THE IMPACT OF THE EXPERIMENTAL DANCE PROGRAM ON THE MOTOR COORDINATION OF CHILDREN

This research was conducted with the purpose of determining to what extent and how the dance program affects  the pre-school children coordination. The sample comprised 65 children of pre-school age (the control group consisted of 31 children, experimental of 34 children), aged 6 years ± 6 months. The experimental group performed dance activities over a period of 8 weeks (2X35 minutes each week). The control group performed regular activities in the kindergarten. The level of coordination in children was determined applying BOT-2 test battery (the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of Motor Proficiency). By analyzing the obtained research results, it was found a statistically significant difference between the dance and the control group in three variables: Jumping Jacks (0.000), Jumping in place-same sides synchronized (0.012) and Tapping feet and fingers- opposite sides synchronized (0.011), respectively. Statistically significant differences between the groups indicate the positive effect of the applied dance program on the development of motor coordination in pre-school children using an experimental dance program for twelve weeks. Dance program influences the coordination of the pre-school age children. The results showed that children participating in the dance program achieved better results in investigated bilateral coordination in three variables, thus recommending its application in the regular preschool children curriculum.