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Learning Caribbean Dance

Learn soca, dancehall, folk and traditional Caribbean dance with the right class and shoes, a weekly practice rhythm, carnival conditioning and a route to performing, choreographing and teaching.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Learning Caribbean Dance, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

200

Starter tasks

🌴 Caribbean Life & Diaspora

Learning Caribbean Dance

Learning Caribbean dance: soca, dancehall, folk and traditional dance, classes, carnival fitness and performing with a group.

  1. Caribbean dance styles map and first pick
  2. Shortlist of Caribbean dance classes nearby
  3. Dance shoes and practice clothes chosen
  4. Home practice corner with floor, mirror and speaker
  5. Starting fitness and mobility baseline
  6. Warm-up and cool-down for wining and dancehall
  7. Weekly class and practice rhythm
  8. First six weeks in a new dance class
  9. Practice video and notes log
  10. Dance goals for the year
  11. Hip, spine and knee mobility routine
  12. Monthly technique check from video
  13. Season's new steps and dance songs list
  14. Social dance nights to put moves into practice
  15. Niggles and injury log with a stop rule
  16. Quarterly progress review with your teacher
  17. Weekly soca or dancehall fitness session
  18. Finding the beat in soca, dancehall and calypso
  19. Wining fundamentals with hip and pelvis isolations
  20. Soca road moves from chipping to flag waving
  21. Dancehall foundation steps from Bogle to today
  22. Trinidad and Tobago folk dances such as bele and the reel
  23. Jamaican folk forms such as kumina, dinki mini and quadrille
  24. Bele, Big Drum and kwadril of the Windward Islands
  25. Chutney and Indo-Caribbean dance
  26. Kompa and zouk partner dancing
  27. Punta, tambu and dances of the wider region
  28. Caribbean dance history and the people who shaped it
  29. One-move clinic for your weakest step
  30. Dancing in public without freezing
  31. Online dance classes worth paying for
  32. Strength training for dancers' knees and back
  33. Filming and posting dance videos with consent
  34. Choosing a performing group or folk company to join
  35. First class showcase performance
  36. Eight-week carnival dance conditioning block
  37. Pacing your dancing across two carnival days
  38. Audition for a dance company or troupe
  39. Entering a soca or dancehall dance competition
  40. Dance class or workshop on a trip home
  41. Emancipation or Independence Day dance performance
  42. Caribbean dance classes for children
  43. Starting Caribbean dance after fifty
  44. Returning to dance after pregnancy or injury
  45. Learning as an adult who grew up without the moves
  46. Choreographing a three-minute soca or dancehall routine
  47. Staging a folk dance piece with elders and research
  48. Moko jumbie stilt dancing
  49. Teaching your first Caribbean dance class
  50. Running a community Caribbean dance group

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Caribbean dance styles map and first pick

Caribbean dance is not one thing: soca, dancehall, chutney, kompa, bele, kumina and quadrille each have their own music, posture and places to learn. Spending an evening watching each style and noting what pulls you in stops you signing up for the first class an algorithm shows you and drifting off after three weeks. Pick one style to start with, and one to try later.

First tasks

  • Write down every Caribbean dance style you already know by name
  • Watch two performances each of soca, dancehall and one folk dance
  • Ask the agent to draft a one-page style map with origins and music
  • Circle the style you want to learn first and note why

Shortlist of Caribbean dance classes nearby

Good Caribbean dance teaching is spread thin abroad and uneven at home: a gym's soca fitness hour, a dancehall choreographer's Sunday class, a folk company's youth programme and a community centre quadrille group are very different rooms. Comparing three on the same points before paying means the class fits your level, your timetable and what you actually want to learn.

First tasks

  • Search dance schools and Caribbean community groups for classes within an hour
  • Message three teachers to ask about level, style and trial classes
  • Attend two trial or drop-in classes in the same fortnight
  • Book the class you chose for a full month

Dance shoes and practice clothes chosen

Barefoot suits most folk and bele work, dancehall classes favour clean trainers with some grip, and wining in jeans that pinch the waist teaches you to hold back. Buying the right pair of shoes and two practice outfits once saves your knees on a sticky studio floor and your money on the wrong gear.

First tasks

  • Ask your teacher what footwear suits their floor and style
  • Compare two or three pairs of dance trainers or split-sole shoes
  • Try a turn on a smooth floor in the new shoes before wearing them outside
  • Pack a class bag with water, a towel and a spare top

Make it yours.

Install Learning Caribbean Dance, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.