Notes for Teachers
Teaching basics - Important for all teachers!
Rehearse your whole lesson to a lucky student before you do it for the first time.
Very first thing you should do while students are entering and preparing is setting up your bluetooth!
Project your voice and speak LOUD!
You must have your music ready in advance. Make sure you have music from 70 to 100 BPM, they are beginners! 125BPM at half speed works too. You best bet is to make a playlist sorted in order of BPM so you can easily find something well adapted during the class. Make sure you have the song used for the choreo.
Avoid static stretching, it increases the likelihood of injury. Instead, it is suggested to warm up by slowly doing the choreo counts of the previous lesson! Or just some slow basic RM, kriss kross, etc.
Insist that your student go as slow as necessary even if it's not on beat. Only when they feel comfortable at a speed should they increase. This will reduce risk of injury and avoid sloppy/unclean steps.
Always explain the weight distribution when explaining a new step or move.
Lightly flexing the knees and bringing down the center of gravity is very helpful and also prevents injuries.
Moves which require coordination from different body parts should be taught and practiced in isolation first, then combined!
Before teaching any step, do a demo showing what it looks like full speed! It motivates students and give them an idea of what they are working towards.
You must master the whole choreography, not only the part you are teaching.
For counting:
Begin with a “5, 6, 7, 8” sequence and imagine yourself dancing on it BEFORE starting the counts.
Say all the half-beats (the "ands").
Use a metronome app if necessary.
T-Step
Weight on the twisting foot (supporting leg).
Stomping foot can land anywhere, but "classic" is on the side.
Both directions must be practiced equally.
The flamingo pose of the running man is equivalent to having the foot up on the t-step. This is where the transition happens.
Common mistakes:
Ending up off beat with the stomp on "ands".
Twisting your hips and torso.
Not lifting the foot high enough.
Putting weight on the tapping foot.
Running man
Weight is on the stomping foot (which becomes the supporting leg on flamingo).
Don't actually smash the ground to keep your spine and joints happy. Everything is in the illusion of stomping.
Foot placement on flamingo can be any height or distance from the supporting leg, as long as it is not behind the supporting leg.
Micro-bounces make you spend less energy and go faster, as opposed to sliding, which creates unecessary friction.
Common mistakes:
On the stomp, not keeping the back leg’s foot flat on the ground.
Placing the foot of the flamingo leg at any point behind the supporting leg.
Note that this is acceptable in certain UK steps that are variations of the running man, such as crossblades. However, it should be completely avoided in a regular running man.
Not keeping the feet aligned straight/parallel.
Opening more with one leg than the other when stomping.
Charleston
Start in a T-shaped neutral pose.
Weight transferring from foot to foot on each beat, but always on ball of the foot.
Isolate first pivoting on the ball of the foot with both feet anchored, then add lift and moving forward/backwards.
We teach student the variation of Charleston which moves forward and backwards first, and then introduce the “running man” mechanic that makes it possible to do it without moving on the ground.
Common mistakes:
Dragging the moving foot on the floor instead of lifting it.
Not pivoting the feet/knees enough, or pivoting them too much. Aim for 90 degrees angle between both feet.
Kriss Kross
Weight is always distributed equally on both feet, always on the ball.
Most often, in order to better fit with other steps, open is on the "and" and closed is on the beat, but it is possible to do the opposite.
Common mistakes:
Jumping too high (one should slightly hop).
Opening too wide.
Not having your weight equally distributed.
Lesson plans
1) Australia Basics
Introduction - MTL Shuffle, speed, injuries [5min]
Montreal Shuffle est un organisme à but non-lucratif dont la mission est la promotion du shuffle à Montréal.
Il s’agit d’un cours de freestyle. La chorégraphie est facultative et sert à cimenter les apprentissages et les transitions. Vous n’êtes pas obligés de l’apprendre et le temps de choré en classe est minimal, c’est pourquoi chaque segment sera disponible en ligne pour ceux qui veulent la perfectionner.
Le shuffle est très exigeant physiquement et le risque de blessures est important:
Nous allons aller lentement dans ce cours, mais si c’est quand même trop rapide pour vous, allez à votre propre rythme!
Beaucoup plus important d’avoir une meilleure technique/forme plus lente qu’une mauvaise technique rapide.
C’est très important de toujours réchauffer (pas étirer!) ses muscles avant en activant la circulation sanguine et faire monter le rythme cardiaque.
Plan
0:05 Warmup [5min]
0:10 Running man [15min]
0:25 T-Step [15min]
0:40 Choreo [20m]
Explain that it’s going to be online and therefore not to stress over remembering. They should focus on making sure they understand the steps and technique.
2) UK Basics I
Introduction - Persistance and motivation [5min]
Tout danseur doit faire face à des progrès plus lents, des plateaux ou des découragements à un moment ou un autre.
Se comparer aux autres est un piège. Nous avons tous des expériences et un bagage différent, certains commencent la course avec un avantage et des acquis.
Comparez-vous à vous-même! Commencez à vous filmer dès maintenant et filmez-vous régulièrement. Gardez précieusement ces vidéos! Vous pourrez ainsi voir comment vous avez progressé.
Plan
0:05 Warmup - First 16 beats [5min]
0:10 Charleston [10 min]
0:20 Kriss kross [5 min]
0:25 W-step [10min]
0:35 Crossblades (Polly Pocket) [10min]
0:45 Choreo [15min]
3) UK Basics II
Introduction
Motivation talk! Whatever you can say, from your personal experience, to help student stay motivated and persevere. Insist they have to practice if they want to get better, there’s no way around it.
Reminder for the meetups if there are any upcming.
Plan
0:05 Warmup - First 32 beats [5min]
0:10 Toe switch [5min]
0:15 Miami step [10min]
0:25 House step [10min]
0:35 Choreo (incl. T-Step, RM and Charleston variations) [25min]
Optional Spanish combo if leftover time.
4) Spins, glides and kicks
Introduction - Meetups [5min]
Motivation talk! Whatever you can say, from your personal experience, to help student stay motivated and persevere. Insist they have to practice if they want to get better, there’s no way around it.
Reminder for the meetups if there are any upcming.
Plan
0:05 Warmup [5min]
0:10 Turns, all in/out of RM [10min]
Side turn
Variation: single leg
Variation: double
0:20 Kicks [5min]
In/out of t-step
In/out of RM
Kick-spins in/out of RM
0:25 Slides, all in/out of RM [10min]
Latteral + front to back with front leg (weight at back)
Latteral with back leg (weight in front)
0:35 Backwards glide (moonwalk) (Diff between slides and glides) [10min]
0:45 Choreo [15min]
5) Upper body and flow
Introduction - Letting go, embracing your natural style [5min]
Motivation talk! Whatever you can say, from your personal experience, to help student stay motivated and persevere. Insist they have to practice if they want to get better, there’s no way around it.
Reminder for the meetups if there are any upcming.
Plan
Warm up with clapping on the “ands”, up and down [5 min]
Examples of how the upper body can change the look of your RM or T-step [5 min]
Head and chest motion with running man [5 min]
With RM:
Pumping tires - both hands [5 min]
Pumping tires - one hand at a time [5 min]
Swimming - one hand at a time (viariations on directions) [5 min]
Sand grabbing - one hand at a time (touch the shoulders) [5 min]
T-step:
4 previous moves with the T-step instead [5min]
Pointing (direction variations) [5 min]
Elbow (variation on directtions) [5 min]
Slow large circle (down to up to front) [5 min]
6) Freestyling
Introduction
One of the most common traps for a dancer is to try to exactly copy the style of another dancer whom you admire.
While it is perfectly acceptable to learn from another dancer by copying them, it is easy to become discouraged when you compare yourself to them and find that you don't move in the same way.
Everyone has a different body and energy! You probably love the style of certain dancers, but your dance will be so much better if you are true to yourself in your expression and movements. Let yourself be naturally guided by your body (while also working on maintaining clean form and good technique) and you will see, the compliments will follow!
Plan
0:00 Warm up and introduction [10 min]
0:10 Transitions [15 min]
0:25 Body levels [10 min]
0:35 Space directions [10 min]
0:45 Choreo [5 min]
0:50 Shuffle etiquette and cypher [10 min]
Wrap-up
IMPORTANT: please answer the survey that will be send to you by email, it’s really quick and it helps us a lot improve the course.
Please send us your videos to @mtlshuffle on Instagram so we can follow and repost you!
Next for your progression: come to the meetups and watch out for the level-2 classes.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATS 🎉