Motivation

Round dance in Europe, as well as the ECTA cuer committee, has grown over time and contacts and communication has improved. A common concern has always been for dancers to be able to attend club dances and events throughout the region without experiencing the frustration of not being able to participate, because they have only learned locally supported  rhythms and figures.

Many discussions have been held among cuers on how to approach a common teaching system and how to introduce it to the dancing community. The concept of a European education method for round dance was born.

The definition of a learning level and the education system is not to be understood as a replacement of the existing round dance phase rating system. It is moreover a complementary program to support an easy and didactically well structured approach to learning round dance using figures from phases I to IV in various music rhythms. A beginners class was never intended to introduce all Phase I and II figures. Comparable to the STEP training program, the Round Dance Committee saw a necessity to introduce a standardized approach for new dancers to learn round dance. (STEP is a method similar to the Dance Program introduced in Callerlab for Square Dance).

Goals

The primary goal of this system is to provide a unified standard for teaching round dance. Up until now, the rhythms and figures introduced in classes for example in Hamburg (such as Cha Cha) differed from those in Munich (Waltz or Rumba). Students having spent a year learning round dance discovered that they could not participate in dances in other regions, which led to frustration. With this system, students start learning to dance in a structured and standardized process, including what rhythms to start with and the order in which the figures are to be taught.

This system allows the class to be completed in a shorter amount of time. Students reach a level of success quicker and achieve danceable lever faster. Shorter learning time also keeps the students from being bound over a prolonged time to a class schedule.

Cuers now know what to teach and have a guideline for the selection of rhythms, figures and choreographies. Common instruction material becomes feasible and the generation and exchange of information between teachers (figure descriptions, figure lists, and available or new choreographies) is encouraged and supported.

This system also facilitates the generation of dedicated choreographies for each level. Additional information in the cue sheets allow students to experience a complete dance to their current learning level earlier in the class.

Method

The basic concept of the education system is to partition round dance instruction into learning modules: A beginners module (Level A) and additional extension modules (Level B, C, ...). The beginners module should be achievable over a period of 20 to 25 weeks, and should be established at dance events as the first round dance ability level. As such, choreographies are to be created to support these levels at dancing events.

The following guide has been established for Level A:

1. -4 Rhythms: Cha, Rumba, Two-step, and Waltz
   

2. -approx. 20 - 25 figures per rhythm are to be taught, a suggested teaching order is provided
   

3. -also basic terminology and positions are to be introduced (open facing, lead foot, line of dance)
   

4. -choreographies are used that build on each other, adding 3 new figures for a new dance
   

The guide for Level B is in progress and will be released soon. Further levels are under consideration.

The figure lists are defined and provided by ECTA listing the figures for each rhythm in the suggested teaching order. A list of currently available choreographies is also provided, showing the highest number of the required figures for dancing, in addition to the standard information on rhythm and phase rating.

The levels of STEP (Structured Teaching & Education Program), the round dance teaching program at ECTA, represent the minimum requirements for a training stage. It is ensured, that all participants of a class will have reached the same level of dancing ability, regardless of where they attended in Hamburg or in Munich.

The level label (such as „Level A“ or „Level B“) is an additional description to be included on event program announcements (or flyers) together with the defined Phase Rating (such as „Phase II - III“). It indicates the level of choreographies appropriate for dancers at that learning level (A, B, or higher). It is also possible to indicate the figure number for a level, such as Phase II-III (Level A16), to represent all figures 16 and below of level A are required to be able to dance those program choreographies.

Figure Lists

For each level, a list of figures for the available rhythms has been developed. The figures are arranged and numbered in the suggested teaching order. The current list can be obtained from the menu on the left.

Quick Cue Sheets

Already a significant number of choreographies exist supporting the education system levels. A database has been established to allow one to easily select appropriate cue sheets for the required class learning level. It is intended to provide the cue sheets in both an editable (RTF) and read-only (PDF) format. A list of the available cue sheets and formats is generated by selecting the appropriate values and pressing "Submit". The generated list opens a new window and the individual files are shown by their representative icons. PDF files can generally be displayed in the browser, whereas RTF formats must be individually downloaded (use right mouse-click on the icon) and displayed in an editor of your choice. Check the lists regularly as new and modified versions are added to the database. Your suggestions and requests are welcome. Please use the contact form to submit your comments. The cue sheet list can be generated from the menu and filter selections on the left.