Dance It Up-KidsUSA   

Photo Credit: Mark Washington/The Portland Observer

Co-founder TiAnna McDaniel Dance Instructor & Cheographer (standing in back) with DIUKU students at Blazer Boys & Girls Club Northest Portland.  The Boys & Girls Club provides space for the group to meet.  

Research shows that dance can help kids to develop social and cognitive skills. It is also a great way for kids to exercise, helping to reduce the rise in obesity among young children.  

Developing kids into capable youth,who will grow into capable adults and change their worlds!

We will dance the world over

This is our vision. With a mission to inspire self-excellence in children, we utilize the power of dance to coach children to become capable youth who can excel in school, gain optimal social and physical health and become positive role models within their circle of friends, families and communities.

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon Dance it Up Kids-USA targets first through eighth grade students who attend area public schools. Its unique education model emphasizes emotional, physical and social well being, utilizing dance as a coaching tool. 

Why Dance?  Dance is universal and timeless. And it continues to be a source of spiritualism, ritualistic and entertainment value for a variety of people. More recently dance has taken center stage on television and in movies touting popular programs such as So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, Step, Take the Lead and Stomp the Yard. 

Mainly, dance has become a viable teaching tool to help young children identify skills they can use in traditional learning. Research on dance has revealed that art is integral to education because it offers students a chance to develop healthy bodies, sharp minds and strong spirits. In lieu of expecting children to learn the same, DIUKU has carved out a niche that affords a non-threatening and fun approach to study that can broaden and provide depth to a child's experience. 

Schools and organizations such as Baltimore County Public Schools, America, Center for Learning and Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College in Chicago explain that experiencing art has resulted in deeper learning experiences for children. For example, learning dance contributes to a healthy lifestyle, as well as develops individual and social skills. Skills children learn in dance, are skills they will need in the "real world" such as working in teams, communication, creative thinking, self-esteem, imagination, and inven­tion.  Children are individuals with different learning styles.

DIUKU's program provides schools an alternative to state budget cuts that target school sports and physical education. Sports can teach students to be competitive, improve individual performance and work in teams; physical education can help reduce obesity thus create healthy minds and bodies. Dance can replicate skills ascertained in these areas; therefore, the knowledge children acquire and how well they use it, will influence their destinies—so, DIUKU makes learning well worth it!

Dance It Up's leadership team is proud to be a part of a vision, which is positioned as a vital and innovative learning model for kids across the country. DIUKU respects diversity and maintains a positive, creative, invigorating and nonviolent learning environment where students can grow along with peers from diverse backgrounds. 

What's New?

• Keep checking in for a schedule of Dance It Up-KidsUSA events and new program sites. 

• Coming soon, DIUPKU News will feature success stories from program participants and coaches.