Create Your Own Dance Phrase Ideas

A Dancer's Toolbox - ideas to spark creativity...

So, what can you dance about? ANYTHING!

Dance about: sports, how you are feeling, retelling a story or poem, your favorite quote, an issue in the news or an issue that impacts your age group, any topic or subject in school, etc.

Movement description and examples

Traveling steps - movement that makes you travel across the floor

• Chasse (gallop)

• Skip

• Grapevine

Stationary movement - movements you do in place, not traveling

• Leans

• Reaches

• Kicks

• Pas des bourrée (back side front) (three stomps)

• Jazz square

Transition step - movement used to connect other movements together to form a phrase

Any movement can be a transitional movement

• Tricks (turns, jumps, etc)

A step to show technique and skill

• Pirouettes (spin)

• Leaps

• Jumps

• Traveling turns (pique turns, chaines, etc)

Things to consider…

Time

• Slow down or speed up the steps, add freezes

Energy

• Add a level of personality to your movements - how can you change the meaning of a step?, add emotion/facials

Space

• Use high, middle or low positions/levels to add dynamic movement to your phrase (roll to the ground/stand on your toes and reach up, etc)

• Change directions, change your relationship/formation, entrances and exits

Body

• Use a different body part for a movement, mirror someone, move after someone else

Other devices and structures

• canons

• call n response

• aba

• rhondo

• abacada

Activity…

Try this movement challenge!

Pick one or two movements from each category in the boxes above and put them together in whatever order you want to create a phrase!

Then, choose 1 or 2 elements from the “things to consider” and manipulate/alter your phrase for fun!

Share both versions with the class!

Observe 2 dancers demonstrating some of the movements from above: