Tips for Incorporating Improv

Every dance instructor is familiar with the look of sheer terror you receive back from your students when you ask them to improv. The following are a few tricks I have used to get my students more familiar with the concept of improvisation.

Use a variety of popular of familiar music. If your students are more familiar with the music, and know chorus, versus, builds and the counts, they will be more comfortable adjusting their movement to suit the music. Of course they will not always know the music, but this is a great trick for improv novices.
Go across the floor. By letting your dancers move from one side of the floor to the other, they will have freedom in how long they take across the floor. However, there will still be a controlled direction.
Be creative. Ask them to focus on one body part, or use floor work the entire time, use a prop, not to implement any technique, use a partner, pretend to be an animal, etc. This will get them more exposed to moves or styles they would have otherwise probably not have used. It is good to keep a fresh perspective with improv they don't get stuck doing the same five moves.

By using these tricks and tips every time you do improv, you will slowly see an improvement in the confidence of your dancers. It is important to understand that dancers are used to direction, and although improv allows them to express their creativity, they still may be looking for guidance.

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