Elaine Sisler

Dancer • Choreographer • Professional Development • Curriculum Design

Elaine Sisler is an experienced dancer, classroom teacher, arts educator and advocate. She teaches a wide variety of curriculum themes in classroom settings using creative movement, dance, and music. Elaine also provides professional development for teachers, training them to use dance and movement as vehicles for teaching and learning, based on state and national learning standards. Elaine believes students can learn much of what they need to know through music, movement, dance, drama, and good literature. These are the tools she uses to design programs that help children and adults develop creative thinking, problem solving skills, and aesthetic awareness.

ARTS IN MOTION

Elaine Sisler presents workshops for students and teachers, integrating creative movement and dance into music, visual art and physical education curricula. All Arts in Motion programs are aligned with the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework.

VISUAL ART

Performing Picasso

Students examine the history and work of the artist Pablo Picasso. Symbols, shapes, colors, and moods are interpreted through dance, drama, and creative movement. Activities include:

  • Pantomime
  • Storytelling
  • Improvisation

Moving with the Masters

Students explore a variety of artists and art forms including sculpture, painting, and architecture, focusing on nonverbal communication. Lessons include:

  • Vincent Van Gogh and “The Gory Details”
  • Michelangelo and “More Dancing on the Ceiling”
  • Edgar Degas and “Ballet to Boogie-Woogie”

Let’s Dance a Painting

Vibrant contemporary paintings by Massachusetts’s artist Ruth Lieberherr are used to motivate students to express ideas and feelings through poetry, creative movement, and dance. Themes include:

  • Patterns in Nature and Art
  • Elements and Principles of Design
  • Observation, Invention, and Expression

MUSIC

Introduction to Classical Composers

Students listen and respond to classical music demonstrating steady beat, tempo, rhythmic change, and phrasing. Activities include:

  • Mozart: “Let’s Dance a Story”
  • Camille Saint-Saens: “Carnival of the Animals”
  • Tchaikovsky: "The Nutcracker”

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Students learn music history and develop creative thinking skills while discovering contrasting musical styles and dances including:

  • Ancient Circle Dance
  • Contemporary Street Dancing
  • Ethnic Rhythms
  • American Blues and Jazz

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Students stretch their bodies and imaginations while gaining balance and control. Gross motor and eye hand coordination skills are developed as students learn a variety of dances from different regions and historical eras including:

Hawaiian Holiday

  • Volcano Dance
  • Traditional Kahiko
  • Rock a Hula

Shake Dance Crazes

  • Shaker Dancing
  • Charleston Shimmy
  • Harlem Shake

Western Hoe Down

  • Aaron Copland’s Rodeo (Ballet Not for Wimps)
  • Cotton-Eyed Joe (Unison line dance)
  • Billy the Kid (On the Prairie Improvisation)

CUSTOM RESIDENCIES

Elaine’s strength is enhancing existing curriculum and giving it new life. Please call for a free consultation to integrate music and movement into your instructional day. The Western Hoe Down unit is a result of this process. A school district wanted to excite student learning of “Children of the Wild West.”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Dancing Through the Frameworks

This professional development workshop for elementary teachers focuses on the dance standards of the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework. Participants engage in interactive music, movement, and dance activities to develop effective strategies for the implementation of creative movement and dance into academic and arts curricula. Ten dance standards are explored, defined, and demonstrated through active participation in previously designed and successfully implemented lessons and activities. Handouts include sample lesson plan outlines and resource materials for effective follow-up.

Workshop Program Logistics

  • Works with a class or two at a time
  • Can work in performance space or classroom
  • May conclude with a student performance
  • Brings cd player and recordings for each curriculum theme

Right-click here to download Elaine Sisler's biography.