The mission of Dance and Play with Ms. A is to create positive, playful group experiences that promote connecting with others.
About Ms. A, Alison Brett
After years of working in child care and educational settings, Alison’s shift to edutainment was informed by her own journey with dance, rhythm and breathwork. At a concert in 2019 Alison had an epiphany about the connection between dance and inner joy, she made a decision to dance every day. Daily dance led to feeling better physically, mentally and spiritually. In the spring of 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, the art program Alison designed and led for 15 years was eliminated at Fenton Primary Center due to budgetary concerns. Wanting to continue to impact children’s lives while seeking self-direction and independence, the idea of providing children’s assemblies and workshops for elementary schools was exciting. Positive feedback to her idea convinced her to pursue it as a business, thus, Dance and Play with Ms. A was born!Alison has over three decades experience working with children and a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development from Hampshire College. She has worked in camp, after-school, preschool child care and elementary school settings both directly with children and in administrative positions. Art classes were part of her undergraduate work, she studied for three years with Mission: Renaissance, and regularly creates in a variety of mediums. Her combined love of art and working with children led to 18 years as an art educator.While not formally trained in dance, Alison has always loved moving her body to music. Her father once said her favorite kind of music was “danceable” and that was accurate! She sees dance as an exploration of movement with ideas like push/pull, reach/retract, symmetry and balance playing key roles. Ms. A. engages students in dance that is accessible and fun incorporating imaginative play “let’s pretend we are puppets,” and allowing kids time to freestyle with their own moves.In August of 2020 Alison started drum lessons with Manas Itene, drummer for Michael Franti and Spearhead. Furthering her connection to rhythm, in January of 2022 she completed Beat The Odds®, an evidence-based program integrating activities from group drumming. The training offered by the Arts and Healing Initiative, teaches “group counseling to build core strengths such as focusing and listening, team building, leadership, expressing feelings, managing anger/stress, empathy, and gratitude.”Yawning is funny for kids, it also deeply stretches the jaw, expands the rib cage and deepens the breath, all of which have health benefits. The breathwork Ms. A incorporates into the program is age-appropriate. Breathwork has physical and emotional benefits including relaxation, focus and de-escalating stress. Mindful breathing is among the most powerful ways to connect to the inner self. Alison has a variety of breathing techniques she practices regularly. Ms A. is enthusiastic about bringing her programs into schools in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas. She’s ready to dance and play so choose your program today! “Her professional knowledge, patience, love of children, and encouragement, makes these activities an instant magnet for kids. Kids feel a great sense of accomplishment after each class.” — Richard Parra, Director, Fenton Primary Center, Pacoima, CA
Travel
Alison enjoys traveling. She has been to Europe several times, also New Zealand, Bali Indonesia and has set foot on over 30 islands across the globe!
Art
Making art is a favored pastime. She creates using various mediums including oil paint, watercolor, printing and more. Recently, she began experimenting with dryer lint exploring texture and possibilities.
Garden
Gardening is another way that she expresses creativity. She loves tending her plants and reaping the harvests of backyard veggies and berries.