Whether you’re teaching virtually or back in the studio, add a new teaching tool to your repertoire with these dance education card decks, with options appropriate for creative movers, college students and everyone in between.

For preschoolers: Alphabet Cards

Educator Alexandra Langstaff has paired bright graphics on each card front with movement explorations on the back. Each card offers a teaching prompt and several ways to invite your students to move, improvise, vary ideas and expand into further activities. 

For K–5: Movement Cards

From Dance Ed Tips, this deck features action words and descriptors (e.g., verbs and adverbs). With your group, select six words to make a warm-up together (bend-lift-carry-hold-jump-melt). Students love the novelty of cards and also the visual aid as they learn the phrase. 

For middle and high school: Ballet Vocab Cards

Also from Dance Ed Tips, this deck can serve as a choreographic project with your ballet students. Each card has a term (such as attitude, fondu or à la seconde); give each group several cards to build a short dance and inspire creative exploration of ballet terms from a young age. 

For college students: Terpsichore’s Deck

Whether you go through the entire deck from 1 to 52 or randomly select a card, the whimsy of these cards will get students in choreography classes to consider transitions, pathways, intention and editing.