Submitted by Daniel J. Fee, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Idea posted April 12, 2002

This little dance REALLY works well for "A Little Green" (from Music K-8, Vol. 8, No. 4). This fits the dance section of the song, which is sort of like an unsung second verse.

Dance formation is one or more lines. Each student needs to stand next to their partner (so it's a couple dance).

  • Beats 1-4: Everyone claps four steady beats.
  • Beats 5-8: Everyone "sideways gallops" (sashays... how you pronounce it, NOT how you spell it!!) to the LEFT.
  • Beats 9-12: Everyone claps four steady beats.
  • Beats 13-16: Sideways gallop to the RIGHT (so you're back where you started).
  • Beats 17-24: Partners hook elbows and skip to the LEFT for eight beats.
  • Beats 25-32: Partners hook elbows and skip to the RIGHT for eight beats.
  • Beats 33-40: Person on the LEFT kneels on one knee... other person skips around them for eight beats.
  • Beats 41-48: Person on the RIGHT kneels on one knee... other person skips around them for eight beats.

I did this today with fourth grade and they LOVED it. Lots of smiles... performed it for their teachers, etc. We hope to take it out to the playground soon, with a boom box, more room, sunshine, etc.

You can vary this, of course... The hooking elbow section could be something like "join right hands or both hands and skip around in a circle for eight counts." The section following that (one kneels and one skips) can be tweaked by having the kneeling person raise one hand in the air... looks cool... and/or the person skipping at that point could hold that hand as they skip.

Clear as mud? Hope not! The "A Little Green" song is perfect for this since it's in 6/8 and all the skipping in the dance makes it feel very 6/8ish. You could easily add some "fancy footwork" in the clapping section to make it look more Irish/Riverdance-like.

Enjoy! What a nice tune!

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