How to teach children to break dance?

Many children from an early age show a craving for dancing, and these are not always Russian folk or ballroom options. Young dancers are interested in more modern styles. And sometimes parents have a question how to teach children to break dance.

It is worth noting that in Russia, this type of dance found a second life, since the first peak of its popularity in our country fell on the 80-90s of the last century. At the same time, studios began to open, and they did not always act officially. Break dance festivals were also widespread in those years. Then adolescents aged 12-18 were more interested in this direction, both boys and girls.

But today break dance is available for children at least 6-7, at least 8-10 years old. And even kids 4-5 years old can master the children's version of the lesson.

It should be said that mastering this dance requires not only flexibility and plasticity, but also endurance, and at least initial physical training. The dancer very often improvises, infects with energy, splashes out his emotions. And if plasticity and a sense of rhythm are important for the upper break, the ability to move beautifully, to come up with your own original ligaments, then good physical preparation is necessary for the lower break, because some elements are very reminiscent of real acrobatic tricks.

Therefore, when planning to send a child to such a studio, you should understand that this is serious business, not just entertainment... And if the kid is really captured by this process, then, perhaps, he will continue to engage in breaks and improve his skills. It is much better and more correct to find a good coach, professional. And since we are talking about the children's version, then he should get along well with the kids and come up with simple but interesting schemes for them at first, so as not to discourage them, but to captivate them.

For most of the children, this trait is characteristic: when something does not work out, the interest in working further disappears. That is why at first even small successes are extremely important. Break dance is a rather difficult dance, and therefore you need to be prepared for difficulties, and as a parent, be patient. Lesson in the studio is mandatory, you cannot fully master this dance on your own, especially in childhood, but you need to be prepared for being at home you will have to constantly study, repeat the elements, consolidate what you have passed and prepare for classes.

Break dance dancing to fast, rhythmic and energetic music... Often the trainer chooses a track and develops a step-by-step scheme so that the number has a complete look. Toddlers learn gradually, working through each movement several times. And only when all the elements are mastered, you can begin to combine all the movements into one scheme.

To make classes not only fun, but also comfortable, children need good, comfortable equipment, just like adults.

• Shoes should be comfortable, in size, not slippery, quite soft, but good grip. The breathable fabric will keep your feet from sweating or uncomfortable while exercising.

• T-shirt and pants should be loose enough non-hindering movement, made of natural breathable materials. You can purchase specialized clothing from online stores with the Break dance logo.

• Gloves protect the hands as a lot of the exercise has to be done on the floor. To prevent the child from injuring his palms, it is worth buying gloves. They are designed in such a way that the palm is reliably protected, while the fingers remain free, and nothing prevents them from moving.

• Concerning headdress, then, at first, an ordinary cap or hat is quite suitable for the baby, but later in the process of training, you may have to purchase a special accessory for a break. This hat is equipped with a rubber pad inside, which helps to reduce pain when performing tricks. In addition, it is equipped with special fasteners that will not allow the hat to fly off your head during the bottom break.

• An indispensable accessory for a break - sunglasses, but this rather refers to the past break, now they are increasingly dispensed with or used in separate numbers based on the elements of the top break.

The main part of the equipment is a special hat and gloves. They have different colors, which makes it easy to choose a darker option for a boy and a bright one for a girl.

In addition to them, there are also elbow pads, knee pads. They are essential for learning bottom break movements and intense workouts.

It is worthwhile to immediately understand that all break dance classes begin with a warm-up, which is aimed at warming up muscles, developing flexibility and endurance. Stretching exercises, push-ups on the arms and standing in the bar are just very useful here. Arm strength is very important in the elements of the lower break, as is good stretching, and therefore these seemingly elementary exercises are constant companions of all workouts.

• The top break is the easiest to master first. Animation-style, which implies intermittent movements of animated dolls. To do this, you just need to imagine yourself as a doll and move intermittently. The arms and legs are bent at the elbows and knees. Each movement is performed slowly and is recorded at the end. With each step, you seem to stop and put a point.To do this, you need to bend one leg at the knee, then put it on the floor, tilt the body forward, arms, bent slightly at the elbows, are fixed at the sides. When we lower our foot to the floor, we freeze for a moment, put a point. Then we do the same with the second leg. And so we walk around the apartment until we understand that this movement began to work out.

• Then you can master Waving... These are movements of the arms, legs, the whole body, which resemble waves. They can be done back and forth. But for this, you first need to develop flexibility. In order to make a wave with the body, you first need to move the head forward, then the chest protrudes forward, then the stomach, and the legs complete the wave. When moving the arms, first, we direct the hand downward, making a kind of diving movement. The elbow takes over, it rises up, the shoulder rises smoothly behind it, then the wave rolls over to the shoulder of the second hand to the elbow and from it to the wrist.

There are a lot of movements in the break, but this dance is good because there is always a place for improvisation. It is worth mastering the basic movements and you can turn on music at home and dance, inventing ligaments on your own.

To master the lower break, it is necessary to attend lessons, since only a description of the exercise and even a video are not enough here. Live sessions with a trainer are very important here, as there is a high risk of injury.

The most uncomplicated element from the bottom break is movement of the legs in a circle with a change of hands. At first, you need to do this slowly in order to understand at what point you should raise your hand, and at what point you should lower it to the floor. But at the same time it is better, of course, to focus not on the description, but on the video. Moreover, there are options for lessons when the children themselves explain how to do certain exercises.

When training at home and honing your movements, be sure to have a large mirror in front of you. This is the only way to see your mistakes or track your progress.

Break dance masterclass for beginners can be found in the following video.