| Latin
American Grade Two
I
am sure that by now you will have watched a ‘mock’
Latin American Grade examination and so are becoming familiar
with the format. At each level there are four units, these
are Safe Dance Practice; Technique; Presentation and Musical
Appreciation. However the examination does not necessarily
run in an exact order from Unit One through to Unit Four,
but rather, the candidate performs the tasks associated with
each of these units in an order that best establishes safe
dance practice, technical ability and artistic knowledge.
For
this reason, clapping to music, which is part of Unit Four,
is performed before each of the dances them candidate will
perform. This is of course what we would do in class, teaching
our pupils to listen and understand the rhythm they hear,
and then develop their movements in relation to it.
The
first dance that our pupils study and perform at Grade Two
is the Samba and as this is a travelling dance, there are
some practical considerations that the teacher should bear
in mind when preparing candidates for the examination room.
The examiner will ask the candidates which Line of Dance they
will use to perform the Preparatory Dance Exercises, this
should be chosen so that the examiner is able to see clearly
what is being danced. Where there are two candidates, they
can dance one behind the other, or on opposite sides of the
room, whichever better suits the dimensions of the studio
or hall. Where space is limited, choreography that travels
along a particular Line of Dance may be curved to the new
Line of Dance, just as when we dance with a partner.
The
first PDE in the Samba is designed to practise the Volta in
its most basic form, allowing pupils to practice the foot
placement of a figure that develops throughout Samba choreography
at all levels. The exercise also includes the Rhythm Bounce
and in teaching this we are able to talk to our pupils about
musical phrasing, introducing the notion of two bar ‘couplets’
to them as we develop their musical appreciation. The second
PDE allows practice of the Bota Fogo, helping to develop the
feeling of minimal weight on the second step. The Promenade
Position is also introduced; the PDE’s not only help
to develop a dancer’s solo poise, but also their awareness
of the various positions in relation to a partner for when
they dance together.
The
second dance is the Cha Cha Cha, and once again there are
two Preparatory Dance Exercises. It is useful to remember
that whichever method you use to start your pupils moving
with the music, whether by dancing a chasse first, or by transferring
weight and stepping either forward or back, is acceptable
in the examination. The first PDE concentrates on some of
the first figures that we teach, the Basic Movement, The New
York and the Spot Turns. Within this simple group our pupils
are able to practise the foot placement and pressure that
we are encouraging them to develop, they are also able to
learn how to feel the carriage of their centre over their
feet as they turn, thereby developing their poise within movement.
The different methods of dancing the Cha Cha Cha chasse have
been incorporated throughout the graded examinations and the
second PDE concentrates on the Three Cha Cha Cha’s.
These are repeated so that the pupils are able to practise
the footwork, rhythm and timing of the Lock, and once again
we have the opportunity to help pupils establish and carry
their centre weight when dancing in these two directions.
As we teach our pupils using these dance exercises, we should
encourage them to ‘feel’ everything they do from
within themselves. If they are able to develop this quality
they can then modify their own movements, rather than rely
only on external feedback from their teacher. Feedback is
another word we will all hear more of in the future; in another
issue we will talk about the three basic learning conditions
for effective learning of movement skills, and the practice
and feedback that are necessary for the pupil’s success.
We
hope that by now you are already training some of your pupils
for their first grade examination. The work they study can
only enhance their dance performance and help them realise
their full dance potential, but it is you, their teacher who
will really make it happen for them!
Marion
Lane
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