Jim Grant / Nevada Appeal
From hip-hop moves like the "old school" to letting loose in freestyle, dance instructor Angie Maw helped kindergartners and first-graders at Bordewich-Bray elementary school get their swag on Tuesday.
But 6-year-old Karson Lewis didn't really need the instruction.
"I know moves already," he said. "I practice at home."
As part of the school's improvement plan to increase student activity, kindergarten teacher Michele Cacioppo arranged for Maw, a dance teacher at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center, to teach hip-hop to 90 kindergartners and 30 first-graders.
"We recognize many of our students do not eat a healthy diet or exercise on a regular basis," Cacioppo said. "We are providing students a variety of opportunities to find an activity that will help them live a more active lifestyle.
"Some kids are not sports kids. They have to find some sort of activity that will keep them healthy."
Maw - with the help of dancers who included her sons Adam, 13, and Ryan, 10, along with Sophia Cacioppo, 11, and Sadie Share, 12 - taught the students a choreographed routine to Justin Timberlake's version of "Santa Claus is coming to Town."
"I like going down to my legs then twist fast, then I just up," said Paris Bradley, 6.
Maw's dance students performed tap and hip-hop routines then taught the children a variety of dance movements, incorporating both upper and lower body.
"I like dancing from my feet to my hands," said Clayton Smithson, 5. "And I love it."
Physical education teacher Linda Hurzel said it was a good way to get kids moving.
"They get to recognize there are other ways you can exercise," she said. "We're talking to them about getting in 60 minutes of exercise a day. They can turn on the radio and dance for a while. They can go outside and go for a hike. We're trying to show them how easy it can be. And they can have fun."
