Cumming Dance Academy

COMBINED CLASSES

Your class may be combined with another teacher’s class.  It is your responsibility to stay in contact with the other teacher to ensure that everything is the same:  formations, numbers, how you change rows, arms.  It’s important this is done with no hiccups when we combine them at dress rehearsal in front of the parents!  Dress rehearsal is not the place to fix our “oops” that don’t match the other class.

CHOREOGRAPHY FOR 5TH GRADE & UNDER

You will be receiving choreography notes & music for all dances ages 3yr – 5th grade (unless otherwise told).  However, if your class isn’t able to execute a step neatly that is listed on the notes, please simplify or change it to make your class look good.  For example, if the notes say to do shuffle ballchange ballchange, and your girls can’t fit it in that quick, change it to:  shuffle ball-change.

Do what looks good on YOUR dancers.

choreography for multi-levels

Many of our recreational classes will have several different levels in one class. You may have some who are now doing a clean double pirrouette, while others are still struggling with one. Choreograph to showcase both. Do a lot of group work with recreational dancers.  Ex:  If you have a group who can’t really carry the stage by themselves, have part of the class doing one section and the others doing separate poses or group work at the same time.  It’s a nice distraction when they aren’t quite advanced enough to look clean.

Use groups, one line in the back doing choreography while the lower level dances in front of them. The more movement on the stage the better when you have multi-levels in one class performing together.

performing for each other in class

Absolutely NO choreography critiques by peers.  When you begin doing your dances in groups in front of each other – do not allow the dancers to give critiques (regardless of age).  YOU are the only teacher / choreographer in the room.  If you want to get the “audience” involved, have them do one positive comment about what they saw - only positive.  Allowing them to critique each other is too much for young girls of any age.  There should be nothing negative coming from any students mouth about another dancer.

No run behind curtain

Please do not choreograph your dances where someone must run behind the curtain during the dance to get to the other side.  We have no room behind the curtain.  Choreograph them on and off stage – no run behinds allowed.

write your numbers down

Once you have your numbers set, WRITE THEM DOWN!  I promise, you’ll forget by next week! You look unorganized if you can’t remember where anyone stands the following week.

backstage mom line ups

These are super important.  These are our tools to ensure your dancers get lined up correctly to go onstage.  Often times, you won’t be there to get them lined up before they are brought to us.  Include all important notes: who is the line leader, bow leader, props, - anything you can think of that may be useful for us to have them fully prepared to walk straight out onstage.  The deadline on these are very important, so please turn them in on the date the office provides you. You’ll be emailed the template for these. 

ENTRANCES & EXITS

All entrances and exits are done from stage LEFT.  Entrances and exits should be practiced weekly.

BLACK OUTS 

Please teach your dancers to hold their arms up in front of them when entering and exiting in a black out.  If they bump into someone, it is with their hands – not their face. We had a broken nose a few years ago, we don’t need that to happen again. Practice running with your arms up each week in class.

Should you have dancers that need to start from stage RIGHT, you’ll need to train them to run across in the blackout, get behind the curtain on stage RIGHT – and to run with their hands out in front of them.

If you have a pose onstage in, spread them out over the entire stage. Please do not do small pose clumps in the middle of the stage.

PLEASE rehearse with them not to move a muscle until the lights go out – the last lights.  The audience does not need to see them get up and start running.

Challenge your younger dancers and test them by having them ready for any circumstance that may happen during a show.  We run out in black outs, the wrong music starts, the lights don’t go out at the end, etc.

DANCE OFF TAGS

We put a tag on the end of the song for the dancers to dance off the stage with.  You don’t have to use all your tag music for exit – get them off and if the music is still playing, we blackout and let that go while we’re setting up for the next class.  In fact, we prefer you get off stage and let us use the end of your tag for setting up. 

Basically, they make their pose onstage, a few seconds go for applause, and then the same song starts again for the to dance off.  They then stand up and do pivot turn, pivot turn, run and waive while you exit.  Or jazz walk off, etc.  Any cute exit! 

Middle/HIgh school dancers - no 2 lines

Middle/High School Dancers: No, unless they are very talented class. 2 lines put recreational dancers next to each other and highlights anything wrong between each girl. Spread out into formations or 3-4 lines.

Skip a number in between to have them spread over the entire stage and have them change formations frequently. (see photo above)

Find the center of the room (it may be different in some studio rooms, so plan for the stage.)  For example, in Studio 2 downstairs at CDA II, use the entire room all the way to the windows.  Not just the numbers in front of the main mirror.

Heads & Arms

“5th Speaker”

Pay attention to the details!

Use 5th speaker for 5yr and up.  When they get to their number – have them immediately in “5th Speaker”

This is 5th position and head looking opposite direction at the speaker in the corner of the room.  This is super impressive onstage! 

PHOTO EXAMPLES OF USING “5th Speaker” whenever there is a pause or when they get to their number early.                     

“L” arms:  Be sure you are focusing on clear, strong arms, with blade fingers.  Sloppy fingers disrupt the clean lines.  Below is a perfect example of an “L” arm battement and one showing you how it can throw the look off with one arm out of place.  This can be done with recreational dancers!  It is expected.

Arabesque Trees:  When you have your little ones go to make circles and a “tree”, focus on getting their arms straight and heads looking up to the center.  See examples below – don’t forget about the back arm!  Hold it out and don’t let it fall by their sides!  This can be done - work on it each week and use the same terminology again and again.

Use your head on arabesque!

Look up at your fingers on arabesque arms.  "Look at your diamonds!”  Don’t forget about your back arm.   “Back arm up!” 

This is totally possible to train your entire class this – an example is below!

HANDS ON HIPS

Hands on hips. HOH

One of the most important and neccessary parts of choreography. Work on your littles to have HOH at all times. This does not come naturally for them. You have to work on it every week - constantly saying their name and hands on hips! It will pay off in the show when your entire class looks like this!

Heads and arms can make or break the cleanliness of a dance. 

Strong fingers and arms.   Hands on Hips.   Use your head and have them all looking the same direction.

Perfect straight blade arms for littles!  They should be L arms.

It’s the small things!