Music and Movement for All Ages
Presented by Kris Olsen
Description
In this workshop, we’ll discover ways to strengthen musical skills and create avenues for creativity and growth by getting children actively involved. For our youngest students, we’ll explore age-appropriate activities that utilize adapted folk dance, fanciful finger plays, and the world of pretend. For our older students, we’ll explore how limiting choices and developing clear structures can benefit the creative process. We’ll also have a special topic where we learn about Border Morris dance, a percussive folk dance from the border of Wales and England that uses wooden sticks.
Bio
Kris Olson has taught music and movement for over 35 years. Before moving to Texas,
Kris taught in public, private, rural, and urban elementary schools across Minnesota.
Currently, Kris teaches as a private contractor in Lubbock, Texas with a focus in early
childhood and family-based music and dance. She offers after school classes for
elementary students that integrate bucket drumming, body percussion, and singing and
she leads the children’s Border Morris team, Coyote Morris. Kris adjuncts in dance at
Texas Tech University and teaches workshops and summer classes at various
universities. She has her master’s degree in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St.
Thomas. While living in Minneapolis, Kris studied dance at Zenon Dance Company and
was a founding member of Schulfunk, an Orff based performance group that combined
song, dance, and percussion. Her current musical hobbies include playing doumbek in
Texas Tech’s Balkan ensemble and improving her skills on her covid instrument, the
bodhrán.
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