Bollywood style

Junior high students at Herrera are learning about the India culture, costumes, and style of Bollywood dance.  Here is a picture of students practicing their routine demonstrating snake arms for their December recital.

Ballet Arizona Performance for Families

Ballet Arizona will present its 14th annual Ballet Under the Stars, series at parks throughout the Valley. FREE and open to the public, Ballet Under the Stars, allows Arizona communities to enjoy dance in a unique outdoor setting complete with a stage, lighting, costumes and beautiful Arizona weather. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy a varied program, ranging from classical to contemporary. You won’t want to miss this perfect show for the entire family – it is a great way to enjoy dance with your child.




Friday, September 23, 2011 at Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe 7:00PM

Saturday, September 24, 2011 at Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix (Phoenix Green) 7:00PM

Warm Ups

K-4 students have been learning different stretches and a hip hop warm up called "Freeze It" that gets their body ready for everyday's dance lesson.  Students have come to a point where they can help lead the warm ups without the teacher!  Ms.Sun is so proud of you, Herrera students! 

Body Shapes

Students learned about the moon and how movement on the moon is slower.  Students pretended to explore the moon by performing slow dance movements such as floating, twisting, turning, reaching and bending.  They also used their own creativity by making differnt body shapes representing differnt types of moon rocks, including ones that are spiky, smooth, and round.  Above are pictures of students creating their own rocks.

1950s and 1960s Dancing

Ms.Sun and Ms. Castrigano taught a lesson that combined dance and the visual arts. Students learned dance moves from the 1950s and 1960s that appear in the Broadway show Hairspray and drew the dance movements they learned using Keith Harring's drawing style.  Students had the oppurtunity to use full body mirrors to use themselves as models to help them with their drawings.