One of California’s longest ongoing free arts education programs, and a huge favorite among L.A.’s fifth graders and their teachers, The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival is going online in 2020! Designed specifically for fifth grade students and now available in a virtual way to young people of all ages, the Festival is an opportunity to experience the performing arts with a streamed performance by a professional dance company along with the chance for students at home to dance themselves. The performance will be available to watch for a limited time May 21, 2020 - June 30, 2020.
This year’s Festival celebrates the uniquely American art form of tap dance with Dorrance Dance. Known for honoring the tradition of tap dance and simultaneously expanding its possibilities, Dorrance Dance’s exuberant program highlights what is most thrilling, brilliant and beautiful about tap dancing—movement and music.
Sponsored by The Blue Ribbon, a support organization of The Music Center, the Festival began in 1970 and is an important part of The Music Center’s commitment to engage young people in the arts.
The Blue Ribbon Children's Festival Book
View the flipbook
Curriculum & Dance Sequence
Click here to download the 2020 Blue Ribbon Children's Festival curriculum.
View the dance sequence below for the 2020 Blue Ribbon Children's Festival.
Full dance (front): https://youtu.be/UHRnQ-e23HQ
Full dance (reverse): https://youtu.be/yAyUf3EePBU
Pattern #1 (front): https://youtu.be/ECcWoQgMdw8
Pattern #1 (reverse): https://youtu.be/dAzTYsQMuXg
Pattern #2 (front): https://youtu.be/ru5r-ASUdDo
Pattern #2 (reverse): https://youtu.be/pQu7G03BRXs
Pattern #3 (front): https://youtu.be/PPuRX0GL5xg
Pattern #3 (reverse): https://youtu.be/rl57sFbuzqw
Pattern #4 (front): https://youtu.be/cIlidfi588s
Pattern #4 (reverse): https://youtu.be/NaxIJqABXY0
Pattern #5 (front): https://youtu.be/bir3cd89NBw
Pattern #5 (reverse): https://youtu.be/PMZIB2QLf9w
Pattern #6 (front): https://youtu.be/3KjzkGnDKhw
Pattern #6 (reverse): https://youtu.be/ZSlJPra_Lns
Pattern #7 (front): https://youtu.be/dQ88sE_Gq5M
Pattern #7 (reverse): https://youtu.be/_pzY1OqcHAc
Pattern #8 (front): https://youtu.be/EX3e5XozgoU
Pattern #8 (reverse): https://youtu.be/5TJn6yp2iIA
Full dance (adapted to a chair): https://youtu.be/AdTE50AJIRE
Click here to download music/audio only files.
The Blue Ribbon Members

Thanks to a generous gift from Blue Ribbon member Maxine Dunitz, each participating student receives a copy of A Journey Through The Music Center, a book that introduces the four theatres of The Music Center and the performing arts presented in each venue. The book also includes profiles of performers and behind-the-scenes staff, as well as vocabulary and Fun Facts.
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THANK YOU FROM THE KIDS
