Swing Day 1 Lesson Plan Outline Introduction to Basic Dance & Swing

SWING DAY 1 LESSON PLAN OUTLINE INTRODUCTION TO BASIC DANCE & SWING

OVERVIEW Lesson one focuses on an introduction to basic dance skills. The goal is to get students dancing in rhythm; first with a dance they can do individually, and then with basic swing dance steps they do in coordination with a partner.

LEARNING OUTCOME Student will be able to: 6. Dance the basic steps to a line dance and coordinate their movements together as a group. 7. Ask permission and show respect to a dance partner. 8. Dance the East Coast Swing basic step in an open dance position with a partner. 9. Understand how to establish and maintain personal space when dancing as an individual in a group, and when dancing with a partner. 10. Understand how to show appreciation to their partner at the end of a song, and why it is important.

ACTIVITY Warm Up 1. Teach the Line dance: Stop the Bus

Lesson Focus 1. Teach the basic East Coast Swing step 2. Understand the basic footwork and the distinct timing 3. Teach how to ask permission and create connection 4. Teach why we applaud at the end of every song

DRILL FOR SKILL: PARTNER CHANGE RELAY

Closing: Appreciate your last partner with a hand shake and high five.

INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT - WHAT TO LOOK FOR: 1. Does student understand the line dance pattern and how to dance it with the group? 2. Is student dancing the steps to the East Coast Swing correctly? 3. Is student dancing the correct rhythm for the swing? 4. Is student connecting properly in Open Position with partner?

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SWING DAY 1 INTRODUCTION TO BASIC DANCE & SWING LESSON PLAN DETAILS

LEARNING OUTCOME Student will be able to: 1. Dance the basic steps to a line dance and coordinate their movements together as a group. 2. Ask permission and show respect to a dance partner. 3. Dance the East Coast Swing basic step in an open dance position with a partner. 4. Understand how to establish and maintain personal space when dancing as an individual in a group, and when dancing with a partner. 5. Understand how to show appreciation to their partner at the end of a song, and why it is important.

ACTIVITY Warm Up: Get moving with a Line Dance 1. Understand personal space a. Have students create 2-3 lines facing the same direction b. Students should be arm’s length apart so they have their own space to dance in; c. Have students make their own invisible square around themselves. d. Remind students that even as they move different directions, they have to maintain their own personal space without bumping into anyone else. 2. Teach the line-dance a. Walk through the basic footwork of the Bus Stop i. Start with the right foot - Back 3 steps – clap ii. With the left foot – Forward 3 steps – clap iii. 3 step grapevine right – clap iv. 3 step grapevine left – clap v. Right foot touch forward twice while Right hand reaches forward twice vi. Left foot touch forward twice while Left hand reaches forward twice vii. Right foot 1 time, with Right hand viii. Left foot 1 time, with Left hand ix. Jump with feet apart x. Jump to cross feet xi. Turn ½ turn - clap

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b. Practice the line dance a couple of times facing both walls c. Dance the line-dance with the music

Lesson Focus 1. Partner up Dancing with a partner, at any age, can be intimidating. With younger students, do the following exercise, utilizing the arm movement they just did in the line-dance, to segue into touching hands and creating a connection with a partner. a. Divide the class into two groups: Lead & Follow. b. Have the two groups stand in two lines facing each other, remind them to maintain personal space so they are not bumping into each other. c. Have students practice just the hand movements from the Bus Stop i. Right hand twice, Left hand twice, right once, left once ii. On the jump out-cross-turn, have students do a full turn then put both hands in the air for a double high five. d. Have students step forward close enough to do the same movement with the partner in front of them, crossing hands enough to clap hands as they do the movement, in a hand-clap sequence: i. Right cross twice, Left cross twice, right once, left once ii. Jump-cross-turn all the way around, double high five e. Reminder: the whole purpose of practicing the hand clap sequence is in preparation for when the students connect hands for the swing. Have them practice the sequence a few times so they get used to the idea of touching hands. We will return to the sequence again, later in the swing.

2. Teach the basic footwork for the East Coast Swing a. Ask the two lines to separate slightly to learn the basic swing movement b. Demonstrate the basic footwork for the Lead part, then the Follow part utilizing 4-count rhythm that steps on every beat i. Start by demonstrating the Side-Side movement, shifting weight from one foot to the other. ii. Then demonstrate the Rock-Step, as a rocking action back and forth iii. Put both elements together into Side-Side-Rock-Step, stepping on every beat in a 4 count sequence c. Practice the footwork with everyone dancing the footwork in unison i. Note: the Leads and Follows should be mirroring each other as they dance. No one is touching hands or connected yet, this is an exercise to practice the footwork.

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3. Understand the distinct timing for Swing a. Traditional East Coast Swing has a distinct timing of SLOW-SLOW-QUICK-QUICK i. Explain that a SLOW gets 2 beats of music, a QUICK gets 1 beat of music ii. Some music teachers use Ta and Ti, which would translate to TA-Ta-Ti-Ti iii. Have the students clap the rhythm, and then dance the rhythm with their feet

4. Practice in unison, again the Leads and Follows are mirroring each other’s movement

5. Teach the Open Dance Position & Understand Personal Space while dancing with a partner a. Ask for a volunteer student to help demonstrate the Open Position, or two hand hold, with the Lead’s hands on the bottom, the Follow’s hands hooked over top b. Have the two lines step closer together and remind them they were just doing the hand jive sequence together, so they’ve already touched hands. c. Tell the students it is always important to ask permission before dancing. i. Have everyone repeat: “May I have this dance?” ii. Tell students the proper reply is , “yes, thank you.” iii. Have the Leads ask the question and the Follows respond. iv. Have the Follows ask the question and the Leads respond. d. Establish the Open Dance Position or 2-hand hold i. Have the Leads hold their hands up like a shelf and ask permission. ii. Have the Follows hook their hands over the top of their partner’s hands and reply properly. iii. Note that no one needs to use their thumbs while dancing, we utilize fingertips only when we connect with our partner. e. Point out they are only connected at the hands and each partner has their own Personal Space while dancing with their partner, they are still mirroring each other’s movement.

6. Practice a. Have students practice with their partner while everyone counts the rhythm b. Turn on the music and practice the East Coast Swing Basic Step with the music

7. Appreciation at the end of the song a. Ask everyone to clap for their partner at the end of the song, or when you turn the music off. b. Explain some of the reasons why we clap at the end of a song: i. To show appreciation for the band or DJ ii. To show appreciation for our partner for dancing with us iii. To fill that awkward silence that sometimes happens when the dance is over iv. To dry your slightly sweaty hands (Note that everybody gets sweaty hands when they dance) v. Prompt students to give their own suggestions about why you should clap at the end of a song.

DRILL FOR SKILL: PARTNER CHANGE RELAY 1. Set up 2 teams of partners. a. Each team has a line of Leads in Open Position with a Follow as partner. 2. Choose one end of the Follows’ lines to be the runner position. a. Note that only the Follows lines are switching to the next partner 3. Every 15-20 seconds or so, pause the music and yell: “switch” 4. Every time the music pauses, the runner has to run down to the other end of the line, and all the Follows move down one partner, shake hands and start dancing with their new partner. 5. Point to the team that gets organized and dancing first. 6. Continue randomly pausing the music and switching partners throughout the song. 7. Time permitting, run a second round with the Leads doing the switching.

Closing: Appreciate your last partner. 1. Ask students to shake hands with their last partner and give them a high five before lining up to leave.

INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT - WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

5. Does student understand the line dance and how to dance it with the group? a. Student should know and understand the step sequence and be dancing it in unison with the class b. Student should be mindful of the space they are moving in and not be running into other students. 6. Is student dancing the basic step to the East Coast Swing correctly? a. Basic swing should have two side steps and a rock step away from their partner b. Leads start with the left foot c. Follow start with the right foot d. Both partners are in sync and rocking back, away from each other, at the same time 7. Is student dancing the correct rhythm for the East Coast Swing? a. The rhythm is SLOW-SLOW-QUICK-QUICK i. The two side steps are counted SLOW-SLOW ii. The rock step is counted QUICK-QUICK 8. Is student connecting properly in Open Position with partner? a. Lead’s hands are on the bottom, creating a shelf b. Follow’s hands are on the top, fingers hooking over the Lead’s shelf c. No thumbs, no squeezing, just fingertip control