There are definitely NOT any “rules” to follow with Dance Adventures. Teach whatever you want, however you want. More power to you!! But…I’m often asked how I would teach certain things so if you need ideas or want clarification on what or how I would do… here’s my logic and strategy behind Dance Adventures lessons...

In General:

For me, a class like Dance Adventures is an entry point for a first-time dancer and that means that my FIRST job and responsibility to each and every student is to help spark a passion for dance in their heart. I want them to feel GOOD about coming to dance class. I want them to feel confident that they CAN dance, and that the wonderful world of dance is waiting there for them if they choose to explore it. So, while I also want to start teaching skills, technique and terminology those things come second to having FUN DANCING in a class like Dance Adventures. I know that once they fall in love with dance, there will be plenty of time for technical training for many MANY years to come.

Class Goals:

I’m a big fan of viewing windows and video monitors to allow parents to watch the fun and instruction, so I try to balance what’s fun and beneficial for the kids, what’s easy for the teacher, as well as what’s going to look “good” to parents. As a studio owner for 15+ years, I've found that the reality is that you have to balance all of those components for a successful program.

Warm-Up:

I like to keep the warm-up short and sweet for this age group. I like to start off super high-energy with some simple cardio (step claps, grape vines, walk forward x 4/back x 4). Then move into some simple isolations that are slow and easy to follow [head, shoulders, ribs, hips- rolls, up/down, back/front, 4-walls] and then some simple stretches for major muscle groups.

Barre:

For a combination class like Dance Adventures, my goal is mostly to expose students to the “big idea” of ballet and doing exercises at the barre. I also want them to start becoming familiar with terminology and some VERY basic technique. I try to move through each skill quickly since we have a lot to get to, so I’ll typically work in 1^st and 2^nd positions only in this type of class. For things like tendu/degagé I’ll keep it really simple and do 4 in each direction (front, side, back, side) on the right and then left side and then move on.

Music for barre- I’ll use a combination of music, but generally not much classical. Students who are interested in a class like Dance Adventures are probably going to be turned-off by classical music. I like to “sneak in” some ballet into Dance Adventures but I also keep it fun by using pop music.

Across The Floor:

• Traveling between skills: For skills that require traveling in between (pivots, etc.) I’ll usually have a very simple 8-count combo that repeats. For example, walk forward 1-4, step again to pivot on 5, flip 6, step again on 7, flip 8 and repeat all the way across the floor. For beginners, I’d have them keep their hands down or on their hips for simplicity. As the class progresses, this can build into a more stylized jazz walk before the pivots with some simple choreography for the arms on the pivot.
• General movement skills (claps, etc): I like to include REALLY basic skills like step clap for classes like Dance Adventures because often times this is a child’s first time dancing at all and so I find that really simple skills like step touch/step clap help teach basic timing and rhythm without them having to focus on too many things at once. I also like simple moves like these because they allow kids to let loose a little bit and find their “groove” without having to think about a lot of technical things like pointing their toes or spotting. I’ll often encourage them to add their own style/flavor to this kind of movement.
• Technical skills (turns, kicks, leaps, etc.): In a class like Dance Adventures I don’t want to overwhelm students with too many corrections. As mentioned before, I think it’s important in a class like this to first spark a PASSION for dance and instill some confidence. Once they fall in love with dancing, there will be plenty of time for corrections and technicalities in genre-specific classes later on. I’ll typically pick 3-5 key technical bullet points that I want to focus on for each skill. I would, however, drill those 3-5 bullet points into them each week. I find that this age group LOVES to raise their hands to go through the list before we practice them each week. (Note: This is VERY impressive to do in front of parents during performance week!! J)

Improvisation/Free Dance:

Here’s my feeling on free dance in a class like Dance Adventures. I LOVE it because it gives the students a chance to move freely and express themselves at some point in class. I love it because it gives them a mini-mental break from instruction and I LOVE it because I find that it reduces their fear and resistance to more formal improvisation exercises as they graduate into other styles of dance (contemporary, etc.). Plus, life is all about learning to “improvise”, go with the flow, and think on your feet so I think it’s a beneficial exercise in many regards.

I dislike improvisation/free-dance because sometimes it looks like a waste of time from the parent’s perspective. I find that parents often feel that they are paying for instruction and that their child can “frolic” to music at home for free. You can try to educate them on the benefits (above) but unfortunately, a class like Dance Adventures is probably going to be an entry point into your studio and many first-time dance parents are going to be more interested in getting a full class of instruction.

So, what’s the solution?

Well a couple of things… First, I prefer to use the term “improvisation” even with this age group over “free dance”. It gives it more credibility (which is deserves). Secondly, I keep it short. We have a LOT of material to cover each week in Dance Adventures so it’s also a necessity, but I find that if I keep it to 2-3 minutes that I don’t have any issues because it’s a relatively small percentage of the class. Lastly, I strategically place it BEFORE choreography. I’ll usually give a super-quick water break right after we go across the floor and then we’ll do improv right after before moving into choreography (Note: this also helps with water-break stragglers because typically kids love improv so they want to hustle their booties back to class!). I like to end class with choreography (plus a super-quick review) because the last 10 minutes is when most parents come in to see class. It’s just good marketing to have a room full of students all smiling and moving in unison having a great time. It’s what most parents envision when they enroll their child in a dance class. So, just give the people what they want and you’ll have packed classes. :)

Lesson Plan Structure:

I use a rotating curriculum. This means I list out all the skills I want to cover over the course of a year in Dance Adventures and then I break up those skills into skill blocks. In the case of Dance Adventures, I'm using 3 skill blocks. Each lesson plan is built around ONE skill block. And then the lesson plan (and skill blocks) rotate with each theme. So for example, the beach theme is using lesson plan/skill block 1, the Hollywood theme is using lesson plan/skill block 2, the jungle theme is using lesson plan/skill block 3, and then we are back to lesson plan/skill block 1 for the space theme. This is the best way I've found to balance repetition (which students need to learn) and variety (which students need to stay enthusiastic) in a beginning-level class like Dance Adventures.

I've included the lesson plan number with each theme in case you decide to use them out of order. I'd try and stick with the 1-2-3-1-2-3 pattern if you can. 

Questions? Email me at megan@princessballerinas.com