rather enjoy it. It’s much rougher on her than on me, for
she really feels it, and it’s the person who loses his or her temper who
suffers the most.”
“I hope the dear child will try to be more amiable, for naturally
she’s sweetness itself, and it’s bad enough to be saddled with us
without making your trip worse than need be. It’s so good of you to
take us!”
“Dear lady,” answered Champney, tenderly, “it’s nothing but a
little set-off against your years of goodness to me. You have really
given me a second home; nothing I can ever do will make me other
than your debtor.”
“It’s nice to hear you say so, Champney,” said Mrs. De Witt,
affectionately. “I have always felt as if you were a son of mine.”
“Then don’t talk to me about my goodness in taking you.”
“But it is good of you.”
“I don’t think Freddy and Frances think so.”
“Oh, Champney! Tell me, how did you find out their foolishness?”
“That is a secret,” chuckled Champney, “that goes with me to the
grave.”
⁂
Nor was it any better for Cupid the next day at the steamer. The
evil genius of the little god, in the shape of Potter, persisted in
following Frances about, and not a moment did she or Freddy find to
swear constancy or anything else to each other. Only a hand squeeze,
while the whistle was blowing “all ashore,” did they get to feed their
hearts upon during the separation.
Freddy went home, and, going to his room, flung himself on his
bed, and moaned, and bit the pillow, and felt he was feeling great
thoughts, and thought he was having great feelings.
And the little lady?
“No,” she declared, “I don’t want to walk with you; I don’t want a
steamer chair; I don’t want anything; I only want to be left al-o-o-o-
o-ne,” and—running to her stateroom, she flung herself upon the
lounge and wept over her unhappiness. “Oh, Freddy, Freddy,” she
sobbed, “only be true to me, that’s all I ask.”
But, alas, how is humanity constituted! The next morning, Freddy,
after a final look at himself in a tall mirror, remarked to the vision:
“Yes, that’s very tony. Now, I’ll take a walk on the Avenue, so as to
give the girls a treat.” As for Frances, after an hour’s rapid walk with
Champney in the crisp, sunny air, she came down to the breakfast-
table, and said: “Yes, steward, I’ll begin with fruit and oatmeal, and
then I’ll have chocolate, and beefsteak, and an omelette, and fried
potatoes, and hot rolls, and marmalade. Oh! And, steward, do you
have griddle cakes?”
Thus, despite their mutual intentions, the thought of each other
lessened daily, till even the inevitable correspondence lost interest
and flagged. Frances discovered that London, Paris, and the Riviera
offered greater attractions than Freddy’s witless and vapid “chronicle
of small beer;” while Freddy found that listening to the conversation
of a girl, present, was a far better way of spending time than reading
the letters of a girl, absent. Finally, Frances found a letter at the
bankers at Berne which ended the correspondence,—a letter over
which she laughed so heartily that Champney looked up from his
own bundle of mail and asked, “What is it that’s so funny?”
“Freddy’s engaged to Kitty Maxwell,” replied Frances.
“I don’t think you ought to be so gleeful at other people’s
misfortunes,” reproved Champney, laughing himself, however, while
speaking, as if he, too, saw something humorous in the
announcement.
“I—I wasn’t—I was laughing at something else,” Frances told him.
“What?” asked Champney.
“A secret,” replied Frances, blushing a little, even while laughing.
“Not from me?” urged Champney.
“Yes; I sha’n’t even tell you. Not a person in the world will ever
know it, and I’m very glad,” asserted Frances.
“I suspect I know it already,” suggested Champney. “I am a great
hand at finding out secrets. I have a patent method.”
“What is that?” asked Frances.
“That, too, is a secret,” laughed Champney.
⁂
When next we meet any of our characters, they—or at least two of
them—are toiling up a steep mountain path in the Bavarian Tyrol.
Frances leads, for the way is narrow, and Champney follows.
Conversation is at a marked discount; but whether this is due to the
natural incompatibility of the two, or merely to the exertion of the
climb, is unknown to history.
“She gets lovelier every day,” finally remarked Champney.
Frances stopped, and turned. “What did you say?” she asked.
“I didn’t speak,” answered Champney.
“I’m sure you did,” said Frances.
“No,” denied Champney, “I was merely thinking.”
“You did say something, I’m sure,” responded Frances, turning,
and resuming the climb.
Another five minutes brought them to the top of a little plateau set
in between two ranges of mountains, and dividing two lakes, famous
the world over. Even after the couple reached their destination,
however, they stood silent for a minute. Then Frances exclaimed,—
“Isn’t it glorious?”
“Lovely,” assented Champney, emphatically, but staring all the
time at Frances, making it doubtful of what he was speaking.
Frances, being quite conscious of this gaze, looked all the harder at
the view. “The mountains shut in so grandly!” she remarked, after a
pause.
“Such perfect solitude!” said Champney, enthusiastically.
“Yes,” assented Frances, with apparent reluctance in admitting the
fact. “But I suppose we must be going down again; mama will be
lonely.”
Champney calmly seated himself on a stone, unstrung his field-
glass, and surveyed through it the edge of the lake, far below them.
“Your mother,” he announced, “is sitting on the rug, just where we
left her. Her back is against the tree, and she is pretending to read.
But she’s doing nothing of the kind. She is taking a nap on the sly.
Surely you don’t want to disturb her?”
“It must be nearly luncheon time.”
“The boatmen haven’t even begun to unpack yet. Johann is just
taking the Vöslauer out of the boat, to cool it in the lake. They won’t
be ready for half an hour.”
Frances began to look a little worried. There was a dangerous
persistence in this evident desire to remain on the alp. “I think I’ll go
down, anyway,” she said.
“You mustn’t do that,” begged Champney, laying the field-glass on
the rock.
“Why not?” demanded Frances.
“Because I have something to say to you,” said Champney.
Silence and apparent interest in the view on the part of Frances.
“Do you know,” asked Champney, “that I planned to be away for
only two months?”
“Yes.”
“And that I have been over here more than eight?”
“Oh, not so long as that,” denied Frances.
“Eight months and four days.”
“How quickly the time has gone!”
“But it has gone, and that’s the trouble. I have decided that I must
go back in September.”
Frances hesitated, and then said bravely, “We shall be very sorry to
have you go.”
“That makes it all the harder,” groaned Champney, rising and
joining Frances. “In fact, I hate so to leave you” (“you” can be plural
or singular) “over here that—that I want you to go back with me. Will
you?”
“Why, that is for mama and papa to settle,” remarked Frances,
artfully dodging the question, though perfectly understanding it.
“This isn’t to be settled by fathers and mothers. My dar—my—I
want you to go—because you have become so dear to me. I want to
tell you—to tell you how I have grown to love you in these months.
How happy you can make me by a single word. I—you—once you told
me you were not ‘my dear child.’ Oh, Frances, won’t you be my
dearest love?”
“If you want me to be,” acceded Frances.
⁂
One of the simplest laws of natural philosophy is that a thing
descends more easily than it ascends. Yet it took those two over four
times longer to come down than it had taken them to go up,—which
proves that love is superior to all the laws of gravity; though it is not
meant to suggest by this that it has aught to do with levity. From
among a variety of topics with which they beguiled this slow descent
the following sentences are selected:
“I can’t believe it yet,” marvelled Champney. “It doesn’t seem as if
our happiness could have depended on such a small chance.”
“What chance?”
“Why—on that evening. When I found your mother wasn’t in, I
half turned away, but after hesitating, decided to wait. And then,
when I found you two in the morning room, I decided that I would
leave you, and go and read in the library. I was just about to say so,
when you told me to sit down by you on the sofa. That led to our
coming off here together, and really finding out about each other. Of
course that was equivalent to my falling desperately in love.”
“But you could have done that at home,” laughed Frances, merrily.
“No, I should have come off here, and some other man would have
won you.”
“Champney! I never could love any one but you.”
Champney swallowed the absurd statement rapturously. “That’s
just like the angel that you are,” he declared.
“But I knew you had something to do with our coming,” asserted
Frances, “though you did deny it.”
“No; like a consummate donkey, I didn’t want to be bothered with
you. Conceive of it, dear one, that I could ever think you a bother!”
“You didn’t know me,” laughed Frances happily, and with no
intention of vanity.
“No, I should think not. I wanted your father to take you. But I
shall never want any one else to do that in the future.”
“But why did you want me to go to Europe, if it wasn’t to be with
me?”
“Why—um—because, dear one, I saw a little girl that night who
was longing so for love that she was accepting a cheap and flashy
counterfeit in its stead. I didn’t want her to waste a real heart on such
an apology for a man, and so I interfered.”
“But how did you know?” cried Frances, looking bewildered. “We
had only just—you couldn’t have known it then?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Champney laughed as he replied: “That’s telling.”
⁂
And now, another leap, please, back to that fireplace, and sofa,
again occupied by two—but not the same two—or, at least, only half
the same.
“Well,” groaned Champney, “I suppose I ought to be going, for you
must look your prettiest to-morrow, otherwise malicious people will
say it’s a match arranged for the business.”
“Let them,” laughed Frances. “By the way, how have you arranged
about that? You are such a good business man, and papa and mama
are so delighted, that I know you have the best of it.”
“Of course I have. And she’s sitting beside me now. But nothing
mercenary to-night, Madam,” ordered Champney. “Cupid, not
cupidity.”
“Well, Champney, dear, at least do tell me how you found out
about—about—” Frances stopped there.
“Never,” persisted Champney, nestling back on the sofa and
laughing.
“I don’t think it’s nice for a man to have secrets from his wife,”
reproved Frances, taking an eminently feminine view of man’s
knowledge.
“That is to be,” corrected Champney.
“Will you tell me—after to-morrow?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too good to be told.”
“Ah, Champney!” And a small hand strayed round his neck, and
rested lightly against his cheek. Champney looked very contented.
“Please, dear.” And a pair of lips came dangerously close to his
own.
Champney groaned a satisfied groan. “Well,” he began, “do you
remember when I came in the evening before we sailed, how Freddy
was sitting over there, and you were sitting just where you are?”
“Yes.”
“And how you let me sit down here, just where I am?”
“Yes.”
“And how I chatted for a moment and then suddenly became
silent?”
“Yes.”
“That was when I discovered it.”
“How?”
“I found that the seat I was sitting in was warm!”
“SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE IS SAUCE FOR THE
GANDER”
“Oh, my dear!” cried her mother.

“I hope you have properly considered? He is charming, of course,
but—well—he is such a club habitué.”
“What? Well, well!” exclaimed her father. “Bless me, Meg, I had no
idea— Give me a kiss, if you have any to spare for your old dad now.
Why, of course, I consent, if you care for him. Only tell Mr. Tyler I
hear he spends too much time at his clubs.”
“Margaret! How nice!” ejaculated her sister. “I’ve liked him from
the start, and hoped—people said he was too fond of his club ever to
care to marry, and so I thought—but now it’s all right.”
“I knew he meant biz,” asserted her brother, “the moment he
began to keep away from the club, and put in so much time with
you.”
“I cannot tell you, my dearest Margaret (if I may call you that?),”
wrote his mother, “how happy I am over what my dear boy has just
told me. The luxury and ease of club life are now so great that I had
almost feared Harry could not be weaned from them. But since he
has chosen such a dear, beautiful, and clever girl, my worst anxiety is
over.”
“You are indeed to be congratulated, niece,” declared her aunt. “He
is a most eligible parti—good looks, position, and wealth. If you can
only keep him away from his clubs, I am confident you will be a very
happy and domestic couple.”
“I have been certain of it for weeks,” her dearest feminine friend
assured her. “There isn’t a man I would rather have had you take, for
he is so much at his club that I shall still see something of you.”
“Er, Miss Brewster,” said one of her rejected lovers, “let me offer
you my best wishes. At the club we all swear by Harry, and we
actually think of going into mourning over the loss. Er, the fellows
are laying bets as to whether we shall ever see him there again. The
odds are six to one on the club,—but the fellows don’t know you, you
know.”
“I want to offer you my heartiest congratulations,” gushed the girl
who had tried for him. “Mr. Tyler has always been one of my best
friends, and I am sure you will be very happy. He isn’t, of course,
very fond of women’s society, but— Have you asked him to resign
from his clubs?”
⁂
“Don’t you want to sit down, Harry?” asked Margaret, making
room on the little sofa beside the fire.
The young couple had enjoyed four months of ecstatic travel, thirty
days of chaos while they settled their household goods, and then a
recurring Indian-summer honeymoon of two months in front of their
own fireside in the charmingly cosey library where the above remark
was made. Upon this particular evening, however, Harry, in
following his wife from the dining-room, took neither his customary
seat beside his wife on the sofa nor lighted a cigar. On the contrary,
he stood leaning against the mantel with anything but an expression
or attitude of ease, and, noting this, Margaret had asked her
question.
“Not to-night, dear,” said Harry. “The truth is—well—I met
Parmlee on my way up town, and I—that is—he asked me to come
round to the club this evening—and, well—I didn’t like to disappoint
him. And then, a fellow mustn’t stag—that is—don’t you think, my
darling, that it’s a mistake for married people to see too much of each
other—and—”
“Oh, Harry!” cried Margaret, interrupting and rising. “You said
you never could have enough—”
“And I can’t, dearest,” interrupted Harry, hurriedly. “But you know
— Well—can’t you—”
“I feel as if it were the beginning of the end,” said Margaret, wildly.
“Now, my darling,” pleaded Harry, “do be reasonable. You know—
There, don’t cry. I won’t go. Sit down here and let me tell you how
much I love you.”
This occupied some time, but the clock never told on them, so it is
impossible to say just how long. Presently Margaret said:
“Harry, did you really want to—to leave me?”
“Not a bit,” lied Harry. “It was only to keep my word to Parmlee.”
“I suppose it’s too late now?” questioned Margaret, hopefully.
“Late? Oh, no! Fun’s just beginning. But I’m going to stay with
you, sweetheart.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then Margaret said: “If you
want to go, I want you to do it, Harry.”
“Well,” responded Harry, rising, “if you insist, dearest.”
“I do,” assented Margaret, in the most faint-hearted of voices.
“That’s a darling!” said her husband. “It’s half-past nine, so you’ll
only have a few minutes of loneliness before you go to bed.”
“I sha’n’t go to bed, Harry,” sighed Margaret, dolefully.
“Why, my darling,” protested Harry, a little irritably, “you don’t
want to make me miserable thinking of you as here by yourself.
Please be reasonable and don’t sit up for me. Leave me free to come
home when I want.”
“Very well, Harry,” acceded Margaret, dutifully, “if you insist I
won’t wait for your return.”
Harry took the charming face in his hands, and kissed each eyelid,
and then the lips. “I don’t deserve such an angel,” he asserted, his
conscience pricking him, “and— Oh, hang Parmlee!” he growled, as
her eyes, a little misty, looked up into his own. However, she
belonged to him, and there were plenty of evenings, and—well—
“Good-night, my treasure,” he ended.
⁂
Margaret remained standing where Harry had left her until she
heard the front door close; then she collapsed on the sofa and softly
sobbed her sense of desertion and grief into the pillow. The warnings
of her family and friends recurred to her, and added to the pain of
the moment a direful dread of the future. Not knowing that most
bachelors are regular club men merely because it is the nearest
approach to home life they can attain, she dwelt on his having been
apparently wedded to these comforters of men, before marriage, and
inferred a return to his former daily frequenting of them.
Her grief was keen enough to prevent her from noticing that the
front door was presently opened, and not till she heard a faint cough
in the room did she raise her head from the pillow. It was to find a
servant with his back turned to the sofa, occupied, apparently, in
setting a chair in a position entirely unsuited to it,—a proceeding he
made far more noisy than became a well-trained butler, and which
he accompanied with two more coughs.
Hurriedly wiping her eyes, Margaret asked, “What is it, Craig?”
With his eyes carefully focussed to see everything but his
mistress’s face, the man came forward and held out his tray.
Almost mechanically she took the card upon it, and after a mere
glance she directed,—“Say that Mrs. Tyler is not receiving this
evening, and begs to be excused.”
Left alone once more, the young wife sat down upon a stool near
the fire, and looked into the blaze, idly twirling the card. “I wonder,”
she soliloquised presently, “if he would have done the same.” Again
she lapsed into meditation, for a few minutes; then suddenly she sat
up straight, with an air of sudden interest which was clearly derived
from her own thoughts. A moment later, she gave a short, hesitating
laugh. “If I only dared! I wonder if he would? Men are—” she said
disconnectedly; but even as she spoke, her face softened. “Poor
dear!” she murmured tenderly. Yet the words of pity melted into
another laugh, and this time merriment and not guilt was as the
dominant note. Springing to her feet with vivacity, she sped into the
hall, and placed the card on the tray, and that in turn conspicuously
on the hatrack. A second action consisted in turning on all the
electric lights of the chandelier. This done, she touched the bell.
“You may close the house, Craig,” she ordered, when the servant
responded to the summons, “but as Mr. Tyler has gone to his club, I
wish you to leave these lights just as they are. I prefer that he should
not come home to a darkened house, so don’t turn out one.” Giving
one last glance, half merry and half guilty, at the bit of pasteboard
put in so prominent a position, Margaret lightly tripped upstairs,
humming something to herself.
⁂
Meantime Harry had wended his way to the club.
“Hello, Tyler!” said the man his wife had refused. “Don’t mean to
say you’ve actually ceased to be one of the ‘submerged tenth?’ How
and where is your superior moiety?”
“When I left Mrs. Tyler before her fire, ten minutes ago, she was
very well.”
“By George, if I had as clever and pretty a wife I don’t think I
should dare to leave her alone. I should be afraid of the other men.”
Harry turned away to hide his frown, but as he went towards the
door of the billiard room, rejoined: “Perhaps it wouldn’t be safe with
your wife.” To himself he carolled gleefully: “That cuts both ways.”
“But you are not afraid, I understand,” called the man, irritatingly,
“so I take it you won’t mind if I drop round there for a few moments
this evening, eh?”
“Certainly not,” responded Harry, suavely, but gritting his teeth.
“Hang the fellow,” he muttered. “How do such cads ever get into
decent clubs? As if Margaret’s refusing him twice wasn’t enough to
make him understand that she doesn’t want him round!”
Tyler’s anger was quickly forgotten in the warm reception his
cronies gave him, and a tumbler of “unsweetened” and a cue quickly
made him forget both the incident and the passing hours. Not till the
marker notified the players that the time limit had come did he wake
to the fact that it was two o’clock.
With a sense of guilt the husband hurried home. In the hallway, as
he took off hat and coat, he noticed the card, and picked it up. “So he
did come,” he growled, with a frown. “I hope Meg had gone to bed
before he got here. Not, of course, that it really matters,” he went on.
“She told me she never could endure him, so he’s welcome to call as
often as he likes to be snubbed.” To prove how little he cared, the
husband crushed the card viciously, and tossed it on the floor.
The light in Margaret’s room was burning low, Harry noticed when
he had ascended the stairs, and, peeping in, he saw that she was
sleeping peacefully. Entering quietly, he looked at her for a moment,
thinking with a little pang that he had given her pain. “You don’t
deserve such an angel,” he said aloud. “See how she has done just
what you asked her to do, with never a word of— There isn’t another
woman who would have taken it so sweetly. You’re an ass! And for
what? Four hours of—of nothing, when I might have been with her.”
He leaned down to very softly kiss a stray curl, and went towards his
own room, while saying: “How pretty and dainty she is! She’s worth
all the clubs in the world!” What was more, for a minute he believed
it.
The moment Harry was gone Margaret opened her eyes very wide,
rose softly, and looked at the clock. Then she went back to bed,
smiling demurely.
⁂
The next morning, when Harry entered the breakfast room a little
late, he was received with a kiss, and no word of reproach. Margaret
chatted over the meal in her usual entertaining, happy mood, telling
him the news she had already extracted from the morning’s paper.
“She’s too clever ever to nag a man,” thought Harry, and assured
that he was not to be taken to task, he became equally amiable, and
told her whom he had seen at the club, and of his score.
“I’m glad you had such a pleasant evening!” said Margaret,
sweetly. “I hope you didn’t stay so late as to tire yourself.”
“I didn’t notice the time,” fibbed Harry, “but probably I was in by
twelve.”
“Oh, no, dear,” said Margaret, pleasantly, “for I didn’t get home till
after one myself, and you weren’t back then.”
⁂
Twenty times Harry has tried to persuade his wife into
acknowledging that she spoke in jest, but Margaret only looks at him
with wideopen, questioning eyes, as innocent as a child’s. Her
husband firmly believes that she went to bed ten minutes after he left
the house, and always ends his unsuccessful attempts to get her to
confess the fact by taking Margaret in his arms and telling her of his
belief. This faith his wife rewards with a tender kiss, but only a kiss,
and still maintains her demure silence.
Harry spends no more evenings at the club, and every woman who
knows him holds him up to other men as an ideal married Benedick.
THE CORTELYOU FEUD
It could never have happened to us anywhere in New York but at

Mrs. Baxter’s. I say this not with bitterness at, but in calm
recognition of, the merits and demerits of that universally esteemed
lady. Abroad, with the lords chamberlain, herald’s offices, and
peerages, it would be impossible. In the far West, where the
biography and genealogy of the leading families are not subjects for
polite conversation, it might occur frequently. But in New York, lying
between these two extremes, one is safe, except from accidents due
to the unfortunate existence of a peculiar class of people.
The kind I refer to are those described as having a good heart.
Such an organ involves, as a natural corollary, a weak head. These
qualities in combination are a terrible menace to society; for, owing
to the very goodness of heart, their possessors are pardoned over and
over again, and repeat their ill deeds with as much immunity from
punishment as a New York police captain. Every social circle has one
or more of these half-criminals, and in that in which my lot was cast
Mrs. Baxter was unequalled for the number, ingenuity, and
innocence of her mistakes. Omitting all hearsay and they-say
knowledge, I was her forty-seventh victim; and as pœnologists affirm
that more than half of the criminal acts are undiscovered, it can at
once be seen how society is menaced by people with good hearts.
The lady who always tells me when I do wrong—and to married
men I need not be more descriptive—has held me responsible for
that evening; and, since she married me, her husband is not the one
to impeach her discrimination. She insists that, knowing Mrs.
Baxter, I should have come early, and so had time to arrange matters
quietly. I appeal to any man if it would ever occur to him to get to a
dinner early on the possibility he was to sit next a lighted shell, in
order that he might express to his hostess his dislike of explosives.
All New York has known for years of our family feud. It’s been
common property ever since our esteemed ancestors thrashed it out
in court, to the enjoyment of the public and the disruption of our
family. For thirty years dinners, luncheons, yacht cruises, and house
parties have been arranged so as to keep a proper distance between
the descendants of my grandfather John Cortelyou and of his
nephew Dabney. Sometimes I have seen one of the latter at the
opposite end of a large dinner-table, and here and there I have had
other glimpses of them. But until that evening, no matter how close
chance brought us together, we had always succeeded in maintaining
a dignified unconsciousness of each other’s existence.
I was, let it be confessed, thirty minutes late, and merely accepting
the last little envelope on the tray the footman offered me, hurried
towards the drawing-room. On my way I naturally looked at the card
inside and read:
Mr. Pellew.
Miss Cortelyou.
That meant nothing to me. The name is not an uncommon one, and I
have taken in my aunts often enough to get accustomed to the
occurrence, even in the family. So, without a second thought of the
matter, I passed through the doorway and discharged my devoirs
with Mrs. Baxter.
“I was on the point of suicide, thinking you had failed me,” she
said. “As it is, Mr. and Mrs. Dana have just sent me word that they
can’t come because Milly has croup.”
“My note said half after seven,” I stated boldly. When one is very
late it is always best to put one’s hostess in the wrong, and a mistake
more or less to Mrs. Baxter was immaterial.
“Oh, never!” she declared, so guiltily that I was really sorry for her.
“Well, we can’t discuss it now. We were just going in without you,
and we’ll go on, leaving you to find your partner by the process of
elimination. I haven’t left you Hobson’s choice, however.”
I glanced round, and as the couples had gravitated together, I
easily picked out the only single figure left, and went towards it. She
was turned from me, standing by Ferdie Gallaudet and his partner,
who had not yet moved.
“That back is too young and pretty for Aunt Ellen or Madge,” was
my first thought. My second was a spoken one, and merely consisted
of the trite, “I am to have the pleasure, Miss Cortelyou.”
She was saying something to the girl, and went on saying it, with
her head over her shoulder, even as she rested her hand on my arm
and let me lead her away. And just as I was going to look at her, I
caught sight of Ferdie’s face, and fell to wondering what could ail him
that he looked so queer. We had been close to the door, and before
she had finished her remark, or I had ceased from wondering, we
were through it and in the half-gloom of the hall.
“I beg your pardon,” said she, turning to me, and speaking very
sweetly. “It was a message, and I had only just begun when you
came.”
“What a nuisance messages are!” was my remark. “What a nice
voice you have!” was my thought. Then we entered the dining-room,
and I glanced at my partner. It was Kate Cortelyou!
She looked at me at the same moment, and as our eyes met, an
expression of consternation appeared on both our faces. At least,
that’s what I felt in myself and saw in her. Horror succeeded as a
next sensation and expression. Womanlike, she cast her eyes
appealingly towards her hostess, and, manlike, I took a step towards
the hall door. In another second I think I should have bolted, but just
then Ferdie Gallaudet said, “Here’s your seat, Jack,” with a grin like a
Cheshire cat on his face. I looked at Kate and she looked at me. Then
we both looked at the chairs. Mechanically I stepped to them and
pulled out that on the right of mine. Kate’s eyelashes fluttered for a
moment, as if she were hesitating; then she slipped into the seat, and
the next moment I was sitting beside her. But enchantingly pretty as
I thought her (and I was either too fair-minded or she was too
beautiful for me not to acknowledge it, however much I might dislike
to do so), I could only wish I had broken my leg on my way to the
house.
I turned to my left to see if any escape were possible, but my
neighbour on that side was that horrible perpetual motion of a Mrs.
Marvin, and, besides, she was very properly occupied with her
partner. I peered furtively behind Kate to see if she could escape me,
for anything was better than the alternative. Next her were two
empty seats. Mrs. Baxter’s capacity for social blundering had done its
worst.
There is this to be said for the Cortelyou women, whether friends
or enemies: I’ve never seen one show the white feather in action. Just
as I was preparing to collapse under this accumulation of horrors,
Kate turned to me, with the friendliest of smiles, and murmured,—
“It’s ghastly, but every one except Mrs. Baxter is watching us.”
I took a furtive glimpse of the other guests. They were all
pretending to talk, but all clearly were missing nothing of our
tableau vivant. Wasn’t she clever to have seen it so quickly?
“They hope we’ll make a show of the family for their benefit,” I
growled.
“Can’t we—” suggested Kate, and then hesitated, and blushed very
prettily. The Cortelyou women are plucky, but Kate was only
nineteen.
I never was good as leader, but at the shafts I’m steady and
reliable. “Of course we can,” I responded, won by that blush.
“Don’t frown, then,” smiled Kate.
“I was not frowning at you,” I protested.
“But they’ll think you are,” she replied.
I tried to appear as pleased as Kate so successfully pretended to be,
and she rewarded me with an encouraging “That’s better,” and a very
refreshing look at her eyes.
“Now,” she continued, “how can we do it?”
“I’m pretty well up on the litany,” I whispered. “If you can do the
supplications I can respond with the ‘miserable sinner’ part.”
Kate laughed merrily, even while shaking her head reprovingly.
Kate has nice teeth. “You are painfully frank,” she told me.
“Frank?”
“Yes. You are probably not a bit more miserable than I am, but I
don’t groan aloud.”
“Oh, I say!” I exclaimed, rather horrified at the construction my
speech had been given. “It would be pure form, you know, quite as it
is in church, and not mean a bit more than it does when the sinner’s
pretty and wears a French gown.”
Kate drew her mouth down into a church-going expression, which
was very fetching in its demureness, but which wasn’t suitable for
our public performance, so I remarked:
“Don’t look so disapproving. The saintly vein suits the Madonna
type, but the Cortelyou forte lies in quite another direction.”
I won another laugh from those unsaintly lips. “You are worse than
I thought,” she added.
“Then you have thought of me?” I inquired, beginning to mellow
under her laugh. That was a mistake, for her face instantly became
serious, and her eyes gave a flash.
“What I think is my own concern,” she responded. The Cortelyou
women are stunning when they look haughty.
Being one of the family, however, I am too accustomed to the look
to be as entirely crushed by it as others are. “Who’s frowning now?” I
asked. I thought I’d learn what kind of a temper Kate had.
She still smiled as if she liked being put next me, but her eyes
gleamed, and I knew she’d pay me for my speech if the opportunity
occurred.
“We can’t begin like this,” she said. “Suggest something else.”
“I once heard of a poor couple in an English county who were
always sitting next each other, so they agreed to count alternative
tens up to a thousand,” I answered.
“I’m afraid you haven’t enough facial control for that,” replied
Kate, sweetly, appearing the picture of contentment. I thought her
remark unnecessary, considering we had been face to face only a few
minutes, and that she had just lost control of hers.
“Then suggest something yourself,” I muttered.
“As the photographer says, ‘A little more smile, please,’” corrected
Kate. “Yes, you unquestionably have the Cortelyou temper,” she
added serenely.
“If I had,” I asserted, “I should long since have turned to Mrs.
Marvin, who is dying for a listener.” I thought I’d let Kate understand
I wasn’t sitting next two empty chairs.

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Textbook Brain Compatible Dance Education Second Editon Edition Gilbert Ebook All Chapter PDF

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Brain compatible dance education

Second Editon Edition Gilbert

Getting started in ballet : a parent's guide to dance

Movement Disorders in Childhood Second Edition Gilbert

Enamines Synthesis Structure and Reactions Second

The Second World War A Complete History Martin Gilbert

Ungoverning dance : contemporary European theatre dance

Dance and Creativity within Dance Movement Therapy

The Criminal Brain Understanding Biological Theories of

Quantitative MRI of the Brain : Principles of Physical

Anne Green Gilbert

PART I Foundations of Brain-Compatible

2 Principles of Brain-Compatible Dance Education 23

3 Planning Brain-Compatible Lessons 31

PART II Brain-Compatible Lesson Plan Sections

6 Exploring the Concept 95

7 Developing Skills 137

9 Cooling Down 219

PART III Brain-Compatible Lesson Plans

11 Ages 5 to 8 Years 251

12 Ages 9 Years to Adult 265

13 Older Adults 279

14 Bonus Lesson Plans 291

Over the past decade, advances in the field of neuroscience

“In dance you have more than your

Figure 1.1 Structure of the human brain.

Located next to the brain stem and

endurance in life-threatening situations,

White matter Cerebrum

Figure 1.4 The cortex (forebrain).

Reflexes and Their Integration

Movement stimulates brain growth and promotes brain health.

Moro Reflex: Breath, Core–Distal

Dancers stretch and curl in core−distal movements.

Palmar and Grasp Reflexes:

Spinal Galant and Tonic Labyrinthine Reflexes:

Plantar, Symmetrical Tonic Neck, and Landau

Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR):

Conception to Birth: Cell Explosion

•• Opportunities to embody the dance concepts through verbalization and movement.

This baby demonstrates a variety of reflexive patterns.

Ages 4 to 12: Dendrite Expansion

“Oh, my dear!” cried her mother.

It could never have happened to us anywhere in New York but at

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