Developing Physical Literacy through Dance

Last year I was lucky enough to experience the incredible DancePl3y program in my school. I had heard about it so much through Twitter and the online #PhysEd community, and when I moved to Canada and began my role as PHE Department Head at Meadowridge School, I knew that I needed to get the program into the school. In this episode of the PhysEdcast I chat with the founder of DancePl3y, Melanie Levenberg, about the program, its origins and how it can help students feel awesome about themselves whether they enjoy dance or not.

Melanie is a physical literacy and education consultant, keynote speaker, TEDx Energizer, creator of DANCEPL3Y and founder of PL3Y International. She’s a world leader in providing physical literacy programs and training to clients across the education, recreation, and fitness sectors. Melanie travels the world to help organizations infuse positivity, purpose, and playfulness into their programs’ design as well as in their people’s mindsets. Through dynamic keynote presentations and energizer sessions, she inspires teachers and employees to discover the “best version of themselves” and put their passion into action as they become vibrant leaders in their community. As a children’s fitness expert and consultant, she’s had the honour of working with organizations such as OPHEA, Kingston Gets Active, PHE Canada, Vivo for Healthier Generations, The University of Western Ontario, Les Mills International, Korea National Sport University and Move Live Learn.

In 2013, she established and created PL3Y programs, the world’s only pre-choreographed and pre-packaged physical literacy program and training for DANCEPL3Y, POWERPL3Y, and PL3YGROUND.

She now happily travels the world as a physical literacy consultant and keynote speaker, having presented workshops and energizers throughout North America and internationally in Shanghai, Copenhagen, Seoul, London, Dusseldorf to name few. When she’s home in Vancouver she stays active by exploring the mountains and ocean and is still addicted to moving and playing outside and finding joy by exploring with her wife and daughter.

If you are interested in finding out more about DancePl3y you can go to www.dancepl3y.com

During the episode, I mentioned The Squad, our FREE online community hosted on Facebook. If you are interested in joining other physical education teachers committed to improving their practice you can join here.

The PhysEdcast is a collection of stories from around the #PhysEd world to inspire and innovate your practice. Join host Nathan Horne from iPhys-Ed.com as he explores the world of physical education and coaching. You can subscribe and listen to the PhysEdcast on any good podcast provider. Click here to listen and subscribe now.