Well, the title really says it all. But for a bit of a further explanation: My husband is a band teacher for a very very small school. He asked me if I would help his color guard with their routine and also help to choreograph a few dance steps for them. I, of course, agreed. But I am at a loss as far as what to do with them! They (literally) know NOTHING about dancing. (and they're all beginners when it comes to flags too.)

I have taught little kids who knew nothing about dancing, and even adults who would never perform. But I don't know what to do with these teenage girls who don't want to "look stupid", and want to appear like they really know how to dance.

Any tips?

Are you going to teach them the choreo and then split? Or are you going to teach them technique also?

I will be teaching them both technique and choreography. I'm actually going to try to have them come to my studio where I teach during the school year so that next summer we don't run into the same problem.

From experience I have learned to stick to super basic stuff. Usually chasses, sautees, (I have horrible spelling with Ballet terms so bare with me here)and easy jazz combinations are some of the easiest things that guards with little to no dance technique can master. Well, not master but do ok. Last year, I started teaching my guard I am with now at band camp and was unaware of their dance technique and ended up writing a dance portion that was way to advanced for them. I learned that emphasizing arm movements is the easiest to look like they are dancing. I basically had to rewrite everything because it was almost near impossible for them to be able to do what I gave them.

Another thing I noticed that made their easy choreography look better was to do split parts. Like every other girl does one thing and the others do something else. If you emphasize head movement and performance it will make a big difference in my opinion. My problem was mainly that some girls weren't interested in being good whatsoever so it NEVER looked completely good. The girls who tried but weren't the best looked decent though.

We started out this year with doing basic technique things to open up their minds (tendues, plies etc.) In past years, their old instructors taught them dance routines designated for pom squads and never taught them proper technique. I basically thought of it as teaching a younger group of kids but found a way to relate it to teenagers.

It's hard work to teach a group of people who have no experience in a short amount of time but once you find their strengths, it becomes a lot easier.

This is going to sound a little out of left field, but it works.

The USTA (united states twirling association) has a program called "Movement technique"

It has lesson plans in bite sized steps and activity that a pure beginner can do. It will save you from re-inventing the wheel.

ustwirling.com and look under merchandise or email them and ask. Its affordable and worth it. I turned a colorguard that literally tripped walking into something presentable in 3 months.

TSJ