By Simone (from the 80’s Seminar Series)
WHERE TO START
- Type of Music
- Level of Dance
BREAK DOWN THE MUSIC
- The Parts
- Introduction
- Verse
- Chorus
- Music Break
- 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
- Get a notebook and label the page as follows
- INTRO:
- VERSE(A):
- CHORUS(B):
- BREAK:
- After counting your music, the page will look similar to this.
** each mark (I) indicated 8 counts of music.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Movement
- Forward & Back
- Left & Right
- Diagonals on all 4 quadrants
- Circle (small, large)
- Box (face all four walls)
- 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.
- 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