30 games
Checked October 2026

Games to Play in Dance Class

Studio games in the order of a class, each with what it practices, its ages and its music.

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Dancers

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Three Words From the Hat1. Write action words on slips and put them in a hat: melt, spin, dart, float, stamp, reach, drop, wind.2. Each pair or trio draws three and chooses an order.3. They make one move for each word and join the three into a phrase they can repeat.4. Each group shows its phrase twice, and the class guesses the three words.Practices: turning a word into movement. Music: none while making, any track for showing. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 4 to 30. You need: slips of paper, a pen and a hat.
Fill the Floor1. Dancers walk through the room, always heading for the biggest empty space they can see.2. On "freeze", everyone stops. The teacher looks for clumps and for gaps.3. The class has four counts to fix the picture without talking.4. Play again with skips, then with slides. Tape off half the floor for the last round.Practices: spacing. Music: a steady walking tempo. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: tape for the last round.
Same Eight, a New Way1. Choose eight counts that the whole class already knows.2. Each group draws a card: in slow motion, as small as possible, on the floor, facing the back, or one dancer after another.3. Groups have three minutes to work out the eight counts that way.4. Each group performs, and the class says which card it had.Practices: changing a phrase the class knows. Music: the track for the class dance, at any tempo. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: five cards.

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Warm-up games 6

Clumps: A Number and a Level 1. Dancers skip or jog through the room while the music plays. 2. The teacher calls a number and a level, such as "three, low". 3. Dancers make groups of that number and freeze together in one shape at that level before a count of five. 4. Anyone left over makes a group with the teacher. Call a different number and level each time. Practices: levels and quick teamwork. Music: fast and bright. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 8 to 30. You need: nothing.
Fill the Floor 1. Dancers walk through the room, always heading for the biggest empty space they can see. 2. On "freeze", everyone stops. The teacher looks for clumps and for gaps. 3. The class has four counts to fix the picture without talking. 4. Play again with skips, then with slides. Tape off half the floor for the last round. Practices: spacing. Music: a steady walking tempo. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: tape for the last round.
Freeze in a Shape, Melt for Eight 1. Dancers move around the room while the music plays. 2. When it stops, the teacher calls a shape: wide, narrow, twisted or curled. Everyone freezes in it. 3. On "melt", dancers sink to the floor over eight slow counts, then rise over eight more. 4. Nobody is out. Start the music again and call a new shape. Practices: shapes and slow control. Music: any steady track, stopped by the teacher. Ages: 4 to 12. Dancers: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.

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Warm-up games, continued

Sharp on the Tap, Smooth on the Shaker 1. The teacher holds a drum or two sticks in one hand and a shaker in the other. 2. Each tap is one sharp move that stops dead. 3. While the shaker sounds, dancers move smoothly without stopping, as if through water. 4. Switch between the two faster and faster. Hand the instruments to a dancer for the last minute. Practices: sharp and smooth movement. Music: none: a drum and a shaker. Ages: 5 and up. Dancers: 3 to 30. You need: a drum or two sticks and a shaker.
Small, Medium, Huge 1. The teacher shows one small move, such as a wave of one hand, and the class copies it. 2. Do it again at medium size, with the whole arm. 3. Do it a third time as big as it can possibly go, with the whole body, traveling if it has to. 4. A dancer shows the next small move. Five moves make a warm-up. Practices: the size of a movement. Music: a steady walking tempo. Ages: 4 and up. Dancers: 2 to 40. You need: nothing.
Walk Eight, Dance Eight, Hold Eight 1. Everyone counts aloud with the music. 2. For eight counts, dancers walk through the room. For the next eight, they dance on the spot in any way they like. For the next eight, they hold one balance. 3. Repeat the three without a pause. 4. Then cut each part to four counts, and then to two. The class stops counting aloud for the last round. Practices: hearing counts of eight. Music: medium, with a clear eight. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 2 to 40. You need: nothing.

Across-the-floor games 6

Arrive on Sixteen 1. The class counts aloud to sixteen with the music. 2. One line at a time, dancers cross the floor so that they reach the far wall exactly on sixteen, not before and not after. 3. Cross again in eight counts, then in thirty-two. 4. For the last crossing, nobody counts aloud. The teacher calls out who arrived on the beat. Practices: pacing a phrase. Music: slow, with a clear beat. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 3 to 20. You need: nothing.
Ice, Sand, Honey 1. Dancers line up along one wall. 2. The teacher says what the floor has turned into: ice, deep sand, hot pavement or honey. 3. Everyone crosses the room the way that floor would make them move. 4. On the way back, a dancer chooses the next floor. Finish on a floor of clouds, so the last crossing is quiet. Practices: moving in different ways. Music: none, or soft and slow. Ages: 3 to 6. Dancers: 2 to 15. You need: nothing.
Shadow, Four Counts Behind 1. Dancers cross the floor in pairs, one behind the other. 2. The front dancer makes up the crossing as they go: steps, a turn, a reach. 3. The back dancer does exactly the same, four counts later. 4. Swap places for the trip back. Older classes try it eight counts behind, which takes more memory. Practices: watching and timing. Music: medium and steady. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 4 to 20. You need: nothing.
Three Lines, Three Levels 1. Tape three lines across the floor. 2. Dancers travel from the wall to the first line and hold a high pose there for two counts. 3. At the second line they hold a pose at middle level, and at the third a low one. 4. Send dancers four counts apart. On the way back, the three poses come in the opposite order. Practices: high, middle and low levels. Music: medium and steady. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 3 to 20. You need: tape.
Two Cards: A Step and a Pathway 1. Make two piles of cards. One has travel steps, such as skip, gallop, slide, tiptoe and big jumps. The other has pathways: straight, zigzag, curvy. 2. The first dancer in line turns over one card from each pile. 3. The whole line crosses the floor that way, one after another, four counts apart. 4. The last dancer across turns the next two cards. Practices: travel steps and pathways. Music: a steady walking tempo. Ages: 5 to 12. Dancers: 3 to 20. You need: step cards and pathway cards.
Two Diagonals, Meet in the Middle 1. Make two lines in two corners of the same wall. 2. One dancer from each line sets off along the diagonal at the same moment. 3. The two meet in the middle, circle each other once in four counts without touching, and carry on to the far corners. 4. The next pair starts eight counts later. Nobody speeds up or slows down to make the meeting work: the pair fixes it with the size of its steps. Practices: spacing and timing with a partner. Music: medium and steady. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 6 to 24. You need: nothing.

Mirror and follow games in pairs 6

Call and Answer, Four Counts Each 1. Partners face each other. 2. One dances for four counts while the other stands still and watches. 3. The other answers with four counts of their own, and so on, like a conversation. 4. After a minute, add a rule: every answer has to be the opposite of the call. High is answered low, fast is answered slow, big is answered small. Practices: phrasing and watching a partner. Music: medium, with a clear four. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.
Magnet Palm 1. In pairs, the leader holds one palm a hand-span from the follower's face. 2. The palm is a magnet. As it moves, the follower keeps their face the same distance from it: up, down, around, across the room. 3. The leader moves slowly enough for the follower to stay safe and balanced. 4. Swap after a minute. Then try two magnets, one for each shoulder. Practices: following and changing level. Music: slow and smooth. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.
Odd Counts, Even Counts 1. Partners stand side by side and count to eight aloud with the music. 2. One partner moves only on the odd counts, with one clear move for each. The other moves only on the even counts. 3. Each freezes while the other moves. 4. After four rounds of eight, swap odds and evens without stopping. Practices: counts and quick thinking. Music: slow at first, then medium. Ages: 9 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.
Puppet Strings 1. In pairs, one dancer is the puppet and the other holds the strings. 2. The puppeteer stands a step away and lifts a string that nobody can see, tied to a wrist, an elbow, a knee or the top of the head. 3. The puppet moves only that part, only as far as the string is pulled, and lets it drop when the string is let go. 4. Swap after a minute. Nobody touches. Practices: moving one joint at a time. Music: slow. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.
Shadow, About-Face 1. In pairs, one dancer stands behind the other. 2. The front dancer travels through the room, changing the step every so often, and the shadow copies from behind. 3. When the teacher calls "about-face", both turn around on the spot. The shadow is now in front and leads. 4. Call it often, so nobody leads for long. Practices: copying while traveling. Music: a steady walking tempo. Ages: 5 to 12. Dancers: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
Together Without Looking 1. Each pair makes up eight counts and practices side by side until the two match. 2. Then the partners stand back to back and dance it facing opposite walls. 3. The class watches one pair at a time and claps if both finish on the same count. 4. Pairs that match try it again from opposite sides of the room. Practices: keeping time with a partner. Music: medium and steady. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 4 to 24. You need: nothing.

Choreography builders 6

Dance the Map 1. Each group draws one line on a sheet of paper without lifting the pencil: a loop, a zigzag, a spiral, a figure eight. 2. That line is a map of the floor. The group travels along it using steps the class knows. 3. While a group dances, everyone watching draws the path they see. 4. Compare the drawings with the map. Practices: floor pathways. Music: medium and steady. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: paper and pencils.
Everyone's Chorus, Your Own Verse 1. The class makes up eight counts together and calls it the chorus. 2. Everyone dances the chorus. Then one pair has eight counts in the middle to dance anything it likes, which is the verse. 3. Everyone comes back in with the chorus, exactly on count one. 4. Go on until every pair has had a verse. Practices: dancing together and alone. Music: medium, with a clear eight. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: nothing.
Same Eight, a New Way 1. Choose eight counts that the whole class already knows. 2. Each group draws a card: in slow motion, as small as possible, on the floor, facing the back, or one dancer after another. 3. Groups have three minutes to work out the eight counts that way. 4. Each group performs, and the class says which card it had. Practices: changing a phrase the class knows. Music: the track for the class dance, at any tempo. Ages: 8 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: five cards.
Shape, Eight Counts, Shape 1. In groups of three or four, dancers make a group shape and hold it. That is the beginning. 2. They make a second, different shape somewhere else in the room. That is the ending. 3. Each group has eight counts to get from the first shape to the second, and decides how. 4. Show them one after another with no talking between: shape, eight counts, shape. Practices: a beginning and an ending. Music: slow. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: nothing.
Three Words From the Hat 1. Write action words on slips and put them in a hat: melt, spin, dart, float, stamp, reach, drop, wind. 2. Each pair or trio draws three and chooses an order. 3. They make one move for each word and join the three into a phrase they can repeat. 4. Each group shows its phrase twice, and the class guesses the three words. Practices: turning a word into movement. Music: none while making, any track for showing. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 4 to 30. You need: slips of paper, a pen and a hat.
Write Your Name in Three Sizes 1. Each dancer writes the first letter of their name in the air with one elbow. 2. They write the second letter with a foot, as big as they can. 3. They write the third letter with the whole body, traveling across the floor in its shape. 4. Join the three without a pause and show a partner, who tries to read the letters. Practices: making a phrase of their own. Music: none, then any slow track. Ages: 6 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.

Calm games for the last five minutes 6

Gallery Walk: One Thing I Noticed 1. Half the class freezes in the last pose of today's dance. 2. The other half walks quietly among them, as if in a gallery. 3. When the music fades, each walker stands beside one statue and says one thing they noticed: a strong line, a low level, a clear shape. 4. Swap halves. Practices: watching other dancers. Music: soft and slow. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: nothing.
Mark It With Your Hands 1. Everyone sits on the floor. 2. Play the music for the class dance quietly. 3. Dancers go through the whole dance with their hands only: fingers for feet, a turn of the wrist for a turn. 4. Anyone who gets lost watches a neighbor and joins in again. Do it once more with eyes closed. Practices: memory. Music: the track for the class dance, turned down low. Ages: 7 and up. Dancers: 2 to 40. You need: nothing.
Only One Moves 1. Everyone stands still, spread through the room. 2. One dancer at a time may move, and nobody speaks or signals. 3. As soon as a second dancer starts, the first must freeze where they are. 4. If two start at once, both freeze and wait. The class is aiming for two minutes in which exactly one dancer is always moving. Practices: watching the whole room. Music: none. Ages: 9 and up. Dancers: 6 to 30. You need: nothing.
Quietest Tiptoe to the Shoes 1. Dancers lie on the floor with eyes closed, as still as they can. 2. The teacher walks among them and gently taps the stillest dancer on the foot. 3. That dancer gets up without a sound and tiptoes to the shoe shelf. 4. Go on until everyone has been tapped. Nobody is out, and the class listens for footsteps. Practices: stillness and soft feet. Music: none. Ages: 3 to 6. Dancers: 2 to 20. You need: nothing.
Slow-Motion Race, Last One Wins 1. Dancers line up along one wall. 2. On "go", everyone moves toward the far wall as slowly as they can. 3. A dancer who stops moving, or puts a foot down in a hurry, goes back to the start. 4. The last dancer to arrive wins. The teacher walks alongside and looks for the smoothest steps. Practices: balance and control. Music: very slow, or none. Ages: 5 and up. Dancers: 2 to 30. You need: nothing.
Your Bow, Everyone's Bow 1. Stand in a circle. 2. One dancer steps in and takes a bow of their own making: deep, tiny, with a spin, with a wave. 3. The whole circle copies it back. 4. Go around until everyone has bowed. The teacher bows last, and the class copies that one on the way out. Practices: ending a class together. Music: slow. Ages: 4 and up. Dancers: 3 to 30. You need: nothing.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a teacher running a dance class in a studio or a hall. The wording, the ages and the dancer counts are ours. Each game says in plain words what the class practices; nothing here is a method, a syllabus or training advice, and no step is named beyond everyday ones such as a skip, a slide or a turn. Music is given as a tempo only: no song, artist or show is named. The list states no fact that needs an outside source. Licence: own work

How it works

These games to play in dance class each practice something a class works on anyway: levels, pathways, counts, spacing or memory. They use only everyday steps, such as a skip or a slide, so they fit any style.

Read the full guide

One game for each part of the class

1. Warm up with Clumps: A Number and a Level or Small, Medium, Huge. 2. Send lines across the floor with Three Lines, Three Levels. 3. Pair up for Puppet Strings or Magnet Palm. 4. Build something with Three Words From the Hat. 5. Finish with Mark It With Your Hands, which goes over the class dance while everyone sits.

Play one track at two tempos. A game that is easy at walking pace is a new game at double speed.

Questions and answers

What are fun warm-up games for a dance class?

Freeze in a Shape, Melt for Eight, Small, Medium, Huge, Clumps: A Number and a Level, Fill the Floor and Walk Eight, Dance Eight, Hold Eight. All get the whole class moving at once, and nobody is out in any of them.

What dance games work for preschoolers?

Five start at age three or four: Ice, Sand, Honey; Freeze in a Shape, Melt for Eight; Small, Medium, Huge; Your Bow, Everyone's Bow; and Quietest Tiptoe to the Shoes, which ends the class in silence. Four more start at age five.

What games can teens play in dance class?

Games with counting and choices: Arrive on Sixteen, Odd Counts, Even Counts, Same Eight, a New Way and Everyone's Chorus, Your Own Verse. Only One Moves ends a teen class quietly.

Which dance class games need no props?

23 of the 30 need only a floor and music, among them Shadow, Four Counts Behind, Call and Answer, Four Counts Each and Slow-Motion Race, Last One Wins. The rest ask for tape, cards, paper or a drum.