Today’s post will be more of a list than a real article. I will cover everything that I think one should teach in a regular dance class. So this is your “how to structure your dance lessons”, but it could also serve as “how to structure your own practise” (when you remove the theory stuff of course). If you missed last week’s “How to be a good dance teacher“, go and check it out now.
Without further ado, this is what I think you should teach in regular classes (this means in a recurring setup, not a one-time workshop):
- The history and cultural context of the dance style.
- Where and when did it come from?
- Who are the guys that made it happen?
You want your students to take classes from these guys when they have the chance to do so. - Where there specific circumstances that sparked the birth of the scene and the style?
- Point your students to the documentaries about your style if there are any.
- The moves, aka the vocabulary of the dance.
- The techniques themselves.
- The origin of the steps.
- Drills.
- How to create your own drills.
- Methods on how to work with these moves and create variations.
- The groove(s). I love to call it the grammar of the style but I know that some people disagree.
- The basics of music and counting.
- The connection of the dance to the music.
- The concepts and ideas behind freestyling.
- You should also teach your choreographies as people should learn to pick up choreography.
- How social dance works.
This helps to understand where our styles come from. - How cyphers work and cypher etiquette.
- How battles work, tactics and battle etiquette.
- Preparing the body.
More important for breaking than other styles, but definitely recommended for all the styles.- Strength exercises.
- Stamina training.
- Balance.
- Coordination.
- Stretching.
Do you cover everything in your classes? If not, can you expand your curriculum to cover everything?
Did I miss anything? Let me know.