Dance Takes Centre Stage in Preschool

On 13 February, preschool children and preschool teachers gathered in the dance studios at the School of Music in Piteå to take part in another round of the commissioned course in dance pedagogy at Luleå University of Technology. The programme forms part of the regional initiative Dance in Preschool – Dance, Language, Storytelling and Learning, which aims to strengthen the expertise of preschool teachers in Norrbotten and highlight the importance of dance for children’s development, health and learning.

The commissioned course in dance pedagogy is worth 7.5 ECTS credits and is delivered by Luleå University of Technology on behalf of the Institute of Dance in Schools Foundation and Piteå Municipality. The course is aimed at preschool staff in Norrbotten’s 14 municipalities who wish to deepen their knowledge of working with dance as a form of expression and as a tool for language development, storytelling and learning in preschool.

– The course includes dance instruction, lectures and an individual project carried out in the participants’ home municipalities. It runs throughout the academic year with in-person sessions and concludes with assessment in the spring, says Cecilia Björklund Dahlgren, Professor of Dance Pedagogy and Founder and Director of the Institute of Dance in Schools Foundation.

An Important Strengthening of Professional Expertise

Cecilia Björklund explains that the purpose of the programme is to strengthen regional expertise in dance pedagogy. Many preschool teachers have experience of working with visual arts, singing and literature, but dance has long been a neglected area in preschool education. Through university-level training in dance pedagogy, preschools enhance their professional competence and can become certified as preschools with recognised dance expertise. The initiative aligns with the revised preschool curriculum (Lpfö18), which places emphasis on physical activity, play, movement, storytelling and reading aloud, while also calling for reduced digitalisation and screen time.

– The children become such good friends through dance. It sparks their imagination and gives them access to movement, says Lena Öhlund, preschool teacher and course participant.

She describes how dance is integrated into thematic work at the preschool:

– The children have been working with the different seasons. Through dance, they explore the seasons from a different perspective. Dance is used as one of many tools when we work with a particular theme.

Dance also becomes a way of working inclusively within the group of children.

– Dance can include all children, even those whose first language is not Swedish or who have language difficulties, as it does not require them to express themselves verbally, says preschool teacher Isabelle Hägg.

Strong Interest and Impressive Results

Finally, Cecilia Björklund notes that interest in the programme is high. Each year, 30 preschool teachers are admitted, and in the first cohort every participant completed the course successfully – achieving a 100 per cent completion rate. Their preschools have subsequently been certified as having dance expertise.

The initiative has also gained national attention. At the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) Schools Congress 2025, the work with dance in preschool was presented to approximately 2,500 politicians and civil servants. Norrbotten was highlighted as a pioneer in integrating dance into preschool education, and several other regions and municipalities have expressed interest in similar commissioned training programmes.