“Come in and find your floor spot,” greeted Middle School Dance teacher Jamia Jordan, opening her arms wide towards the bright dance studio.
The students excitedly shuffled in, cheering ‘Go Green!’ and ‘Go Gold!’— they had just come from a special Assembly where they received their official team designations —and sat in three neat rows, facing the mirror with crisscrossed legs.
“Let’s start with our attendance dance,” Ms. Jordan said. “I’d like to see a high-level movement, with some type of turn, when I call your name.”
An upbeat tune flowed out of the speakers and each student popped up at the sound of their name, offering an elegant twirl or simple twist. “What beautiful dances,” Ms. Jordan commented. “Now, let’s sit up and warm up our bodies.”
Ms. Jordan switched the song to Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae before taking her place at the front of the studio. The students enthusiastically followed their teacher’s movements, taking deep breaths and raising and lowering their arms on beat.
“Make sure you keep your hips on the floor,” Ms. Jordan reminded. She continued to lead them through prompts, speaking loudly over the music: “Open the arms,” “Point and flex,” “Keep your knees straight.”
The students transitioned to standing and completed their warmup with sashays across the floor, pliés, pirouettes, and arm and leg stretches.
“Today you’ll be refining and revising choreography in your small groups,” Ms. Jordan said once the song ended. In previous classes, the dancers had learned Ms. Jordan's original choreography and explored various dance techniques. “Today,” she explained, “You should manipulate the base phrase (the original choreography) by changing levels, texture and/or intensity.”
“My only request is that you incorporate a cannon. Who can tell me what a cannon is?” asked Ms. Jordan. A slew of hands shot up after which a student correctly shared that a cannon occurs when others repeat the same sequence or movement as the first dancer.
The soft piano melody of Adele’s Someone Like You filled the studio and students quickly scampered to their original floor spots. They performed two graceful run-throughs of the base phrase before splitting off into their small groups.
Movement and ideas swirled around the room and after 10 minutes of practice and lively discussions, it was time to perform! Other Class 4 friends from Ms. Norchi’s music class (located down the hall) even joined as audience members to watch the choreography come to life.
“I’m so thankful for times we can see our classmates’ work,” Ms. Jordan shared. “It won’t happen every time but that makes it special!”
The other members of Class 4 spread out along the base of the mirror and faced their peers. The first group performed the base phrase, followed by two groups’ manipulations. Each elicited abundant applause and compliments from the observing students and teachers.
“Dancers, come sanitize and get your shoes!” Ms. Jordan requested as the animated class came to an end. “We’re going to make a smooth transition between these two classes.”
As the current class filed out, bidding farewell to their friends, the audience members swapped out their jumpers for leggings or shorts – surely inspired and ready for a productive dance class of their own!
