Elizabeth Sanders
Nurturing Children Through Dance and Creative Movement
story by KAREN SNYDER photos by PAUL NURNBERG
A dancer since the age of three, Elizabeth Sanders has realized a life-long dream of sharing her passion for dance with children. Elizabeth is the dance and creative movement teacher at Riverview Charter School in Port Royal.
“I still have to pinch myself sometimes,” she admits. “I always thought I’d have my own dance studio one day, but getting to share a love for dance with students during school hours is the best possible scenario!”
A devoted mother of three girls ages 2, 4, and 10 and married to Graham Sanders, a member of the multigenerational Seaside Farm family on St. Helena Island, Elizabeth understands the benefits of dance and the importance of movement for young children, especially in the school environment. According to Elizabeth, the physical benefits of creative movement include flexibility, endurance, coordination, and total body exercise. But, the social-emotional aspect of creative expression and building confidence through dance are what she enjoys most. Elizabeth teaches approximately 240 children weekly in grades kindergarten through second grade and also an elective dance class twice a week for 20 middle school students.
“When children enter my classroom, I want them to have fun,” says Elizabeth, “but I also want them to gain skills that will help them to become more confident, mindful, and focused learners in their academic settings.” One way Elizabeth achieves this is by teaching “mindful movement” concepts that incorporate breathing, stretching, and moving intentionally, both in their personal space and the space of others.
“We follow a routine for each and every class, always turning off the lights at the end for a time to relax before they return to learning in their regular learning environment,” she says. “The children are able to breathe, stretch, and reflect on what they’ve learned before they return to the rest of their busy school day.”
Elizabeth creates the dance and creative movement curriculum she uses with her students admitting, “I just love the littles!”—a fact that’s not surprising considering Elizabeth began her career as a first-grade teacher.
Among the concepts she teaches her young students are locomotive and non-locomotive movement, how to move in pathways (straight, curvy, and zig-zag), and how to move in relation to others and their space. “My goal is to help them feel confident in moving their bodies,” she says, adding that even in kindergarten, students learn eight-count phrases of movement and perform them individually, with partners, and in groups. “They even create and choreograph their own eight-count dances!”
Another aspect of the program that Elizabeth enjoys is integrating her instruction with grade-level curriculum and working with her colleague Lisa Clancy, the school’s Creative Arts teacher. “Together, we’re able to put together musical play performances that reflect what the children are learning in the classroom. They’re not just performances for the sake of performing but included in their studies.”
Learning through creative movement is integrated into other ways, too. “For example, if our first graders are doing a science unit on butterflies, then we’ll study butterflies, too. We’ll think about how they move and pretend to be butterflies in class,” she explains. In second grade, she adds, students recently experienced many different cultures by learning dances from countries all over the world.
Dance instruction for her middle school students, however, looks a bit different. “It’s a classical program where students are exposed to a wide range of dance styles. I have students who have never danced before together in the same class and students who may have grown up dancing,” she adds. “But we make it work. Those who have dance experience are always willing to dance alongside those who are beginners. In fact, students create a lot of their own choreography, so they have to work collaboratively.” Says Elizabeth, “It’s about having fun and giving these students ‘a break’ from all that goes along with being a middle school student today.”
Reflecting on her current role, Elizabeth says that when she was initially approached by the leadership team at Riverview to begin the dance and creative movement program, “I just cried! They knew of my background and love for dance and offered me the opportunity to do what I had always wanted to do! I knew that running a studio of my own, which primarily has after-school hours, would not be feasible while also raising a family. This has allowed me to share my love of dance and also be able to be at the same school as my children.”
A native of Florence, SC, Elizabeth grew up in the dance studio at the South Carolina Dance Theatre, being classically trained in ballet, tap, and jazz. “My training was fairly intense from 4 to 8 p.m. daily after school,” says Elizabeth, who also was selected to attend the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts Summer Intensive Program and even danced in a performance with the Columbia City Ballet. “I also had the opportunity to attend a month-long training program with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.”
Dancing through high school, Elizabeth found she had to abandon her dream of becoming a dance teacher once she decided to attend Clemson University. “It was a given that I would attend Clemson. We have deep family roots there, and I always knew I would go to college there. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a dance major,” she explains, “but I did perform for four years as part of the University’s dance company.”
“So, I had to think about something else I had grown to love.” While in high school, Elizabeth had served as a teacher cadet in a first-grade classroom. “I knew I wanted to become a teacher.”
Elizabeth graduated from Clemson University with a BA in Elementary Education in May 2007. What she didn’t know was how fast her life would move from that point on. “I married my husband Graham, whom I had met at Clemson, just two months following graduation, then took my first job that fall.” After teaching for two years at Beaufort Academy, Elizabeth attended an informational session hosted by one of Riverview Charter School’s founders, AnnMarie Bowden. “I knew I just had to be part of that school!” explaining that she loved the progressive, child-centered approach the school was founded on.
Elizabeth joined the school’s initial staff, but soon after, she learned she was expecting her first daughter Collins. “We began our family at the same time that I had found my teaching home.”
Unfortunately, it was just a short time later that tragedy would strike the Sanders family when two-and-a-half years after having their son, Edward Graham Sanders III, whom they called “Gray,” he unexpectedly passed away from an undiagnosed heart condition.
“It was such a sad and difficult time for our family. He was a happy and healthy little boy, and we never knew anything was wrong.”
In 2016, the Sanders would add to their family once again with the birth of their daughter Ann Gray who shares their son’s name. And two years after that, a third daughter Scottie would join their loving family.
Elizabeth says that a special place for her and her family in Beaufort is The Little Brown School. “Our children have attended there, and we are very close to Jodie Willis, the school director. She has been wonderful to our family. After Gray passed, they placed a beautiful mirrored piece of artwork at the school that reflects the sun’s light to remember him. It’s so special to us,” she says, adding that there is also a special bench placed outside Memorial Stadium at Clemson University where they attended many football games together during Gray’s short life.
I won’t say that it’s not challenging sometimes being a mom and teacher, but I enjoy our life here in Beaufort. It’s so different from where I grew up. I loved visiting the beach when I was young. But, that was only a special trip for a week-long vacation,” she reminisces.
“Now we go to the beach whenever we want,” adding that her husband grew up here and spent his life on the water. “We live across from one of the family’s farms on St. Helena. Whether it’s spending the day on the beach, boating, or jumping off the dock, I feel fortunate that my children are able to grow up here in this special place.”
