The Little Dance Teacher

THE LITTLE

Dance Teacher

By Alaine Kowal Illustrated by Matts Zoumer The Little Dance Teacher.indd 1

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THE LITTLE

Dance Teacher

By Alaine Kowal Illustrated by Matts Zoumer For Troy, Jennisue, Reagan

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A Routes Media Inc. Publication www.routesmedia.ca/store

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Acknowledgements This book was created as a charitable project to support dancers in High River, AB affected by the flood of June 2013 and would not be possible without the time and dedication of some amazing people.

Thank you to Tom for always supporting me.

To Alison for being the control freak that you are and keeping me on track.

To Sharon and Sandra from Routes Media Inc. for advising, guiding, and donating your time and expertise, to Matts for bringing the story to life and to my Mom and Dad for always believing in me.

A Routes Media Inc. Publication 120 - 6 ave SW High River, AB T1V 1A1 Canada Printed in Canda, First Edition, 2014 Text copyright Š 2014 By Alaine Kowal, Illustrations copyright Š 2014 By Matts Zoumer ISBN 9780993615214

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The Little Dance Teacher loves to dance.

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She dances Ballet.

She dances Jazz.

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She dances Tap. She dances Hip Hop.

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And The Little Dance Teacher loves to teach kids how to dance.

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She had a small dance studio in a tiny town at the base of the big mountains.

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One spring day it rained and rained and rained. The snow melted off the mountains and rushed down towards the tiny town.

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The water flooded all the houses. It flooded all the shops.

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It even flooded the little dance studio.

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All that was left was the door.

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The Little Dance Teacher turned to the door with a heavy heart.

“All my dancers have lost so much, I just want to help.”

The door said, “You can.”

The Little Dance Teacher cried, “There must be something I can do.” The door said, “There is.”

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The Little Dance Teacher wailed, “But, I don’t know what to do.”

The door said, “You will.”

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Then The Little Dance Teacher did the only thing she could think of‌ ‌ She danced!

She danced ballet.

She danced jazz.

She danced tap.

She danced hip hop.

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And the dancers came back.

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They pliĂŠ-ed.

They chassĂŠ-ed.

They step-ball-changed.

And they laughed.

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Arabesque-jete-chassĂŠ pow!

And the farmers in their combines heard.

Shuffle-flap-tippity-tap wham!

And the firemen in their trucks heard.

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Flap-heel-toe-heel-step-brush-heel bang!

And the heroes in their boats heard.

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And the town came together at the dance studio‌ and they danced.

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They danced ballet.

They danced jazz.

They danced tap.

They danced hip hop.

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A volunteer chassĂŠ-ed in with food.

An electrician pirouette-ed in with electricity.

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A builder moon-walked in and built walls and a roof.

And soon the dance studio was whole‌ and the dancers danced.

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The ballerinas danced ballet until their buns blew off.

The jazzers jazzed until their jazz hands cramped.

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The tappers tapped until their toes tapped out.

The hip hoppers hip hopped all the way home.

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And The Little Dance Teacher hugged the door and cried.

“We did it.” She said.

And the door said, “I knew you could.”

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This book is dedicated to all the people who want to help in times of disaster but don’t know what to do (like the Tupperware lady).

Just do what you know/can. It makes a huge difference.

Glossary Plié: (plē - ā) – a bending of the knees outward by a ballet dancer with the back held straight Chassé: (shah-say’) to glide smoothly either to the back, side or front Arabesque: (ah-rah-besk) to pose on one leg while extending the other leg to the back Jeté: (zjeh-tay’) to throw the leg or to jump with a throw of the leg Pirouette: (peer-whet) to turn Step ball change: step left, step back right, step forward left Volunteer: someone who “chassés” in and steps up where needed

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About the Author

Alaine Kowal is a wife and mother of three.

Born in Kennewick, WA, she moved to High River, Alberta from South Hadley, MA. This is her first children’s book.

About the Illustrator

Matts Zoumer, following a call to the cowboy lifestyle, lives in Longview, Alberta. Matts’ art ranges from writing to caricatures to murals, without limitations.

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ISBN 9780993615214

Little Miss Jenny-Ray is a dance teacher in a small town at the base of the mountains. When her little town floods Miss Jenny-Ray wants to help but doesn’t know what to do. So, she does the only thing she can think of, she dances and helps bring back the spirit of her dancers and the town.

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9 780993 615214

A Routes Media Inc. Publication www.routesmedia.ca/store

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