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How
to Progress
Through The
Class Levels
We are
starting to see
dancers
attempting to
move up through
the levels
lately, which is
fabulous.
We have had many
years of
stagnation at
the higher
levels, which we
addressed a few
years ago by
looking very
carefully at the
choreography we
were introducing
at each level
and in some
cases moving it
to a more
appropriate
level (many went
up and some went
down). This was
not appreciated
by many existing
dancers who had
their classes
disrupted by
losing access to
some of their
favorite dances.
Unfortunately it
was a necessity
to ensure the
survival of our
organisation.
The point of the
exercise is to
encourage people
when they get
bored to try out
the next level
up, leaving the
existing level
of the class for
those still
"learning the
ropes".
About 5 years
ago we also
added Lifestyle
classes to our
offerings. Up to
that stage, all
our classes were
2 hour classes,
and the program
was structured
to enable people
to fully immerse
themselves in
the level they
were dancing.
Lifestyle
classes were set
up to
accommodate
people in
retirement
villages and
community
centres that are
just wanting a
little exercise
with minimal
complexity and a
lot of social
interaction.
These classes
are generally an
hour in length
and is
predominantly
level 2 dances
in the teaching
schedule.
There are now
people in those
lifestyle
classes that are
starting to go
to socials and
wanting to move
up.
Unfortunately a
1 hour Lifestyle
class does not
give sufficient
experience to go
to a Transition
(level 4) class.
The jump is just
too big. You
need to have
exposure to the
variety of level
3 dances to get
a grounding in
Cha Cha, Rumba,
Waltz and Lindy
as well as the
standard rhythm
dances. I really
recommend you
move through a
Easy level class
that goes at
least 1.5 hours
(preferably 2
hours) for a
while to get
that grounding.
This does not
mean that you
can't give it a
go, but you will
certainly find
it a challenge.
Once people get
to Transition
level, we assume
they know the
terminology,
body mechanics
and muscle
memory of a
large number of
steps. If you
wish to measure
your knowledge,
there is a
manual available
for $10 which
has a summary of
the current
assumed
knowledge of
levels 1, 2 and
3 (and the
definitions),
with a checklist
you can use to
keep track of
your
development.
Just ask your
instructor and
they can get you
a copy to buy.
I intend to
publish a
similar manual
for the other
levels early
next year, but
it is a work in
progress at the
moment. The
contents are
linked to the
work I am doing
on automatic
calculation of
dance
choreography
level, and this
has proved to be
a major
challenge. I am
making sure the
analysis
includes
information
about every
dance I have
ever looked at
teaching over
the last 30
years, and there
are still about
40 unique dances
left to complete
that task. Once
that data is
completely
collected, I can
sort it and
adjust the
levels of the
terminology
elements to make
the dances fit
the profile of
material that
we, as
instructors,
know is
appropriate for
each class
level.
Nothing like
this has ever
been done before
in line dancing,
but it exists in
many other
mature dance
forms such as
Ballroom (in its
many forms),
Square and Round
dancing. I am
drawing on my
knowledge of
these forms of
dance, as well
as my accredited
training in
Course
Preparation to
ensure a
practical and
usable structure
for the future.
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