Analyzing Dance Steps
Being prepared to teach a dance requires analyzing each separate step contained in the dance to determine the following information:
The name of the step or action
If the step does not have an understood name, assign it a name, so you and the students know what you're talking about without describing the entire step.The number of beats the step requires to perform one time.
The number of measures the step requires to perform one time.
The foot or other body part that is moving and when.
The teaching cues that accurately describe the step, preferrably one word or syllable per beat.
Any hints that are helpful in performing the step, besides the selected teaching cues.
Once individual steps are fully understood, they may be taught and combined in sequence. To practice analyzing individual steps, download this file to your desktop. Next, complete the following table independently, determining the number of beats and measures, foot pattern, cues, and hints for each dance step. Finally, select the answers below to compare your analysis to the answers.
| Name |
Beats |
Measures |
L/R | Cues |
Hints |
| Grapevine |
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|
Step-touch |
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| Two-step |
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| Walk around |
© Steven A. Henkel, 12/02