How an Indian Dance workshop brings Diwali to life in primary schools
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Diwali offers a wonderful opportunity for primary school children to explore stories, celebrations and the importance of light. Alongside books, photographs and classroom activities, an Indian Dance workshop adds music, movement and the excitement of learning something together.
Children learn expressive movements, follow a rhythm and practise a Bollywood routine during our Indian Dance workshop. Paired with learning about the festival, the experience can help create a memorable Diwali celebration across your school.
What is Diwali?
Diwali, often called the Festival of Lights, is an important Hindu festival celebrated in India and by communities around the world. Light is a central theme, representing ideas including the triumph of good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.
Many Hindus connect Diwali with the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya, where lamps were lit to welcome them home. Other communities associate the festival with different stories and traditions. Jain and Sikh communities also mark this time of year in ways with their own religious significance.
Families may light diyas, decorate their homes, share food and gather with loved ones. Exploring this variety helps children understand that celebrations can look different from one family to another.
Why choose Primary Workshop’s Indian Dance workshop for Diwali in primary school?
An Indian Dance workshop gives children an active way to explore music and movement as part of your Diwali learning.
Our workshops introduce Bollywood dance, a style associated with Indian cinema. This gives children an opportunity to explore a popular art form alongside classroom learning about Diwali. We are unique in that we can offer our costumes and ankle bells, completely free of charge subject to availability and request.
Teachers can connect the session with Diwali stories, photographs and discussions. Children then have a shared experience to draw on when talking about rhythm, expression, celebration and working together.
What happens in an Indian Dance workshop?
In our Indian Dance workshops for schools, our facilitator teaches children a choreographed Bollywood routine in preparation for a group performance. Learning and practising the taught routine gives children opportunities to follow musical cues, remember the movements and encourage one another as they prepare to perform together.
A full day can include up to eight sessions, with a maximum of 30 children per session. This allows several classes or year groups to take part in their own sessions. Costumes and ankle bells can be requested, subject to availability.
The result is a shared celebration that gives children something to participate in, talk about and build on afterwards.
Bringing Diwali stories and themes into the classroom
The dance workshop can sit alongside the stories that children encounter during their Diwali topic. An age-appropriate version of Rama and Sita in the classroom provides opportunities to explore the significance of light, welcome and celebration.
After the workshop, children could retell the story through pictures or writing, explain why lamps were lit to welcome Rama and Sita home, or discuss how families celebrate together.
Teachers can also return to the taught dance routine when exploring music and performance. Children might describe how they remembered the movements, followed the beat and worked together as a group.
A useful discussion starter is: “What helped us learn and perform our routine together?”
One workshop, several curriculum connections
An Indian Dance workshop can provide a starting point for learning across different subjects. The strongest connections are those that fit what your children are already exploring.
| Area of learning | Ways to build on the experience |
| RE | Explore the significance of Diwali for different families and communities, using stories and reliable resources. |
| PE | Practise coordination, balance, changes of direction and remembering a taught dance routine. |
| Music | Listen for a steady beat, recognise changes in tempo and explain how movements fit the music. |
| English | Retell a story, describe a performance or write instructions for a movement learned during the workshop. |
| Geography | Locate India on a map and explore how Diwali is celebrated in communities around the world. |
| PSHE | Reflect on cooperation, encouraging others and sharing experiences respectfully. |
These links can help the workshop become part of a wider topic, with children returning to the experience in later lessons.
Welcoming children’s own experiences
Some children may already celebrate Diwali with their families. Others may be learning about it for the first time.
A class discussion can make space for familiar experiences as well as new discoveries. Children might recognise a decoration, recall a family celebration or share a favourite piece of music.
Contributions can be voluntary, with books, videos and photographs providing further examples. This gives children opportunities to see their experiences reflected in school life while learning about traditions beyond their own.
It also helps teachers explore the diversity of Indian culture, with different languages, regions, communities and art forms providing further avenues for learning.
Simple activities to continue your Diwali learning
A few follow-up activities can help children revisit what they have learned through the workshop and their classroom topic.
- Explore rangoli patterns. Look at examples and create paper designs, discussing colour, shape and symmetry.
- Create a light display. Make paper diya decorations and add children’s explanations of why light matters at Diwali.
- Revisit the routine. Clap or tap a steady beat, then practise a short section of the dance taught during the workshop.
- Share a story. Retell the version of Rama and Sita you have explored through pictures, words or a simple classroom performance.
- Reflect on the workshop. Invite children to demonstrate a movement, explain how the group worked together or ask a question they would like to investigate.
An assembly could bring these ideas together through children’s artwork, a short explanation of the festival and a dance performance.
Planning Diwali across your school
Different year groups can share a Diwali theme while exploring it in ways suited to their learning.
EYFS children might begin with photographs, a short story and simple movement. KS1 children could connect a story with dance and art. KS2 children might explore how celebrations vary, investigate sources and reflect on how rhythm, expression and teamwork support a group performance.
When planning your workshop, let us know which classes will take part and any access or sensory needs you would like to discuss. This helps us plan with your school and your children in mind.
Bring Indian Dance to your school this Diwali
Bring music, movement and a shared performance into your school’s Diwali plans with an Indian Dance workshop.
Whether you are planning a Diwali topic, a celebration for several classes or a day across the school, we would love to help you bring music and movement into your plans.
Explore our Indian Dance workshops or contact us to check your dates.
