A while back, we were conducting a workshop at Phase 4/5 focused on really mastering some the dances we often encounter at festivals. We hit on a technique that really worked well, and the students have been encouraging us to publicize it.

The basic idea is to take the section of the dance you want to focus on, then cue that sequence over and over to simpler, slower music, adding in whatever connecting figures are necessary to get the dancers back to the correct starting position.

This makes for very efficient practice sessions, as the students spend nearly all their time practicing the target sequence. I originally used bookmarks in the cuing software to do this, but once you stop, it always takes time to get everybody set up to start again. Also, there was always a collective groan whenever I hit Stop. Once they’re dancing, they don’t really want to stop. This way, they don’t have to, and they get a lot of reps in a minimum amount of time.

Once we started using this technique, we discovered it had some other, unexpected, benefits. Since the students know they’re going to get many shots at it, they feel comfortable stopping to discuss things with their partner, often straightening out issues on their own without intervention from us. Also, it completely solves the age-old problem of how do you help one couple without holding everybody else up . When couples needed help, we would just go over and work with them one-on-one. Since everybody else continued dancing, the couple we were helping didn’t feel self-conscious about “holding up the class” – and the other students were getting valuable reps on the sequence.

But the really odd thing we learned was that, somehow, dancing the sequence to music that doesn’t match choreographically, basically using the music as a metronome, actually seems to HELP the students learn it. We don’t know if it’s because we removed the tension that always comes when they hear the music of that “tough” section, or if it makes it easier to focus on the figures, or what, but everybody noticed it. It just helps.

We also found that using these practice sequences as a warm-up before putting on the real dance primes the students for success when you finally put the real dance on.

So, how do you get started? Well, the easy way is obviously to pick one of the dances we already have Practice Sequences for and try one (look on the “Practice Sequences” tab of our catalog here). If you’re teaching Phase 4/5/6, this should be easy. The dances we did this for are the popular ones that dancers often struggle with (Forrest Gump, Beat of Your Heart, Dark Waltz, etc). Surely your students would appreciate a refresher focused on the tough parts of those dances! (Note: we have a new primer on how to use our videos in class here)

If you’re teaching Phase 2/3, it’s a little tougher. We only have one Phase 2 dance so far (Feelin’), and no Phase 3s. Maybe try the Feelin sequence to test it out.

Or, if you want to create your own, here are some recommendations:

• Focus on one sequence at a time. Sometimes, a “Part A/B/C” might actually have more than one tough sequence. If so, break them up. This is the technique known as “deliberate practice”. Focus on one thing at a time.
• Choose connecting figures to get you back to the starting position. Keep it simple, and avoid turns and spins if the sequence itself does a lot of turning and spinning.
• If there is a lot of turning and spinning in the sequence, consider inserting 2-6 extra measures of simple stuff to let people rest. We use a lot of that old Phase 2 sequence, “Twinkle to the Wall, Twinkle to the Center” stuff. No turning or spinning, and dancers can do it in their sleep.
• Pick slow music with a steady beat. Speed comes with practice. Don’t ask them to do it full speed right from the start. Here, DanceMaster/DanceWizard is your friend! You have a speed adjust in there – USE IT!

It takes more prep time, but we think pre-recording these sequences makes for a more productive class experience. It frees up your time to help your students, and, besides, do you really want to cue the same short sequence over and over for 3 minutes, and then do it again? And again? It’s all about building muscle memory, so repetition is unavoidable. Save your sanity and pre-record it! One more advantage of pre-recording, is that it’s one and done, so you can always come back to it, and use it later for other classes.

By the way, If you’re reluctant to pre-record because it takes too much time to set everything up for recording, we have a video on how to make recording cues easier here.