Zoomdance Presents Online Dance Classes!

ZoomDance has been empowering kids with creativity, curiosity, and confidence for 12 years! During these trying times, ZoomDance is offering new VIRTUAL classes to encourage kids to stay active and give them a means to connect to other kids and express themselves from home.

This program supports child development both physically and mentally, while they may be missing these things during school and community center closures. These offerings (based around a different theme each week) are fully interactive, where the instructor can see each individual dancer to offer personalized support. They employ an incredible team of engaging and effective teachers to lead these action adventure story-telling movement classes including company founder, Sarah Gladwin Camp, and professional artists Ashley DeMain, Marissa Barnathan, Rachel Camp, Kelly Filios, Mallory Cohen, and Grayce Hoffman.

Class offerings include mixed-age classes for 2-7 year olds centered around a new theme each week (such as "Sneaky Monsters," "Superhero Rescue Mission," or "Great Unicorn Search"), ZoomBallet classes for ages 3-9 years in which the dancers learn choreography in a smaller group, and ZoomDance BOOST where the teachers lead songs, stretches, and games with a focus on supporting caregivers in new ways to interact with their toddlers. They also have short bedtime stories available via Facebook and Instagram live at 7pm every weeknight.

All sessions are FREE or sliding scale to make them accessible to as many families as possible.

So far, programming has been inspiring kids and relieving parents across the region. At the end of each week, ZoomDance instructors offer suggestions for activities and books in line with the week's theme to keep the fun going at home. One parent, Shannon P., says her child "has been very hesitant to go outside with everything going on, but right after our session today, we went on a 'unicorn hunt' around the neighborhood complete with walking through mud and swimming across rivers. THANK YOU for such a good experience." The circumstances of the world right now can be difficult for humans of any age to process, and ZoomDance is here to help provide little ones with a safe space for emotional expression.

Another parent, Ellie S., gushes: "Simply put, you are saving us!!! As soon as the class began (yesterday's 'monster' class) my daughter's face lit up. And as soon as the teacher began talking, full of energy and enthusiasm, my heart warmed. Those two things in particular are something we, the parents, are severely lacking in these days of working AND parenting from home, all day long. Thank you so much for this invaluable service during these challenging times."

reen Chair Dance Group, a dance-theatre company based in Philadelphia which toured numerous states and performed in Europe. In addition to leading ZoomDance, she works with FringeArts in collaboration with International Artists bringing to life large-scale community dance and performance projects such as 100% Philadelphia, Gala, Le Super Grand Continental, and Úumbal. At home in South Philly she spends much of her time chasing and pretending with her 5-year-old.

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