By CLAYTON PARK

Festive, carnival-like music fills the air as a dozen dancing toddlers shake bells, rattles, and tambourines to the bouncing rhythm. The children, accompanied by their parents, move in free-flowing motions around the dance studio. It is hard to tell who is having more fun, the kids or the adults.

This is part of the parent/toddler dance class at Haller Lake's Creative Dance Center. While focused on children, the Creative Dance Center offers a variety of dance classes for ages, ranging from babies through adults. "We start from birth and go to death," says Anne Green Gilbert, founder and director of the CDC.

Started in 1981, the CDC spent 13 years in Meadowbrook and Lake City before moving to the Haller Lake Community Center five years ago. About 400 students typically attend one class per week based on age group and time availability.

Gilbert is internationally recognized for her innovative approaches in incorporating dance and movement into education. She has written two books, 1977's "Teaching the Three R's Through Movement," and 1992's "Creative Dance for All Ages."

Creative dance incorporates the technical aspects of modern dance with the creativity of choreography. CDC students learn movement skills and are also encouraged to make their own dances.

Boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 14 who wish to perform dance concerts can join Kaleidoscope, a modern dance company based at the CDC. In addition to their normal weekly class, kids attend a two-hour Kaleidoscope practice once a week.

Gilbert says that many kids today spend too much time sitting: in car seats, in front of the TV or computer, and in the classroom. Creative dance provides stimulation through both physical movement and mental activity. It is an outlet for energy and self-expression.

"If someone is angry, they can do an angry dance rather than picking up a gun," says Gilbert.

Laura Henderson, 14, has been in Kaleidoscope for five years. She got her dancing start in a parent/toddler class at the CDC when she was two-years-old. Gilbert has had students who dance at her studio for 15 years or more.

Henderson likes working with the different professionals that choreograph dances for Kaleidoscope. But she also has fun creating dances with her friends. At the recent Spring Concert, Henderson's group performed a self-choreographed dance called "Let's Get Loud."

The Kaleidoscope students perform in a wide range of settings. Once or twice a month the group presents a concert at local elementary schools. Over the years, they have also toured in more exotic locations such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Russia, and Canada.

The Kaleidoscope members are just regular kids. They come in all shapes and sizes and don't necessarily look like ballerinas. Other kids see Kaleidoscope perform and think that they could do it too.

The biggest change that Gilbert has seen over the past 19 years is the number of kids coming to the CDC who have learning problems. This includes children with Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. Dance is often recommended to students by school teachers and counselors. Gilbert is glad to have these kids because she feels that dancing can help them.

"The kids here have fun. And kids learn best when they are having fun," says Gilbert.

The Creative Dance Center is located at 12577 Densmore Ave N.