How to do a freeze dance move
Have Fun and Explore Mindful Movement with Freeze Dance
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Inspiration Argos Gonzalez
The end of the school year is a perfect time to celebrate, have fun, and practice mindfulness. One way to do this by playing this mindful version of freeze dance.
Step 1: Create your music playlistCreate a playlist of your kids’ favorite songs and choose easy to dance music to get your kids moving. You can also have a variety of music to play songs your kids are not familiar with. Make sure to listen to the whole song so you know it’s appropriate! You can use a small speaker or computer to play the songs – just make sure it’s loud enough.
Step 2: Introduce the activity:Let students know you are going to be mindful of movement by playing freeze dance. Everyone will dance or move when the music starts and freeze when it stops. In between songs there will be prompts.
Let students know they have the option of walking or moving in a way that feels right for them. Remind students to be safe and be mindful of each other.
A key part to making this a mindful activity is asking purposeful questions to help your students bring kind awareness to the experience. Being strategic about the music you play and for how long you play it is also important.
Below are instructions and sample prompts you might want to ask.
Instructions
Before hitting play, check in with students. Ask what thoughts or feelings they’re having around participating. Explain that for some, this is a chance to show off some moves but for others, this activity is challenging. Explain part of the game is to notice what they feel.
- Start the music and get your kids moving!
- Stop the music and freeze.
- Ask them to reflect about their experience.
- No one is eliminated, as the intention is to bring kind awareness.
Sample prompts:
- Ask students to reflect on the sensation of moving and being still.
- Prompt your students to freeze or move their bodies in a way that reflects how the song feels to them.
- Prompt students to freeze like the shape of a letter, an animal, or a superhero
- Ask students to dance in certain ways—like a ballerina, a famous artist, or an animal.
Step 4: Debrief on the activity
Ask about how they felt at the beginning of the activity, and how they feel after it was completed. Get their thoughts on how they felt when they heard a song they were not familiar with or didn’t like.
Overall, encourage students to share what they liked about the activity and what they found difficult about the activity. Validate all their experiences!
Lead your students through this Freeze Dance activity and ask them how they liked it. What success, challenges, and opportunities did your students share? Share with fellow teachers in your school or on social media with #mindfulschools.
33 Best Freeze Dance Songs (And How To Play Guide) – Dynamic Music Room
Whether you’re rewarding your music students for their awesome behavior or you just want to give them a chance to move and relax for a short time, freeze dance is a great way to get it done.
But do you know how to play freeze dance?
- Play music while students dance. Choose music they know and like first; then challenge them by playing music they don’t know.
- Stop the music randomly. The students must stop right there (freeze) and hold the position until they music starts again.
- If they move or don’t stop, they are out!
- Repeat until you have a winner. OR when there are ten or more people out, let every come back in.
Look ahead for more details on this fun and easy game for pretty much any grade level.
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Table of Contents
Reasons To Teach Freeze Dance
There are two schools of thought with music teachers when it comes to freeze dance:
11 Vocal Warm Ups For Kids
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11 Vocal Warm Ups For Kids
- It’s a great, fun game!
- It’s a complete waste of time.
And in my experience, you either belong in one camp or the other.
To be honest, I was in the second camp for the longest time. I felt like doing freeze dance was kind of a cop out.
Over time, I learned to relax a bit and offer some twists to make freeze dance align better with my music curriculum.
It’s the same kind of thing with musical chairs.
But why even bother in the first place? Here are some reasons I felt the need to figure it out.
Brain Break
The general rule of thumb is that students need a change of pace every ## minutes of their age + 1.
This means a first grader (who is 6 years old) can pay attention for 7 maximum minutes before they need a switch.
As part of this switching time, students should move. This increases their blood flow, gets more oxygen to the brain, and maximizes time on task afterward.
This information is according to Real Mom Nutrition.
Why shouldn’t we take advantage of this during our music time?
By playing freeze dance for even 2 minutes, we break up students’ attention and get these benefits after we’re done.
Students Love To Dance
Kids just love to move. We all know this, and anyone who is a parent such as myself sees it in action all the time (more than we want to, that’s for sure).
Any type of movement will keep them happy, but many students love the chance to move freely to music.
Freeze dance gives them this opportunity to show off their uniqueness.
Increases Focus
As blood flow and oxygen to the brain increases so does focus.
If we want students to be prepared for longer and higher concentration activities, we should set them up for success any way we can.
Freeze dance is even better than regular dancing or movement because the game itself requires a degree of focus and control.
When played correctly, the body is expressing music while still being prepared to stop at a moment’s notice.
Adapted For Laban Movement Concepts
The dancing can be adapted beyond free movement to popular songs to include expressive movement.
Laban movement ideas are a staple of most major methodologies and are widely accepted to be the way students can express the emotional qualities of music.
See the tips and ideas section below for more information on this.
Read more about Laban movement.
Introduce Classical Pieces
Students don’t always want to just listen to big pieces like Carmina Burana. Sometimes, you have to go about it in a sneaky way.
But if you’re playing freeze dance, it’s simple to switch to a classical piece you want to expose them to.
After you’re done, you could always transition into a literacy or other movement activity with this piece. (Check out the best children’s books with movement.)
Build A Bond With Your Students
It’s hard in our limited time to really build deep bonds with our students. But the effort is well worth it.
Some teachers say that building bonds with students is more important than anything else we can do.
It builds the trust and safety needed to learn as well as increasing engagement during lessons.
But when you see your kids only once a week, it seems impossible.
Playing games like freeze dance may seem silly, but if you dance with them, they’ll learn something about you and learn to trust you more because you’re being expressive with them.
I like to take the opportunity to sprinkle in school-appropriate songs I personally enjoy. This way the students learn more about me as a real person and not just a “teacher.”
Motivates Behavior For Other Learning
Last but not least, I am not ashamed to admit I will sometimes use freeze dance as a motivator for good behavior.
There are those who may judge you about using instruments or games as a “bribe,” but in my experience, these people have been removed from reality.
Getting students to do all tasks first is the first step. Then, over time, you remove the “bribes” until they just do what they’re supposed to do.
It’s similar to how complimenting yourself in the mirror every morning can actually make you appreciate yourself more. Even though it’s fake at first, it becomes real over time.
Freeze Dance Rules
The rules for basic freeze dance are quite simple. But it’s important to set up the procedures for the game properly.
Here are the basic rules for freeze dance:
- Teacher plays music, and students dance around the room.
- When the music stops, students freeze.
- If they move or fall over, they’re out.
- Repeat for as long as you want.
Note: I don’t usually point kids as out until we’ve played the game for a couple of minutes OR if the student isn’t following directions at all.
I follow these steps when teaching the game:
- Explain the rules.
- Model the correct and incorrect behavior.
- Ask for a student model.
- Ask for a small group model.
- Whole group plays the game.
- Reinforce as needed.
Watch out! Look for kids who talk when they dance, follow other students, and touch other kids. Redirect or ask these students to sit out.
33 Best Freeze Dance Songs
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Here are some of my favorite freeze dance songs sorted by category. This list focuses on the uptempo songs.
Popular Songs:
- Uptown Funk (KidzBop)
- Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
- Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine
- Counting Stars (KidzBop)
- All Star by Smash Mouth
- Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
- Megalovania by Tobey Fox
- Can’t Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake
Beatles Songs:
- Yellow Submarine by the Beatles
- Octopus’s Garden by the Beatles
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatles
- Got To Get You Into My Life by the Beatles
- Happy Birthday by the Beatles
- Help by the Beatles
- Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles
- Love Me Do by the Beatles
Kids Songs:
- Freeze Dance by the Kiboomers
- Animal Freeze Dance by the Kiboomers
- Baby Shark by Pink Fong
- Get Yo Body Movin’ by Koo Koo Kanga Roo
- Shake Your Sillies Out by Raffi
- Move And Freeze by the Learning Station
- Jump! By Patty Shulka
- Bumping Up and Down In My Little Red Wagon by Raffi
Classical Songs:
- Flight Of The Bumblebee by Rimsky-Karsakov
- In The Hall Of The Mountain by Grieg
- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart
- Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa
- William Tell Overture by Rossini
- Fur Elise by Beethoven
- Jupiter from The Planets by Holst
- Humoresque by Dvorak
- Pride Of The Wolverines by Sousa
Freeze Dance Lesson Plan Ideas And Tips
Freeze dance on its own is a simple, but fun, game.
It doesn’t really reinforce other musical concepts, but this doesn’t mean you can’t get more motion out of the game.
Here are some basic ideas and extensions to use when you need to play this fun game.
Ideas And Extensions
Animal Movements – Tell students that without making the noises, they must dance how they would imagine a specific animal to dance. Switch animals throughout the freeze dance.
Leading Movements – Challenge students to lead their dancing with a specific body part. This results in some interesting interpretations of dancing.
Laban Movements – Rotate through different movement challenges based on the following Laban ideas (pulled from First Steps In Music handout, click for details):
- Awareness of body parts and whole body
- Time (fast/slow; time passing)
- Awareness of space
- Level awareness (high/low)
- Weight (strong, weak, heavy)
- Locomotion (how to move)
- Flow
- Shape
- Awareness of others
Some of these are covered in the other ideas on this list.
Match A Color – If red were a color, how would it dance? And so on and so forth…
Mirror Dance – Partner up. One student is the leader, and the other must follow their motions. After the freeze, the leader job passes to the other partner.
Check out these partner songs for music class.
Leader Dance – Students stand in a circle. One person is in the middle as the leader, and the class must match the dance of the leader. Rotate leaders throughout.
General Freeze Dance Tips
These are some tips that may help you and your students have a positive experience when playing freeze dance:
- Insist on no voices
- Follow the modeling process (teacher ⇾ single student ⇾ small group ⇾ whole group)
- Students who don’t know/feel comfortable with dancing should be given a choice (dance by hopping with two feet or walking and waving hands)
- Establish that any arguing with the judge (you) results in an “out” for the rest of the whole game
- Do a practice round
- Make your early rounds longer in time (10-15+ seconds)
- Decrease and vary time spent dancing as the game progresses
- Choose music that’s uptempo (at first)
- Get in there and show kids that it’s OK to be silly and how to let go of the competitiveness
Commonly Asked Questions
What Is The Objective Of Freeze Dance?
The objective of freeze dance is to get students moving to music by tricking them into it with the gimmick of freezing.
The end-game of the “game” itself depends on how you want to play.
There are a few variations involved in the objective of freeze dance.
- Eliminate those who move until you get a winner.
- Eliminate people until the end of the song. Everyone left wins!
- When people are caught, they need to do an exercise (10 jumping jacks, for example) to stay in.
- When caught, they need to sit out for a single round.
Is Freeze Dance Appropriate For Toddlers?
Freeze is not only appropriate for toddlers, but it’s a ton of fun!
Toddlers can’t really be expected to completely freeze when the music stops.
But this practice is great for their self-control!
And we all know how much practice they need with self-control.
Freeze dance is a regular music activity I’d do with this age group.
It’ll help them experience more music, and by doing it young, they won’t be as embarrassed when dancing as they get older.
Check out these other preschool music lesson plans in our article.
How Do You Play Freeze Dance On Zoom?
Playing freeze dance on Zoom or any video platform is possible, though it’s more difficult.
You shouldn’t expect your kids to perfectly freeze, as there is often a delay.
So, in this case, the game is more just for fun (and that’s OK!).
There are two main ways to go about this:
- As the meeting host, play the music just like normal. Pause periodically and otherwise play freeze dance as you typically would.
- Find a pre-recorded freeze dance track that pauses on its own. Then, everyone will be closer to freezing at the same time.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about how to play freeze dance.
The game is simple in concept, but with a little twists here and there, your students can get a lot of mileage out of this fun game.
What songs do you like to use with freeze dance?
Save time with these 60 FREE Music Resources to use in your room right away!
Stop searching the whole internet to find good activities.
I’ll help you cut to the chase with my favorite 60 FREE resources.
Swing, concepts of hands, steps, HIP-HOP mechanics (practice)
In this topic, it is important to analyze - the strength of the swing - types of swing (by direction, by accent, by condition) - swing in separate parts of the body - swing in positions and planes
- swing for musical elements
Power of swing.
Everything is simple here. We train with the guys different variations of the swing in terms of strength: weak, normal, strong.
First, we work in each of the options. We pay special attention to a strong and clear swing, because. this option is more complex and requires some control of the body. But also such a swing is a powerful freestyle component and adds energy to the whole dance.
Then we combine different types of swing in freestyle, change the strength depending on the track or musical moment.
Types of rock.
In this subtopic, we analyze all possible variations of the swing, moving away from the basic one (with an accent down)
In the direction of the swing, it can be:
-forward -backward -sideways -obliquely -up -circular
-down -up -impact (blow) -impulse (emphasis on the initial jerk) -double -torn
Status. In this case, we take different states and modify the quality relative to it. For example, a swing in a "curtain" or "water" state will be softer than a swing in a "rock" or "ball" state.
To consolidate the material covered, you can complete the task: Freestyle exclusively on the quality, changing its strength, accents, state.
Next, you can go a little “deep” into the body and develop in more detail the feeling of swing in each part of the body.
It is worth noting that in each part of the body all the above-mentioned swing variations work (strength, directions, accents, states)
In this format, the work is built according to the scheme already known to us:
We take one part of the body and try to apply to it all the knowledge of the swing that we already have.
We select parts of the body: head, shoulders (one at a time and together), chest, body, pelvis, knees).
Quality in different parts of the body.
After the dancer has more or less figured out the swing, felt it and became able to modify it, it's time to learn how to hold the swing in difficult dance positions.
This stage is very important for the dance to be a hip-hop freestyle, and not just a flow of movements. In this case, it is very important to develop a feeling of swing in absolutely any difficult position.
How do we build the training process? Very simple and creative.
We came up with a position, gave it to the students, they picked it up and begin to swing in it, using the knowledge that they had already received earlier.
They stood, shook, came up with a new position, changed, shook again. The logic, I think, is clear.
Next, you can go to the ground and analyze the concepts and positions that took place earlier and apply the same quality to them.
Having figured out a little how to swing in different difficult positions, you can fix the theme with freestyle. The task of the guys is to move between positions, but not to lose a constant quality.
Quality and music.
At the last stage, when the student's body is already “uploaded”, you can move on to the relationship between download and music.
i.e. we offer students to work with music, but only with music. All sound elements need to be beaten only through the swing, changing its strength, speed, state, accent, and so on.
As an example, you can demonstrate that under a smooth melody, the swing can be slowed down, and under the “tsik-tsik-tsik” the swing can be accelerated and made less. You can take a rhythmic pattern and beat it with a swing.
I recommend stretching the entire stage of studying step 9 over a large number of workouts. The more your students are in the state of pumping, the faster they will develop its automatism and feeling.
Some of the master classes of visiting dancers consisted entirely in the analysis of different types of bounca’a and the “buildup” of the participants. This proves that a highly developed fundamental basis in the form of a swing plays an important role. Don't be afraid to put a lot of time and practice into it.
Fusion dance training
In this article we will tell you what Fusion dance training is and what health benefits it brings. What do you need to practice Fusion dance? And also reveal the main reasons to attend training.
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08/19/2021 2904 0 5 min.
Fusion dance is a workout that gives you the opportunity to learn the basic elements of dance, at the same time to tighten and strengthen the whole body. They include many dance styles that combine with each other according to the principle of contrast. The lessons are based on improvisation, the creation of a new dance, the combination of styles.
During the dance, you can use any combination of partner techniques: frame, connection, as well as stretching-compression. In some places, ballet technique, popping is used.
See also: Body Ballet Dance Training
Fusion dance workouts teach you to move freely, stylishly to the music, give you a lot of pleasure, cheer you up, give a powerful physical load on the whole body. This is a harmonious combination of dance elements with fitness - pleasant with useful.
Why Fusion Dance training is needed
If you have long dreamed of mastering modern dance styles, then Fusion dance is for you. This direction makes it possible to "kill all birds with one stone" at once - to learn dance elements, tighten and strengthen muscles.
Training will also help:
- form a beautiful, flexible body with even posture, grace;
- strengthen all muscles and tone them;
- burn excess fat and lose weight;
- give yourself confidence and courage;
- create a graceful relief of muscles without pumping;
- relieve stress after a working day, relieve depression.
Getting Started with Fusion Dance
Start your workout with a warm-up. If the muscles are not warmed up, with sudden movements, they can be severely injured, incapacitated for several months. The warm-up contains simple warm-up and stretching exercises. If you are new to sports, you should immediately decide on the loads so that they are moderate. This will be taken care of by a professional trainer who chooses an individual approach to each participant, taking into account the possibilities of physiology, the level of training.
You will need sportswear that is comfortable for you to practice. You can perform modern dances, at the same time do fitness in smart clothes, but its main feature should be elasticity.
See also: Dance workouts Dance Mix
Top Reasons to Start Fusion Dance
Fusion dance workouts are ideal for youngsters who love anything that is fun, fast, exciting and fun.
There are five reasons to start doing this direction of fitness:
- Powerful body pumping
- Exercises will help tighten all the muscles, pump them, pay special attention to problem areas. Buttocks and legs will become strong, strong, elastic. You will forget about cellulite and sagging body parts. - Creating the perfect figure
- With the help of regular exercise, you will lose weight and get the figure you have always dreamed of. Moreover, the process of body formation will be pleasant, without routine and overwork. - Opportunity to improvise
- Through dance you will be able to express your emotions and receive a double boost of energy. Training will teach you to be free, liberate you, which will be useful not only for sports, but also for life. - Health benefits
- Classes will help strengthen the heart, tone blood vessels, correct posture, remove stoop.
You will start to feel much better after a month of training. - Development of plasticity
- It is very pleasant to feel every centimeter of your body and be able to master it perfectly. Dance movements put the muscles in order, give them elasticity, develop coordination.
The main exercises of the Fusion Dance program
The main exercises of the Fusion dance program include:
- Rocking chair exercise
- You need to rise on your toes, bend your knees a little, and then begin to rotate your hips in a straight line. Such swings are performed both to the sides and up and down. - Figure Eight Exercise
- Performed with the help of the hips. The body should be in a straight position, shoulders straightened. This is a universal movement that is used in many Latin American and Oriental dances. - Exercise "Pendulum"
- Raise the right leg, move the thigh to the side.
Lower, repeat the same with the left leg. - Exercise "Wave"
- Stand on your toes, work only with reeds. We make sure that the body remains static.
Fusion Dance Training Guide
Fusion dance training is for those who want to learn several modern dance styles at once, improvise to music and at the same time make their body beautiful. Classes allow you to gain self-confidence, improve health, make muscles plastic, flexible. In training, you will develop not only physical abilities, but also musicality, the ability to express your inner self through movements. If you feel inner stiffness, stiffness, then such classes are definitely for you.
Dancing has almost no contraindications - people with minor illnesses, problems with bones and joints can do it. Still, you need to be careful if you have varicose veins of the extremities or if you have recently undergone a complex operation on the spine.
With high blood pressure and various heart diseases, you need to reduce the load and give them to yourself to a minimum.
