Janine offers helpful advice on how to start and what you can expect in your first class, ‘the movements and typical coordination required for African dance are trained. It doesn’t come naturally for most of us. The first lesson is - to listen’. This might be the first dance lesson you’ve ever taken with live percussion as your driving rhythmic force. And this is probably the first time you will discover the true awareness of the relationship between dancer and drummer (with LIVE music!). I remember learning dance to recorded music. It was a relationship I was intuitive to but realised much later… I took for granted. Having live music compels you to listen to and isolate different layers of the music as you move to the beat!

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African drumming is multi layered. You have the main beat (or heart beat played by the Doundoun drums) which is the pulse (the beat you are naturally drawn to move to), the various accompanying parts (on the Djembe drums) and the soloist or lead drummer (on a higher pitched Djembe drum)who provides signals, phrases and calls for the dancer that tells us when to start, when to change the movement and when to finish. The lead drummer plays to the ‘expression’ of the movement, whether that is through watching the natural percussive pattern played out by the feet of the dancer, or the dominant expression in the body (the arms, the head, the torso, hips, pelvis…).

Ok, so now you’re listening!

Lets start with the feet first! Start by walking to the beat. Now you have the pulse, the timing, and the tempo of the rhythm. Janine emphasises the importance of learning dance coordination from the ‘ground up’. Learning in this order, she believes, provides you with the stability and sense of balance and posture required for the movement. Also, the feet are in direct connection with the rhythm – and the rhythm is the foundation AND core of the movement!

Foundation movements given in the warm up will help you learn various isolation techniques and key footwork that is the key to African dance! Movements that Janine explains are closely related to Salsa, samba, afro-cuban, Capoiera and hip-hop. ‘I’ve studied various styles of dance for more than 20 years. While identifying and breaking down the key movements of African dance, I became increasing aware of the connection and underlying relationship between the various styles. By simply changing the tempo, the accent on the moves, the body expression, and the timing… I could change from hip-hop to salsa to African, to samba-reggae, to Capoiera without changing the footwork coordination!

As well as a head-to-toe warm up to help you loosen up, and an increase in the tempo of the movements to get your heart rate up and have you break into a sweat, Janine will also introduce you to call and response vocal instruction drawing on the corner-stone of African culture AND tuning into the call and various rhythmic signals from the drummer.

Once you’ve got the footwork, you can start to incorporate the arms. Powerful, expressive and elongated arm movements are typical of West African dance. From the shoulder all the way to the finger tips! The final touch is learning to ‘express’ the movement. A more progressive expression comes through the isolation of the head, the torso, the pelvis and the hips.  Now you have a whole body workout!

Following a circle warm up (usually participants are in a circle for the warm up, (a great ice breaker for thr group). We break off into lines of dancers who will follow ‘travelling’ moves and dance sequences across the floor together. These are usually the movements that will be put together to form the dance piece for that class. It’s not important to get the step in its entirety, but to learn how to learn ‘African style’ – which is through observing and mimicking movements you see.

Following a short break to ‘catch your breath’ or grab a drink, Janine breaks down each move and its ‘connection’ or transition from one to another without the drums. Janine has a way of methodically breaking down each part so that everyone, including those who have never danced before, can learn, sweat and have a great time! To do this, she presents 3 different levels of difficulty and levels of expression (Beginner, intermediate and advanced) so that participants can gradually move up in intensity, as they are more familiar with the movements.  Janine’s high energy and ability to break down a routine to fit everyone’s needs brings understanding as well as sheer enjoyment to the vital energy and grace of African dance. And while Janine infuses her own style and spirit into the movement of African dance, she encourages the development of your own dance identity!

Have Fun!

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