Hip Hop Made Easy: K-8 & Adapted P.E., Presented by Tricia Gomez Tricia Gomez has fine tuned the process to make it easy enough for almost anyone to teach hip hop. You just need a little imagination, a bit of rhythm and a fun-loving personality. Studio teachers use her methods to generate untapped revenues and inspire creativity within their students. School teachers use her methods to add spice to their classroom as rewards, learning breaks, rainy days, PE requirements, talent shows, memory lessons, adapted P.E. and more! The idea is simple hip hop is a culture and an environment that was transformed into the art of dance. So, if we can take a 5 year olds natural activities, environment and movements and transform them into the art of dance, then you get 5 year old hip hop. Putting on your pants, stepping on bugs and cracking sticks all become the moves to our dance! It s that easy! THE CONTROVERSY How do we clean up hip hop s bad image when everything we see on TV & hear on the radio is too suggestive for kids? Hip Hop has gotten a bad rap (no pun intended). But it wasn t always that way. One of my favorite quotes is by DJ Kool Herc, one of the founding fathers of what has become the hip hop movement. To me, hip hop says, Come as you are. We are family. It ain t about security. It ain t about bling bling. It ain t about how much your gun can shoot. It ain t about $200 sneakers. It s not about me being better than you or you being better than me. It s about you and me, connecting one to one. That s why it has universal appeal. It has given young people a way to understand their world, whether they are from the suburbs or the city or wherever. Introduction, Can t Stop Won t Stop (Chang, 2005)
As teachers, it s up to us to instill this philosophy into our students. I don t teach hip hop as an attitude, I teach it as an energy we portray excitement, confidence, likability. I teach it as seeing dance in everyday movement. I teach it as little life lessons. I teach it as a relationship to the student and the music, to the student and fellow classmates, to the student and the teacher. I teach respect. The bottom line is this we are the teachers. Our students learn what we teach them. If you teach hip hop in a clean and fun way centered in respect, then your students will grow up with that same philosophy. It s up to you! AGE APPROPRIATE CHOREOGRAPHY Getting creative! Our goal with the age group is to create a positive, fun and entertaining environment to plant the dance = I feel good association into their mind! This association will last a lifetime. We want to present somewhat challenging exercises and combos, but not so much so that they feel unsuccessful. During this part of the session we will talk about how to come up with age appropriate choreography that is FUN and FAMILIAR. ROUTINE STRUCTURE Putting it all together! Now that we can think like a 5 year old and have come up with steps that are age appropriate, we ll learn how to link our dance steps together to create properly structured dance routines for ages 5-7, 8-12, and adapted P.E. Here are a few hints: Adapted: Keep it simple. Keep it repetitive (but not in a boring way!). Use the same step for one to two 8-counts. Perform 1 position per 1-2 beats. Do the same step in opposite directions (left/right and front/back) Ages 5-7: Speed up the pace. Use the same steps for 4 to 8 counts. Perform 1 position per beat. Do the same step in opposite directions (left/right and front/back). Ages 8-12: Shorten the repetition. Do 1 step for 2-4 counts. Start using & counts. Do 1-2
positions per beat. TEACHING RHYTHM It s time to get down with your bad self! Rhythm is so important when it comes to hip hop (and dance in general). During this part of the session, we will talk about music theory, how to apply it to dance and how to teach it. GAMES It s playtime! We ll cover games that you can play to teach your lessons in a fun way! TEACHING TIPS Little nuggets of gold! Count, make sounds, paint pictures. When you teach, use numbers (as they pertain to 8- counts and as they pertain to the number of times we do a certain step), make sounds (as if the movement creates a sound that the students can associate to the music), and paint pictures (what does each step remind you of). The more ways you get your point across and make a learning connection with your students, the more successful they will be. Socky, no socky. Young children (and kids/adults with learning disabilities) have a difficult time with right/left association. Try having your students remove their shoes and put a sock on only 1 foot and the same side hand. Refer to the sides as socky and no socky to get them used to stepping on the correct foot. You can also use different colored stickers on each shoe and hand for classes where it is important to use certain types of shoes. Give pop quizzes. Keep the kid s alert by always asking questions. What comes after SCOOP? How many times do we do DONKEY KICK? Which side do we do SURPRISE to first? Bring up a lesson learned earlier in class at a random time. Who s in control of your body? That s right! You are! What s the difference between a jump, a hop, and a leap? The more that they are PART of the class the better they retain your information.
Review in reverse. Start with the last 8-count. Review it, dance it. Then add the second to last 8-count. Review it, add it to the last 8-count, and dance both 8-counts. Continue in this pattern until you get to the first 8-count. By this time, the later 8-counts are starting to become part of muscle memory. Retention skyrockets! It allows the students to stay present in what they are doing without constantly having to think ahead. Get your inspiration from your students! Ask them for song suggestions. Involve them in making up short combos for the class. Ask them about their favorite games. When students feel like they are involved, it gives them a sense of ownership and something to be proud of. Use props if you can! Use hula hoops to help kids understand personal space. Use mats along the walls to serve as waiting mats. Use maracas for freeze dance activities (no noise when we freeze). Use bouncy balls or balloons to learn how to spot. Use hula hoops or jump ropes to teach Step Touch. Use floor chalk to draw their initials on the floor to designate their spot. Tricia Gomez is considered a pioneer in the kid s hip hop field. Her popular teaching methods have landed her on the Dr. Phil Show as their Dance Expert and as Head Judge on ABC s Dance Revolution. Along with 19 years of experience of teaching dance, Tricia has dance professionally for the LA Laker Girls, Disney, Universal Studios and Knott s Berry Farm. She has choreographed for NBA teams like the Laker Girls, Clipper Girls and Trailblazers, for the TV show Saved by the Bell, and is the head choreographer for Dance the Magic Parade events at theme parks around the world. Her Dance In a Box teaching method is currently used in over 1300 schools, private dance academies and recreational programs. For more on Tricia s teaching method, visit www.danceinaboxcom.
References Chang, J. (2005). Can t stop won t stop: A History of the hip hop generation. Introduction by DJ Kool Herc pg. xi. New York, NY: St. Martin Press