Teaching Dance – It’s Not That Daunting
You might not ‘think’ you are a Choreographer, but once you know a few key rules, your pupils will be amazed…
Teaching Dance allows children to express their feelings and emotions. It is a great way to see children in a different light, as some children love dance and it gives them the chance to excel in something that suits them. Dance also works as an effective tool to develop balance, coordination and control.
On the other hand, some children may not enjoy the prospect of dancing, so it is important to teach the most appropriate style for the pupils in your class.
Thanks to TV shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, Dance is becoming more popular. That’s a great benefit to teachers trying to convince certain pupils to take part. Thank heavens for Ashley Banjo!
Delivering dance lessons
You shouldn’t feel overwhelmed with the task of delivering a Dance Unit. It’s actually easier than you think.
A Dance Unit should always follow a story, just like a book; with a beginning, a middle and an end. Then all you need to do is break up each chapter. A different Dance phrase for each chapter.
The beat of 8
The ‘Beat of 8’ is an important element when teaching Dance. All music is broken up into beats of 8, and all parts of a dance (phrases) should be too….
Click your fingers… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8…
Each time you click your fingers, move your head from one side to the other. Congratulations, you are dancing!!
Dance lesson plans
Download a lesson plan for a Dance Unit by going to our PE lesson plans section and scrolling down to the Dance Lesson Plans. Then, read through lesson 1 of your chosen year (you don’t need a subscription for this). As soon as you have cracked the ‘Beat of 8’, you will be well on your way to delivering a quality Dance lesson.
This website also has a useful ‘Dance Overview’ and dance videos to give you a visual of how each dance should be performed.
Good luck!
