Music for Movement

Most of the following albums are available at the ARTS Center. To search this table by category, highlight everything and on the menu bar click "Table," then "Sort"

Also available at the ARTS Center--music and directions for Folk Dances from the United States and around the world. Go to for contact information.

Song title / Album / Artist / Gr / Suggested Activity
Animal Action I / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Animals. Follow the vocal directions.
Animal Action II / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Animals. Follow the vocal directions.
Shoo Fly 1 / On the Move / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Animals. Follow the vocal directions.
Shoo Fly 2 / On the Move / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Animals. This is an instrumental version of Shoo Fly 1. Add your own animals
The Beanbag / Easy Does It / Hap Palmer / PK-2 / Beanbag. Follow the vocal directions.
Beanbag Boogie I / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Beanbag. Follow the vocal directions.
Beanbag Boogie II / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Beanbag. Follow the vocal directions.
Tummy Tango / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Body Parts, creating shapes. Follow the vocal directions.
Head And Shoulders / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. Act along with the song. With the instrumental track, use own variations.
If You're Happy / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. Act along with the song. With the instrumental track, use your own words, such as If you're happy and you know it hop around…
Wiggle In My Toe / Late Last Night / Joe Scruggs / PK-2 / Body Parts. Blue Grass music game with instructions for wiggling different body parts, then wiggling different parts at the same time. Do it standing or seated.
Body Shape Jam / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Hokey Pokey 1 / Greg and Steve / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Hokey Pokey 2 / Greg and Steve / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Body Rock, The / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Body Talk / Kids In Motion / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Move Your Dancing Feet / Move Your Dancing Feet / Frank Leto / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Fun to Get Fit / Shake, Rattle & Rock / Greg & Steve / 3-5 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Hinging / Step On The Beat / Kate Kuper / 3-5 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Clap Along Song / Step On The Beat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
What Can We Do Today / Time For Music / Frank Leto / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Come On Everybody-BP / Time For Music II / Frank Leto / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Swing, Shake, Twist /Stretch / Walter The Waltzing Worm / Hap Palmer / PK-2 / Body Parts. Follow the vocal directions.
Hokey Pokey / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. Form a circle and follow the directions in the song. In the "karaoke" track, use your own variation of body parts.
Johnny Works with 1 Hammer / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. Good for coordination.
This Old Man / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. Touch the body part named, then do finger play: Knick-knack (knock 2X), Paddy-whack (pat legs 3X), Give a dog a bone (throw a "bone" over shoulder), This Old Man came rolling home (roll hands).
Dry Bones / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Body Parts. With rhythm sticks, tap the part of the body in the lyrics
Funky Klunky / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Bounce balls to the music
Fiddlers Three / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Continuous music in 3/4 time. Use for free dancing or improvisation. Practice skills such as slow slides, big skips, turns & swings. Combine movements together such as four swings, four turns and stretch into a shape. Repeat.Circle Dance with Scarves: swing scarf in and out of the circle; make circles in front of you, over your head, on the floor; turn around in place and change direction; walk slowly around the circle right and then left; slow walks into the circle raising scarves; slow walks out of the circle, lowering scarves.
Jammin On The Porch / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Continuous music in 4/4 time.Use hand percussion to march and keep the beat. Use as background music to make letters or numbers with the body on the floor alone and in partners or small groups.
Oasis / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Continuous music in sixes. Relate to the smooth violin music or the sharp drum beats, alternating smooth and sharp or light and strong movements. Mirror or shadow a partner's movements. Do circling movements in different body parts. Use for free dancing.Make a play about animals at an oasis. Use a piece of fabric or a rug for the water. Each person chooses which African animal to be and shows the way their animal wakes up and stretches, gets a drink, has breakfast and walks, runs and plays around the oasis. Animals must take turns when drinking from the water and in general be polite to the other animals.
All In One / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / PK-2 / Contrast 2 melodies. Alternate moving lightly/strongly; smoothly/sharply; with free flow/bound flow; changing levels, direction, place or focus. Create a rain forest or jungle dance: wind, birds or spirits fly through the jungle, then explorers slash and stamp. Partners copy each others movements, changing leaders when the music changes. Dance with upper body half on one part and lower on the other.
A Tale Of Two Villages / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrast 2 textures. Change your level, direction, pathway, or size when the music changes. Partners mirror or follow each others movements. Change leaders when the music changes. Divide class into 2. During the kalimba music, A dancers move around the space smoothly & lightly. During the drum music B students stay in one place and make strong shapes and sharp movements.
Paraphony & Polyphony / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. A: do one motion. B: do a different motion
The Space Between…Ears / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. A: do one motion. B: do a different motion
Motivation / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. A: do one motion. B: do a different motion, C: do a third motion
Pulsation / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. A: do one motion. B: do a different motion, C: do a third motion. Use with clock motion.
La Raspa / Trio de Taos / Trio de Taos / PK-2 / Contrast. A: jumping scissor step, B: circle in place. Later, circle with a partner. Transfer to rhythm sticks-- A: Tap 3 times. B: rub sticks together.
Rockin' Robot / Toe Tapping Tunes / Hap Palmer / 3-5 / Contrast. A: move in general space. B: Stop and do robotic motions.
Blocks / Music for Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. A: Skip. B:Stop and do robotic motion. Or A: bounce ball with partner, B: change partners.
Carnavalito / Rhythmically Moving 5 / Gemini / 3-5 / Contrast. A: step long-long-short-short-long (with the beat) in a circle or small group snakes.
B: stand still and make some noise. Partners. Step on A, swing on B
Travelers and Magic Forest / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Contrast. Divide class into A and B groups. Group B are trees, group A travels through trees, then at the signal, they switch. There are vocal directions to do this in the song.
Slow and Fast / Rhythms On Parade / Hap Palmer / PK-2 / Contrast. Fast-slow. Follow the directions to fast and slow, using scarves or bodies
Tempo Tantrum / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 3 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrast. Fast-slow. Follow the fast and slow music, using scarves or bodies
Lucky Stiff / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / PK-2 / Contrast. Free flow changing into bound flow. Twist scarves in free and bound motion as the music dictates. Move with smooth movements, gradually becoming more sharp (choppy) as the music changes. Move through general space on the free music and make shapes in self space during the bound music. Add a prop for variety. Follow a partner's movements on the free music, stop and make shapes together connecting body parts or on opposite levels on the bound music.
Quiet In The Library / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. Loud music for heavy motions, soft music for light motions
Levelance / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrast. Low-high-medium changes in pitch. Separate class into three groups and play the music while assigning each group either the low, middle, or high pitched part. Each group stands up and dances when their music plays, then sits down.Change the size of your movements when the pitch changes - try big movements on low sounds and small movements on high sounds; reverse.
The Hi-Lo Waltz / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. Low, heavy music, contrasting with medium and middle music, and high, light music in ¾ time.
Three Pieces / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Contrast. Skip in 6/8 meter, Trot in duple meter, Walk in 5/4 meter.
Stone Soup / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrast. Smooth & sharp motifs played simultaneously. Half the dancers move to the smooth sounds, half move to the sharp sounds. Reverse roles when the instruments reverse. Exchange props if using them. Dance through general space relating to the smooth sounds, dance in self space relating to the sharp sounds, reverse.
Walking Notes / Rhythms On Parade / Hap Palmer / 3-5 / Contrast. Walk to eighth, quarter, and half notes.
Western East / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrasting 2 melodies that change speed. Dance slowly with the slow music and quickly with the fast music. Choose a “conductor.” The conductor uses a “baton” to lead the slow part. Dancers follow the baton’s directions in self space on the slow music and dance freely through general space on the fast music. Dance with one body part on the slow music & all parts on the fast music (or vice versa).
Amphibious / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 4 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrasting 3 melodies that suggest different environments. Move like an underwater creature with the first theme, then like a creature that moves on land. With the third theme, pretend you are a creature that flies. Move smoothly alone or with a partner on the slow music, move sharply alone or away from your partner on the second music, add turns on the third theme. Change levels when the music changes. Dance with a different body part each time the music changes.
The Road To Neah Bay / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Contrasting melodies-3. Move in straight pathways during the first section, curved during the second and in zigzag pathways during the third section. Respond to the remaining sections with straight, curved or zigzag pathways. Use streamers to trace different pathways in the air: curvy, sharp, straight, zig-zag.
Drumtalk / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Direction. Follow the vocal directions with up and down
Near and Far / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Direction. Follow the vocal directions.
Opposites / Step On The Beat / Kate Kuper / 3-5 / Directions.
Ching, Chop, Boom! / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Divide into 4 groups, each group dancing when their particular theme is heard. This is metallic music, reminiscent of clockwork motion. The form is ABACAD ABACADA
Miss Muffet/the Eensy Weensy Spider / Mainly Mother Goose / Sharon, Lois, & Bram / PK-2 / Drama. Act this one out: …the big fat spider...the teensy weensy spider
Imaginary Journey / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions that take you on an imaginary journey.
Little Seed / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions that take you through the growth of a seed.
Show Your Feelings / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions to explore feelings.
Swirl and Twirl part 1/ inst / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Swirl and Twirl part 2/ inst / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
The Snowflake Dance / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Trees / AlphaBeat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Moving Game I / Creative Movement / Hap Palmer / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Moving Game II / Creative Movement / Hap Palmer / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
An Adventure In Space / On the Move / Greg & Steve / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Shape Maker / Explorer / Step On The Beat / Kate Kuper / PK-2 / Drama. Follow the vocal directions.
Forgotten Dreams / Leroy Anderson Favorites / Leroy Anderson / PK-2 / Drama. Play this music in the background as you read “A Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats. Students act out the story.
Mulberry Bush / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Drama. Students walk around in a circle: Here we go round the mulberry bush…Stop and do the actions: This is the way we wash our clothes...eat our breakfast…brush our teeth…go to sleep, etc. In the "karaoke" track, use your own words
Back At Ya / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 4 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Echo game with 8 counts of a melody that repeats. The teacher or one student leads movement (with a scarf or streamer if you like) then the group echoes the movement as best they can. Change leaders. See how well you can make your movement match the music.
Echo Lady Who / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 1 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Echo song with each section decreasing in length.In a large circle, echo a leader's movements. Try this with a prop (scarf, puppet or streamer).Follow a leader through general space. On each phrase (or on your signal) change leaders. Change levels, directions, body parts, or locomotor movement each time.
Two Bar Echo / Frank Leto Rhythm Band Jam / Frank Leto / 3-5 / Echo. Listen to the voice, then echo with body percussion or instruments
One Bar Echo / Frank Leto Rhythm Band Jam / Frank Leto / PK-2 / Echo. Listen to the voice, then echo with body percussion or instruments
JeJe Kule / A Feast of Song / Gemini / 3-5 / Echo. On the call of each phrase, one person makes a motion, others copy on the response. On "Um a leya leya", all do the "Monkey"
Mr. E / Music For Cr Dance Vol. 3 / Eric Chappelle / 3-5 / Echo. Pick partners. During A part, there are 3 sections. !st section, partner A lead, 2nd section, partner B leads. 3rd section, both people silently communicate to do the same thing. During B Section, snake around to find a new partner.
Where Is Thumbkin? / 101 Favorite Children's Songs / Children's Showcase Singers / PK-2 / Finger Play. Hide hands behind back and sing:Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?
Bring out one thumb, then the other: Here I am! Here I am!
Have thumbs "bow to each other": How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you.
Hind hands/thumbs behind back: Run away. Run away.
Continue singing with: Where is Pointer…Middle…Ringer…Pinkie
Eency Weency Spider / Spotlight on Music / MacMillan / PK-2 / Fingerplay.The eency weency spider went up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out.Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the eency weency spider went up the spout again.
Slow Motion/Inst / Steel Band Jamboree / Frank Leto / K-5 / Follow slow. Follow directions. Use the instrumental track to make up your own motions.
Echoes & Shadows / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Fairydance / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Ladders / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Voices / Music For Dancers / Kerri Lynn Nichols / 3-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Enter Sunlight / Movin' / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Gentle Sea / Movin' / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Midnight Moon / Movin' / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Twilight / Movin' / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
A Tender Moment / Quiet Places / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Awakening / Quiet Places / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.
Fern River / Quiet Places / Hap Palmer / K-5 / Follow slow. Music for resting or slow motion.