By Simone (from the 80’s Seminar Series)

WHERE TO START

  1. Type of Music
  2. Level of Dance

BREAK DOWN THE MUSIC

  1. The Parts
    • Introduction
    • Verse
    • Chorus
    • Music Break
  2. General Characteristics of Music
    • Music is in phrases of 8 counts
    • Sometimes there are two verses in a row – this indicated repeating the section of step
    • Sometimes the chorus is repeated twice (or more at the end of a song) – this indicates repeating the section of steps
    • Music breaks are generally in the last half of the song
    • Some records have weird phrases that must be paid close attention to (i.e. and extra beat as in “Uncle Pen”)

COUNTING PHRASES

  1. Get a notebook and label the page as follows
    • INTRO:
    • VERSE(A):
    • CHORUS(B):
    • BREAK:
  2. After counting your music, the page will look similar to this.
    ** each mark (I) indicated 8 counts of music.
    Counts of dance- Choreography- Simone Nichols Pace
  3. After counting the music once, go back & recount it. Sometimes there is confusion as to where one phrase ends and the next begins, however, by listening to it 2 or 3 times you can usually figure it out.
  4. Look again at the diagram. It indicates that:
    • The INTRO is 16 counts
    • The VERSE is 32 counts
    • The CHORUS is 32 counts
    • The BREAK is 16 counts
  5. By moving from left to right across the page, I know my sequence is:
    • INTRO     A    A     B     A     A    B     BREAK    A     B     B
    •  (all this information and haven’t even started to dance!)

CONTENTS OF THE DANCE

  1. Steps
    • Decide level; stay with step in this range
    • Start with accent steps then fill in around them
    • Be sure the steps add to the movement you need so the dance will flow with ease
  2. Movement
    • Forward & Back
    • Left & Right
    • Diagonals on all 4 quadrants
    • Circle (small, large)
    • Box (face all four walls)
  3. Arm & Head Movements
    • Not recommended for beginner or low intermediate dances — creates frustration.
    • The more hand moves there are, the easier the steps should be.
  4. Time Element
    • Take into consideration the amount of time you would like to spend teaching the dance.
    • Try it out on an experimental group and if something doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to change it.
    • Realize that if this is to be done in exhibition or competition, the fewer the repetitions the better.

Have a good time, and start being creative!
~ Simone