BEGINNER - Dance the Samba!

BEGINNER

Dance the samba!

INTERMEDIATE

The samba is a famous dance from Brazil.

ADVANCED - Teaching

There are two short a sounds in the word samba, and, though a new word, it is fairly easy to read. See if the learners can copy the moves in the video! Never underestimate the secret power of dance in lessons, even where it seems to have no direct relevance to the learning! It gives them a shot of feel good adrenaline and dopamine, it's exercise, it gets the left and right brain working together, boosts confidence massively (I myself took ballroom dancing classes at university, and, along with acting, it helped rid me of my shyness - I wish I had had dancing classes earlier!), and is a sneaky way to get students to start using their hands more when communicating i.e. gesture, which is a key element of the drama we teach in our drammar courses, and which leads directly to strong public speaking skills! Like I said, not to be underestimated! A very worthy investment of 2 minutes of your students' time! 

But you have to pitch the age right - my current 7-8 year old students love to dance (and are good at it!). But some of my younger ones can want to sit out. If they want to sit and watch - let them! Don't force it! They benefit from watching too, and will join when ready. Usually the very young are willing to get up and have a go, so confidence and willingness to try comes and goes in waves as they grow up - it's not a constant! Better to try this before they're teenagers - as at some point they become very self-conscious! If you are the only one wanting to dance, or you yourself aren't comfortable... just move on to the next activity!