SCHOOL WORKSHOPS

In Kaeja’s workshops, students are not assigned specific dance steps. Rather, the creation of movement is driven by the participants themselves. All workshops offered by Kaeja d'Dance support current Ontario Arts curriculum guidelines for dance education and are taught by professionally trained dance teachers.​

Extended or weekly workshops can be arranged to accommodate students' ongoing creative and physical education. Allen can also be commissioned to create choreography for student performances. 

Workshops and pricing can be modified to fit your needs. To inquire about customized workshops, or if you require any accessibility accommodations, please contact urban@kaeja.org.​

*All school workshops, with the exception of Kaeja Elevations, can be offered either virtually or in-person.*​

  • "Allen has a unique ability to make the Kaeja Elevations accessible to everyone he teaches, regardless of their level of experience. He inspires confidence in all students and teaches them to ‘fly’ with ease, expertise, and a wonderful sense of joy."

    Vicki St. Denys, Director Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly RyersonU) Dance Program

  • “Amazing experience that helped me grow within myself and my skills in dance.”

    Student Participant

  • "Moving in connection with others is especially important when we're limited to the Zoom window to access community."

    Student Participant

  • "It was fascinating to learn new techniques for choreography and the lessons that [Allen] taught were very useful and valuable."

    Student Participant

EXPRESS DANCE

Best Suited For
Grades 3-8

Session Length
40 mins minimum

Number of Students
Up to 30

Express Dance is an inclusive, simple approach to bringing the joy of dance into any classroom - even virtual ones!

Students will discover a new way of learning dance, using their own movement vocabulary to create choreography in small groups. Suitable for students of all ages and experience levels, Express Dance is a fun way to promote physical activity, social connection, and mental well-being in young people.

This workshop has been taught to more than 40,000 learners and teachers across Ontario and internationally, helping them unleash the potential for physical expression that is present within each and every individual.

​Learn more about Express Dance Virtual Workshops with this video.

Elementary school students participate in an Express Dance workshop.

  • Young students dance in a school gymnasium. One child wearing a pink shirt with white hearts and a pink plaid skirt spins towards another child wearing a blue shirt who stretches their arms towards the first student. Other children sit in the background, watching the dancers.

Allen Kaeja holding a video camera on his shoulder.

Allen Kaeja, Photo by Megan Anderson

  • Allen, a white presenting balding male of Middle Eastern and Eastern European Jewish descent holds a film camera over his shoulder in a green field. He wears a black hat and glasses, and looks off to one side, his brows furrowed.

DANCE FILM

Best Suited For
Grades 9 -12

Session Length
I hour minimum

Number of Students
Up to 30

A unique opportunity for students to learn how to direct, choreograph and edit their own short dance films. Students will develop creative and critical thinking skills as they explore the technical, practical, and artistic challenges involved in producing dance for the screen. Allen Kaeja and the other Dance Film instructors have a wealth of experience as both dancer/choreographers and filmmakers.

​No experience in either dance or film is necessary, just a curiosity and willingness to take on all aspects of the course, from movement and director to camera operator.

One student lifts another off the ground in a Kaeja Elevations workshop.

  • Two female-presenting students perform a Kaeja Elevation. The supporter holds both the hands of the flier as the flier jumps in the air. Two other students are in the background. They all wear matching orange T-shirts with a circular purple logo on them

KAEJA ELEVATIONS

Best Suited For
Grades 6 -12

Session Length
I hour minimum

Number of Students
Up to 30

*Due to the physical partnering involved in Kaeja Elevations, it must be taught in-person.

Allen and Karen Kaeja’s style of dance partnering, known as Kaeja Elevations, uses momentum, anchoring, and the architectural structure of the body to help students safely take flight!

Kaeja Elevations allows participants of all experience levels to be on an equal playing field, building self-confidence and deeper communication.

Kaeja Elevations®, defined and created by Allen Kaeja, was developed from over three decades of refined exploration and collaboration with Karen Kaeja.

DANCE IMPROVISATION

Best Suited For
Grades 9-12

Session Length
1 hour minimum

Number of Students
Up to 30

Students will explore creative expression as they learn to move intuitively in response to text, images, and soundscapes. Participants can create solo movement improvisations and connect in person or through the screen, working interactively to inspire each other.

​This workshop is suitable for dancers of all ages and abilities and offers a foundation for movement improvisation that crosses the worlds of Theatre, Dance and Performance Art.

A collage of two dancers striking poses in a Dance Improv workshop.

Drew Berry and Mio Sakamoto

  • Four boxes with a single individual in each frame. In the first, an East-Asian woman turns to the side, her hand on her shoulder. In the second, a white woman stands with just her face and leg on screen, holding one knee to her chest. In the third, no face is visible, only a person standing with one leg up. In the fourth, the East-Asian woman poses on one leg extended outwards with her hand above her head.