Dance 1 students are exploring the foundations of hip-hop by studying its culture, history, and meaning.

Through foundational hip hop styles, rhythm, and group choreography, students are discovering how movement can tell a story that carries identity, history, and traditions. The unit focuses not only on learning choreography, but also on understanding where hip hop comes from and the meaning behind the movement students create.

For many Dance 1 students, this is their first time diving into the style, which can make the learning process challenging at first. Dance teacher Nicole Nothe says many students enter the unit without prior experience in hip hop, so learning the basics is an important first step.

“Challenges that some students face in dance 1 during hip hop unit are they don’t have any experience with hip hop so we have to really break down those fundamental movements and then apply it to the choreography and then eventually they start growing their confidence in the style,” Nothe said.

As students work through their sections of the song, they experiment with movement, try out steps, and figure out how to make the music their own. The class emphasizes a hands-on approach in which mistakes are part of the learning process, and confidence grows with practice.

Freshman Yoshita Gabbi says picking up choreography and interpreting it correctly can be difficult, but she works to improve by putting in extra time both in and out of class.

“My biggest challenges is probably picking up choreo and interpreting it properly so, my personal way of overcoming this is practising outside of school and taking extra time in class to review all of it,” Gabbi said.