How to stretch?
Personal Safety in
Dancing
 Most dancers or performers must
prepare themselves before and after a
performance. Aside from wearing
costumes and making props, it is
important to have a stretch in our
bodies to avoid any body cramps or
muscle pains during a dance
presentation.
What to stretch?
 Though dancing is a full-body workout,
some muscles are used more than
others and therefore, need more
attention after.
 Stretching your feet and legs seems like
a no-brainer, but there are other
muscles at work that are not as obvious.
 Your hip flexors, for example, allow you
to lift your knees and bend your waist.
 They also play a key role in keeping your
hips and lower back strong, flexible, and
aligned. Your quadriceps move your
knees and help rotate your hips.
 They are involved and engaged in
almost all leg movements.
 The piriformis muscle is located behind
your gluteus maximus and assists with
rotating your hips and turning out your
feet.
 Stretch these often-neglected parts of
your body to dance better, stay injury-
free and hydrated.
Hip Flexor/Quad
 Kneel in a deep lunge with your back leg
on the floor.
 Flatten your back until you feel the
stretch in the front of your hip.
 Make sure you tuck your pelvis in to
ensure your back is flat; sinking into
your back too much is too much
extension. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds
and repeat on the opposite side.
Calves/Heels/Feet
 Stand with your right foot behind you
and left foot in front. Keep your heels
on the floor and your feet parallel. Bend
your front leg while keeping your back
leg straight.
 Put both hands on a wall and lean
forward, keeping your arms straight,
until you feel the stretch in your calf.
Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the
opposite side.
Piriformis
 Stand holding onto a chair with your
right hand and grasping your left foot
with your left hand.
 Maintain a flat back and pull your heel
toward your butt, keeping your knee
close to your opposite leg.
 Make sure you tuck your pelvis and be
careful not to hike your hip up. Hold for
30 seconds and repeat on the opposite
side.
Standing Calf Stretch
 Lay on your back with your knees bent
and place your right ankle on the
opposite knee.
 Grasp your unelevated thigh behind the
knee and pull gently toward your chest
until you feel the stretch in your butt.
 Hold without bouncing for 30 seconds
and repeat on the opposite side.
 Most of the dances were created for
cardio-vascular maneuvers. It comprises
the heart and blood vessels and carries
nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of
the body and removes carbon dioxide
and other wastes. While cardio -
vascular is operating not in a normal
effort the body needs water. So, what is
the purpose of water to your body
anyway?

 Water is an inorganic, transparent,

tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless
chemical substance.

 Your body uses water in all its cells,

organs, and tissues to help regulate its
temperature and maintain other bodily
functions. Because your body loses
water through breathing, sweating, and
digestion, it is important to rehydrate by
drinking fluids and eating foods that
contain water.

 If fluid is not replaced, the dancer will

become dehydrated. Muscle cramps,
electrolyte deficits and muscle fatigue
may be associated with dehydration and
heat cramps.

DEHYDRATION

 It occurs when you use or lose more

fluid than you take in, and your body
does not have enough water and other
fluids to carry out its normal functions.

 Water makes up approximately 60% of

body weight and is the largest
component of the human body. The
muscles we work so hard to develop as
dancers (skeletal muscles) are about
73% water, your blood is about 93%
 water and even bones and teeth contain hypothermia. The condition occurs
some water. when the body's heat-regulation system
becomes overwhelmed by outside
 It is important for dancers to know that
factors, causing a person's internal
being properly hydrated helps keep the
temperature to rise.
body from overheating. Helping the
body promote heat loss when dancing
full out will improve athletic
performance and aid in recovery. HYPOTHERMIA

 This is especially important for dancers  Hypothermia is a medical emergency

wearing hot costumes and performing
under stage lights. Sweat losses during
performance can be significantly more
than during rehearsal of the same
piece. Therefore, drinking regularly
(even small, regular sips) is an
important habit during a show.
that occurs when your body loses heat
faster than it can produce heat, causing
a dangerously low body temperature.
Normal body temperature is around
98.6 F (37 C). Hypothermia (hi-poe-
THUR-me-uh) occurs as your body
temperature falls below 95 F (35 C).

OVEREXERTION

 It occurs when people push themselves

too hard during physical activities like
Dancing causes injury when a person
works beyond his or her physical
capacity and tolerances of his or her
body’s soft tissues. Factors related to
overexertion are age, physical condition,
body flexibility, obesity, strength, and
tolerance.

 Overexertion injuries are generally of

two types:

 Sprains - stretching or tearing of

ligaments.

 Strains - stretching or tearing tendons

or muscles

HYPERTHERMIA

 refers to a group of heat-related

conditions characterized by an
abnormally high body temperature in
other words, the opposite of
 any available space. It is often
improvisational and social in
nature, encouraging interaction
and contact with spectators and
other dancers.
 Hip-hop is a cultural movement
best known for its impact on
music in the form of the musical
genre of the same name. It
originates in Bronx, part of New
York City during 1970’s. It was
popularized by African American
and was influenced by Latin
Americans. The culture of Hip-
hop is composed of pillars like D-
Jing, rapping, breakdancing and
graffiti art.
 Street dance is a distinctly Pinoy
term, which is very closely related
to hip hop, but rather, defined by
cultural nuances and influences
that, as Jungee and others of this
breed have seen, have made
street dance a variation of hip
hop dance that is identifiably
Pinoy to the rest of the world.

Key Elements:

 Groove
 Character
 Originality
 Intention
Street Dance  Creativity
 Social interaction
(Hip-Hop)
What is Street Dance?
Characteristics
 It refers to dance styles that have
evolved outside of dance studios.  In opposite to many other dance
It is performed in streets, dance forms, most street dances
parties, parks, school yards, or encourage individuality and
originality, and that dancers
 interpret the existing moves freely
and even invent new ones to
create a personal style of their
own. Improvisation is the heart of
most street dances, though
choreography is also seen,
mostly mixed with improvisation
or used for prepared shows.
 Generally, a street dance is
based on a unique style or feels
that are expressed through the
dance, usually tied to certain
genre of music. As new moves
evolve based on this feel, the
dance is under constant
development, and if the feels start
to change it might give birth to a
completely new dance form.
STREET AND HIP-HOP DANCE
STYLES
B-Boying is also known as breaking or
breakdancing is the first hip-hop dancing
that originates from Black and Puerto Rican
youths in New York City during the early
1970’s. Practitioner is the term given to b-
boy or b-girl who do breakdancing.
Popping was popularized by Samuel
Boogaloo Sam Solomon together with his
crew, the Electric Boogaloos. It is based on
the technique of quickly contracting and
relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in a
dancer’s body.
Popping forces parts of your body outwards,
similar to an explosion within parts of your
body. Popping contracts muscles but is
followed by relaxation that gives it the
jerking appearance of popping.
Locking which is also known as
campbellocking, from the name of the
creator of this style Don Campbellock
Campbell around 1969 in Los Angeles,
California. The Lockers are the crew of Don
Campbell who popularized Locking.
Locking was identified by its distinctive
stops. It is usually performed by stopping
the fast movement of the performer, locking
the body into a position, holding it, and then
continuing the same speed before stopping.
In doing locking, dancers hold their
positions longer. Lock is the primary move
used in locking, similar to freeze or sudden
pause.
Krumping is the form of dancing that was
originated from African American community
of South-Central Los Angeles, California
and is a relatively new form of the “Urban
Black dance movement. It is free,
expressive and highly energetic. Most
people paint their faces in different designs.
Krumping is a dance style similar to release
of anger. It is reported that gang riots in the
United States decreased because of these
krumping style.
Tutting is a creative way of making
geometric shapes forming right angle using
your body parts. The style was originally
practiced by young funk dancers. It is
derived from the positions people were
drawn in during the days of the Ancient
Egyptians. Tutting is greatly respected move
of King Tut aka Mark Benson who made this
style popular.
Shuffling The Melbourne Shuffle (also
known as Rocking “The Shuffle”) is a rave
and club dance that originated in the late
1980’s in the underground rave music scene
in Melbourne, Australia. The basic
movements of this style are a fast heel-and
toe action with a style suitable for various
types of electronic music. Some variants
incorporate arm movements. Performers of
this style are known as Rockers due to its
rock music around 1990’s.
Waacking
It is an African American form of street
dance originated in 1970’s as disco era of
underground clubs in Los Angeles and New
York City. Waacking has a stylized posing
with a fast synchronized arm movement
following beat of the music. It is very
popular element of hip-hop nowadays.
Dance- Related
Injuries
What is Injury?
The following factors are common among
dancers who have injury:
1. Poor body alignment and technique
The anatomical alignment and technique of
the dancer are some of the intrinsic factors
that are commonly associated with injury.
Dance requires moving the limbs in a
controlled and precise manner. These
movements are anchored to the trunk,
which means that the trunk should be
stable, and the spine is aligned, and low
trunk stability can lead to uncoordinated
movements, which predispose an individual
to injury.
2. Excessive training duration and
intensity
Excessive training and limited recovery
impair the ability to heal and repair
damaged issues. Intense technique training
will most likely lead to microscopic injury to
the musculoskeletal structures due to
repetitive loading. Without proper rest and
sufficient nutrition, the body is not able to
rebuild the tissues, and this predisposes the
dancer to a severe injury. An abrupt
increase in training intensity will also lead to
this scenario.
3. Hard dance floor
The floor is where dancers rehearse and
perform. An optimal dance floor should be
able to absorb the impact that is generated
by the performer. A hard floor does not help
in dissipating the impact and returns the
force to the dancer. The repetitive shock
absorbed by the foot would eventually
damage the foot or other parts of the lower
extremity.
4. Poor shoe design
Footwear corrects foot mechanics and
reduce the impact on the foot. A shoe that
does not fit properly or has insufficient
shock absorption will significantly
contribute to injury risk. Furthermore, some
materials used on the soles do not offer
sufficient traction on the floor and this
could lead to slips and falls.
5. Muscle imbalance
Muscle imbalance is an uncoordinated
muscle action because of uneven strength
between muscle groups. This is attributed to
various factors such as anatomy, technique,
and past injury.

Acute and Chronic Injury

These are two types of
musculoskeletal injuries:
Acute injuries occur when the
mechanical force that is absorbed by
the musculoskeletal structure is more
than what it is accustomed to. The
onset of pain and other symptoms
occur immediately after the impact.
Chronic injuries occur due to
repetitive trauma and the body is not

given enough time to recover. The

onset of pain and other symptoms
occur at a gradual rate, which is
usually worsened with activity or
training.

Cheer Dance
What is Cheer dance?
 Also known as cheerleading, refers
to a type of grouped dance that
intends to give a motivation and
support to a sporting team,
entertainment to audience, or
competition.
 Most cheer dance group consists of
dancers, both male and female,
executing different formations and
acrobatics. Most cheer dance are
“boosters” who leads the supporting
crowd to make the chants, yells and
simple but creative dance
movement to motivate their
sporting teams.
 Cheer dance performance involves
various movements that are typically
precise, breath-taking which will be
discussed in this session.
HISTORY OF CHEER DANCE
 Cheerleading dates to the 1860s, in
Great Britain, and entered the US in
the 1880s. Although women
currently dominate the field,
cheerleading was begun by men.
 Princeton University, in 1884, got the
idea that crowd chanting at football
games would boost school spirit so
they came up with a catchy cheer.
On November 2, 1898, U-Minnesota
student Johnny Campbell led an
organized cheer at a football game
between Minnesota and Princeton
University, so you might say he was
the first actual "cheer leader". In
1903, the University of Minnesota
organized the first cheer fraternity
called Gamma Sigma. They likely
used a megaphone to project their
voices.
 In the 1920s women became
involved in cheerleading. The lady
yellers sported ankle-length skirts
and varsity sweaters. Female cheer
squads began to include gymnastics,
dance and other showy stunts into
routines, and in the 1930s cheers
were aided by the use of paper pom-
poms. By the 1940s women were
mainly leading the cheers, and
routines took on a voice their own.
ELEMENTS OF CHEER DANCE
A cheer dance performance consists of
different structured and organized
movements which are being scored when in
competitions. The movements must be
proper and efficient on order to earn scores
and avoid deductions. Here are the
elements of cheer dance to consider in
creating a routine:
 Yells/ Chant
– are usually done by the performers
with pride and confidence. This
element helps to encourage the
supportive spectators to cheer along
and bring the prideful message to
the competitors. The basic
technique in yelling and chanting is
the use of diaphragm instead of the
throat. It is done also while doing
the other elements of cheer
dancing.
 Motions  CHEER
Basic Hand-body Movements STANCE-
BEGINNING STANCE- 
-Feet together, hands down by the -Feet more
side in blades than should
CHEER STANCE width apart
-Feet more than shoulder width hands down
apart, hands down by the side in the side in
blade. blade
CLASP
-Hands clasped, at the chin, elbows  CHEER
in STANCE-
CLAP 
-Hands in blade, at the chin, elbows -Feet more
in than should
HIGH V width apart
-arms extended up forming a “V”, hands down
relax the shoulder. the side in
LOW V blade
-Arms extended down forming a “V.”
GOALPOST(TOUCHDOWN)

 CHEECHEER
STANCE-

-Feet more
than shoulder
width apart,
hands down by
the side in
blade
 R STANCE-

-Feet more
than shoulder
width apart,
hands down by
the side in
blade