Brother, Come and Dance with Me

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK (1854-1921)

GERMANY

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HISTORY AND SONG NOTES

Brother, Come and Dance With Me is a partner dance from German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel und Gretel (1893). This song can be used as a partner dance for older children, or as a dancing game for a larger group of younger children.

When teaching a game with movements, take your time through the first several repetitions so that the children are able to coordinate each step of the game. Once they have become familiar with the song and the movements, they may be able to speed up to a quicker tempo.

CIRCLE GAME

For older 2 and 3-year-olds, this song works as a group circle game with simple movements. For this game, all of the children and the teachers stand up and hold hands in a circle, and can use movements that correspond with the lyrics of the song:

Suggested Movements:

“brother, come and dance with me, both my hands I give to thee” – the children hold hands in a circle
“one foot first” – stick out one foot; “the other foot then” – stick out the other foot (take your time with this part, switching feet may be difficult for young children)
“turn around and back again” – holding hands, the circle walks around in one direction
“with your feet now tap, tap, tap” – tap your toe
“with your hands now clap, clap, clap” – drop hands and clap
“with your head now nick, nick, nick” – tilt your head one way, then the other, then back
“with your fingers click, click, click” – tap fingers together

You may not see the children singing and moving at the same time, and that is totally fine. In movement games, it is common for children to stop singing so that they can focus on their movements. Singing and moving may occur simultaneously in bursts, or as the children develop confidence over time with the song.

PARTNER DANCE

The partner dance version works well with 4 and 5-year-olds. Depending on what is typical in your classroom, you can either ask the children to choose their own partner or you can assign pairs. Either way, you can choose to have the children change partners between each repetition of the song; this creates the opportunity for deeper learning through repetition and an inclusive social experience.

Suggested Movements:

“brother, come and dance with me” – face your partner
“both my hands I give to thee” – hold hands with your partner
“one foot first” – stick out one foot; “the other foot then” – stick out the other foot
“turn around and back again” – holding hands with your partner, turn in a circle
“with your feet now tap, tap, tap” – tap your toe
“with your hands now clap, clap, clap” – either clap your hands, or pat your hands together with your partner
“with your head now nick, nick, nick” – tilt your head one way, then the other, then back
“with your fingers click, click, click” – either snap your fingers, or tap them together

You may not see the children singing and moving at the same time, and that is totally fine. In movement games, it is common for children to stop singing so that they can focus on their movements. Singing and moving may occur simultaneously in bursts, or as the children develop confidence over time with the song.