The National Dance Standards were developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations (CNAEA) in 1994 and have been endorsed by the US Department of Education and by numerous professional organizations. California is one of the many states that have signed on to the NDS. To summarize, the main content areas for K-4 Dance Standards, taken directly from the NDS document, are:

• Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing dance
• Understanding choreographic principles, processes, and structures
• Understanding dance as a way to create and communicate meaning
• Applying and demonstrating critical and creative thinking skills in dance
• Demonstrating and understanding dance in various cultures and historical periods
• Making connections between dance and healthful living
• Making connections between dance and other disciplines

Each of the content areas consists of a set of achievement standards. For example, the achievement standards for the first content area above (“Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing dance”) include:

• Students accurately demonstrate eight basic locomotor movements
• Students create shapes at low, middle, and high levels
• Students demonstrate the ability to define and maintain personal space
• Students demonstrate movements in straight and curved pathways
• Students attentively observe and accurately describe the action (such as skip, gallop) and movement elements (such as levels, directions) in a brief movement study

We have prepared a document outlining the California Dance Standards for grades K-3, which are the relevant grades for our current roll-out of Moving To Learn. You can download that here. You can view the complete standards at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/damain.asp