Interactive Assembly: How To Build a Dance

is a joyful and lively presentation, demonstrating the structure, discipline, and sources of modern dance choreography through performances, discussions, and student participation. The company has been successful throughout the Metro Denver area public school system for more than two decades, captivating student audiences with its performances.

Hannah Kahn, artistic director, leads the program, and five to ten dancers from the Hannah Kahn Dance Company perform fully staged and costumed dances to demonstrate contrasting styles, musical accompaniment, costumes, and moods.

Objectives of the program:

• To enlighten students about the elements that go into “building a dance”
• To encourage and refine concentration and observation skills
• To experience learning a dance phrase. Children will be taught some of the phrases in their seats or on stage, remembering several movements in a row and recognizing them as they appear in the dances
• To inspire students with new creative possibilities and structures, to show that discipline and abstraction can be fun
• To expose students to kinds of movement and music that may not be familiar to them, to encourage open-minded curiosity and interest
• To attune students to the natural human interest in rhythm and motion
• To Have Fun!

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Hannah Kahn leading students in stretching

We have created a virtual version of our interactive assembly.

Contact us  if your school is interested! It has already been used successfully at Knapp Elementary in Denver, and we are looking for other schools. For Denver Public Schools there would be no cost to the school. For other locations we would ask for a $50 co-payment.

The Hannah Kahn Dance Company offers assembly performances and dance workshops for schoolchildren.  Bringing dance and the arts into educational settings is something we love to do. We also conduct residencies at schools which include workshops, choreography on students, and performances by the Hannah Kahn Dance Company.

Dance Workshops and Master Classes

Hannah Kahn Dance Company is flexible in terms of what we offer. In addition to performances, we are available for dance workshops and master classes. The students would learn about the elements of dance (body, space, time, and energy) through dance techniques and improvisational games exposing them to the process of creating their own dances.

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Interested in our programs? Contact us!

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Teacher comments

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of our kids. Everyone had fun.”

Mountain View Elementary

“Fantastic! I was impressed with how much integration between academic and arts Hannah put into the performance. Even our preschoolers sat quietly for 45 minutes enjoying the performance. I had students dancing the rest of the day!”

Hygiene Elementary

“Your instructors were awesome!”

Charles Hay Elementary

“Thank you for coming to our school! I loved how you managed to get the kids moving and get them involved…the dancers did a fantastic job.”

Moody Elementary

“The students were dancing around the playground after the performance!”

Blue Mountain Elementary

“The performance ‘How to Build a Dance’ was wonderful. There was a variety of music styles as well as dance styles. There was a connection made to language arts as well as math concepts. Costumes were engaging. Thank you!”

Tollgate Elementary

“The students were so engaged and eager to participate, and loved the interactive involvement! This was a wonderful learning experience for all!

Campbell Elementary

“The students connected with “the energy, vitality and creativity of the dances.”

University Park Elementary

“The performance was a great balance between instruction and interaction with student participation. The students loved it and I’m sure it will be one of the memorable events from their time here at our school.”

Franklin Elementary

“The dance program at Smoky Hill High school was twice blessed by the generosity of the Hannah Kahn Dance Company. The students were inspired by the professionalism, grace, and athleticism of the dancers. They were able to see firsthand the focus and flexibility needed to take a piece and adapt it to a new space as well as the sweat and hard work needed for the professional world. They also grew tremendously during their one on one work with the guest choreographer from the Hannah Kahn Company. Rya was kind and patient yet exacting, providing the students a safe place to challenge themselves. Although very different from anything they had experienced, this piece became their favorite and they requested to resurrect it for their final showing for parent night.”

Smoky Hill High School

“They absolutely loved it. Our 6th graders are a tough audience and they were totally engaged.”
“Our students came away with new skills and an appreciation for dance… This assembly was sheer joy, from start to finish!”

Peiffer Elementary

“It is difficult to find dance companies that have such talented dancers doing work that is creatively original and your company has both of these qualities. Our students can tell right away that there is a high level of professionalism and expertise that they don’t often see.”

Greeley Central High School