How to Teach Children How to Line Dance
Line dancing is fun for everyone and a great activity for children of all ages. It is a fun way to get children up and moving and a great alternative to sitting in front of the television. Learning to line dance is a mental exercise as well, and can provide children with a sense of accomplishment, especially if a group of them is able to master the dance together. To teach line dancing to children, make sure to use clear explanations and remain patient throughout the lesson.
Things You'll Need
- Music
- Stereo
- Dance floor
Instructions
Teaching the Line Dance
Choose a song that is familiar to the children in your group. There is a huge selection of line dances to choose from. Pick a song they know and a dance that has basic steps. You may want to simplify some steps if you have chosen a dance with fancy footwork. Stand in front of the children. You may have to help arrange your students in their positions; make sure everyone can clearly see you and what you're doing. Speak in a loud voice so that everyone can hear you as well. Demonstrate the dance with the music. Ask the children to just watch so they can get an overview of the entire dance. Break the dance down by teaching a few of the basic steps first. For example, many line dances contain grapevines (sidesteps that cross one foot in front of or behind the other), pivots, and chasses (a series of sidesteps where the feet come together, split apart, and come together). Walk the kids through these basic steps. Start from the beginning of the dance and teach eight counts at a time. Be sure everybody is comfortable enough to repeat each phrase successfully a few times before you move on to the next. Once you have a group of at least four phrases of eight counts, try the dance with the music, then move on to the next section. Repeat until you have taught your charges the steps to an entire line dance, and have fun!
