Rhythm and Musicality:

Begin with activities that emphasize the relationship between movement and music.

Clap, stomp, and use body percussion to explore rhythmic patterns. (Refer to ice breakers/ team bonding page)

Practice identifying the beat and tempo of music, then translate this to movement like swaying or stepping in time.

Use techniques like mirroring or call-and-response to help students internalize the rhythm.

Use different music genres and tempos to challenge students' adaptability and understanding of rhythm.

Basic Dance Movements and Terminology:

Introduce fundamental movements and corresponding dance terms. (See terms on different page)

Focus on clear explanations and demonstrations, allowing students to practice and internalize the movements.

Incorporate repetition to develop muscle memory and improve technique.

Consider breaking down complex movements into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Improvisation:

Introduce structured improvisation activities where students can freely explore and generate movement ideas.

Give prompts like "lead with your knees" or "show me how this character would walk" to encourage creative exploration and physical awareness.

Use props or imagery to inspire movement:

Building Off Imagery

Sometimes a vivid mental picture is all it takes to remember steps.

1. Create metaphors: Dancers of all levels respond well to vivid images. Instead of putting your arm out and reaching, identify it as “reaching for an apple.”

2. Chain images together: Reach for the apple, kick a ball, open a curtain and jump over a stream. 

3. Identify transitions: The in-between moments are where dancers often struggle the most. Create specific qualities, like “Your shoulder blades are melting down your back like ice cream on a warm day.”

4. Share strategies: Ask students to come up with their own imagery and then teach it to another group of dancers. 

(*note this can also be a fun ice breaker)

Choreographic Devices:

Explain how devices like repetition, variation, levels, pathways, and mirroring can be used to develop movement phrases and enhance a dance piece.

Have students experiment with manipulating their improvised movements using these devices.

Emphasize storytelling through movement by focusing on the verbs in sentences to inspire actions and the emotions behind them.

BODY 

Refers to the physical instrument of the dancer—the body and how it's used.

Includes: posture, body parts (arms, legs, head, etc.), body shapes, and body actions (twisting, stretching, bending, etc.).

Parts: the arms, legs, head, toes, fingers, adaptive tools can take on different focuses (i.e., open, closed, relaxed)

ACTION

What the dancer does.

Includes: traveling steps (walking, running, leaping), non-locomotor movements (bending, twisting), and gesture or everyday movements.

Locomotor: walk, run, leap, hop, jump, skip, slide, gallop 

Non-locomotor: bend, twist, stretch, swing 

leading/following.

SPACE

Where the dance takes place and how the dancer moves through it.

Includes: direction, level (high/mid/low), size, pathway, focus (where the dancer looks), and formations.

Size: Large small, narrow, wide

Level: High/ Medium/ Low

Space: Personal space/ general space, center stage, upstage/ downstage (competition floor dimensions)

Direction: Forward/ backward, right/ left, sideways, diagonal 

Orientation: Facing

TIME

The timing and rhythm of movement.

Includes: tempo (fast/slow), beat, duration, rhythm, phrasing, and syncopation.

Free rhythm: breath, open, improv, cue

Clock time: seconds, minutes

Timing relationship: before, after, unison, ripple

ENERGY

The quality of movement or how the movement is executed.

Includes: force (strong/light), flow (free/bound), tension, and dynamics (sudden, sustained, swinging, percussive, etc.).

Attack: Sharp/ smooth, sudden/ sustained

Weight: Strength, lightness, resilience

Flow: Free, bound, balanced, neutral

Quality: Flowing, tight, loose, sharp, swinging, swaying, suspended, collapsed, smooth

1. Open window 

2. Pyramid

3. X

4. Line (vertically/ horizontally)

5. Diagonal 

6. V Formation

7. Diamond

8. U Formation

9. Square

8-count: Music is often counted in 8s. An 8-count is a specific section of a combo that consists of… 8 counts

Arabesque: Achieved by extending one leg to the back, usually lifted to 45 degrees or higher.

Ball Change: Transfer of weight from one foot to another, usually done by only putting weight on the ball of one foot before moving back onto the other. Used for transitions. 

Body Roll: To move through a body roll, start by pushing your chest forward and arching your back. Then, pushing your hips forward, allow your upper body to contract to create a rolling motion in your torso.

Contemporary: Style of dance that originated out of the more traditional ballet, modern, lyrical, and jazz styles. Characterized by expressive movements used to tell a story.

Contraction: Creating a C-shape with the torso by curling the tailbone under and activating the abdominals.

Dynamic: Refers to the execution of a movement. A routine is considered more dynamic if it varies in energy levels, speeds, levels, and textures, for example.

Fan Kick: A straight-legged battement that sweeps in front of the body from corner to corner in an arc-like motion.

First Position: A position of the feet with heels together and toes turned out.

Fixed Point: A part of your body, usually a hand, which you keep in one place in space while moving the rest of your body, creating an illusion that the body part is “locked” in that spatial location.

Flexed: Refers to hands or feet. With arms by your sides, a flexed hand would have fingers pointing away from your body and palms facing down. A flexed foot is the opposite of a pointed toe.

Focus: Where you are looking while you dance.

Forced Arch: A bent knee while on relevé.

Freestyle: Improvisational dancing that allows the dancer to express their individual style (i.e. a dance that is not pre-planned)

It’s the process of spontaneously creating movement that was not choreographed ahead of time

Full Out: Dancing with 100% of your energy with performance.

Fundamentals: Originating from 1970s hip hop culture, the fundamentals refer to the different styles of hip hop that emerged at that time: Since then, styles of hip hop have expanded to include breaking, popping, locking, house, punking/waacking, krumping, vogueing, and more.

Improv (Freestyle): Short for improvisation. Un-choreographed movement where the dancer spontaneously expresses themselves.

Isolations: The act of moving only one part of the body such as the head or shoulder while everything else is still.

Hip Hop: Style of dance stemming from the hip hop culture of 1970s New York City. Characterized by grounded movement with street style.

Hip Roll: While standing, isolate your hips so that they move in a circle (forward, side, back, side) in one smooth movement without pausing.

Hold: Pause in the current move for a designated amount of counts.

Krumping: Characterized by exaggerated, highly energetic movement consisting primarily of stomps, jabs, chest pops, and arm swings. This style originated from young dancers expressing themselves non-violently to escape gang culture in Los Angeles.

Levels: Utilizing the space above and below you versus only moving side to side.

Locking: Usually done in conjunction with popping, locking is a separate style where muscles contract to create dynamics.

Lunge: A position where one leg is bent while the other is straight when the legs are apart.

Lyrics: The words in a song that are sung to a melody. Lyrics don’t always follow the structure of an 8-count. Most choreographers will sometimes create based on the lyrics versus the music. Lyrics also help tell the story.

Mark: Practicing a combo using a lower amount of energy.

Milking: Extending or dragging out a move through the end of a count instead of stopping the move at the end of the count. 

Musicality: A dancer’s connection to the music. Good musicality refers to when a dancer can match the rhythm and mood of the music through their style or dynamics.

Pas du boureé: Three steps, usually stepping back, side, front.

Pirouette: “Whirl or spin.” Controlled turn on one leg while in relevé. The lifted leg is usually in a passe (or retiré) position during a pirouette.

Plié: Bending of the knee.

Popping: Style of dance created by Boogaloo Sam in 1970s Fresno California. Characterized by the quick tensing and releasing of muscles to create a pop effect.

Pose: Moving into a still position as if a photo is being taken to capture that moment in time.

Rhythm: Repetitive patterns within music. When counting music with the rhythm, dancers are able to measure our movements and stay in time.

Shimmy: Shaking your shoulders rapidly in an alternating pattern.

Tempo: How fast or slow a piece of music is. In dance, you will often learn choreography at a slower tempo before speeding it up to be performed “at tempo” of the actual music.

Transitions: Connector moves. A ball change is an example of a transition.