Dance Workshops – Listening to Your Emotions – Move, Feel, and Express Yourself with Sonia Nding
About the Instructor
Sonia is the founder of Dance Daily. Trained from childhood in various styles (ballet, hip-hop, jazz, Bollywood), she has performed on Calgary’s most prestigious stages. As a certified Naacho Bollywood Fitness instructor, she teaches adults and children with passion.
Through her approach centred on rhythm and play, she offers classes, youth workshops, and corporate team-building activities. Her mission is to create inclusive spaces where everyone can express themselves freely, move with joy, and connect with others. For her, dance is a daily experience.
Workshop Description
What if emotions could be expressed through the body? Through play, movement, and imagination, children explore their emotions and develop their emotional intelligence. This workshop allows them to better understand what they feel and learn to express it in an appropriate way.
Additional Resources: Educational tools can be provided beforehand to prepare students and enrich their experience.
- Age: 3 to 10 years old
- Duration: 60 minutes per class
- Capacity: Up to 25 children for under 5 years old / Up to 40 children for ages 6 and up (with the presence of supervising staff)
- Organization: Available for multiple classes on the same day, or as a workshop series spread over several days or weeks.
Educational Objectives
- Learn to recognize, welcome, and name one’s emotions
- Develop concrete emotional regulation tools (calmness, stress management)
- Foster physical expression as a healthy means of communication
- Encourager empathy, kindness, and listening to others
- Explore emotions through role-playing games and playful scenarios
Workshop Outline
- Warm-up: Global physical warm-up to connect with oneself and prepare the body for movement.
- Recognition & Mimicry: Playful facial and theatrical expression games to identify and understand different emotions.
- Exploration in Motion: Rhythmic exercises and dance moments to physically explore how emotions resonate in the body.
- Regulation & Role-playing: Practical scenarios to learn how to channel one’s feelings in a positive way.
- Cool-down: Closing the session with a dedicated moment of relaxation, stretching, and deep breathing.
Adaptability & Showcase
The standard format is a single, one-time workshop. In the 4-workshop series format (recommended format), the progression over several sessions allows for the exploration of a broader spectrum of emotions using tools highly adapted to the children’s age, promoting better integration. Workshops can also be adapted to your school projects or specific themes.
Note: This workshop focuses on an introspective and participatory approach. It does not include a formal public performance but features valuable moments of sharing and collective awareness throughout the sessions.
Microgrant Funding and Booking Procedures
Standard Rate: $1,200 / 4-Workshop Package
- Includes four 60-minute sessions (Minimum booking required)
- The ACFA applies a $300 administrative fee per agreement to cover costs related to processing the micro-grant application, preparing contracts, invoicing, and payments.
Micro-grants amount to $1,500 per series of workshops and/or performances, per school, per year. Community organizations manage these micro-grants for schools and handle the hiring of artists or consultants. For more information regarding these micro-grants, please visit the following webpages: PassepArt, ImmersArt, and ViceVersa.
Regional Travel Expenses
For workshops taking place outside of Calgary, a flat fee of $100 for travel expenses applies to the following regions: Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks.
To book a workshop, please contact us at: info.calgary@acfa.ab.ca
In the event that the school wishes to book the workshop outside the micro-grant framework, ACFA Calgary can either handle the arrangements or put you directly in contact with the person in charge of the workshop.