The third lesson plan in the preschool hip hop syllabus is focused on grapevines and isolations. These are super important hip hop fundamentals – many advanced skills build on isolations and grapevines, so it is crucial to introduce them to young dancers as soon as possible.
Skills & Concepts to Focus On in this Lesson:
- Grapevines
- Isolations
- Rhythm & Counting Music
- Bouncing with our Chest
Grapevine Explanation:
I like to teach grapevines as one of the first “skills” in hip hop because a lot of foot work is built on grapevines and similar moves. Grapevines are completely doable to even a three year old, trust me! It can take time and patience, but here are my tips and how I teach them:
- Start with your feet together, facing the mirror. Keep your hands by your hips.
- Step “Open”
- Cross “Behind”
- Step “Open”
- Jump “Together” and clap!
Then you walk it back…. and repeat slowly several times. You can also use numbers like “1,2,3, Together!” to communicate the number of steps dancers should take. Try out different phrases and see what works for you and your class.
Things to watch for:
- Students crossing in front, instead of behind. You can use items in the room to explain how to cross (ie “cross to the back of the room, not the mirror”)
- Taking 642,890,348 steps. If they are stumbling across the room without getting the “3 steps-together” concept, they aren’t quite ready to go across the floor yet. Take them back to center and break it down again.
- Stiff legs. Remind dancers we are in hip hop and you can/should bend your knees and bounce, using both knees and chest! I start to focus on that once they have the footwork down.
Teaching Isolations
For tips on teaching isolations to preschoolers, visit my full post on this topic here.
| Activity | Description | Notes |
| Attendance/Question | What do you want to be when you grow up? | Encourage students to listen to one another’s responses to create a welcoming learning environment |
| Cardio Warm Up | Jumping jacks | Choose a high energy song to get the dancers excited for class |
| Run in place | ||
| Jumps: Jumping over and behind your dot with your feet together. Jump left to right, over the dot | ||
| Dance Warm Up | Pat knees to the beat of the song | Purpose: get in the groove of dancing mentally and physically! Starting class with rhythm-work is a great exercise to get their minds working. |
| Once the class finds the rhythm, switch to step claps (2 eights) | ||
| hip shakes (2 eights) | ||
| Snakes (2 eights) | ||
| Bouncing (emphasis on the chest) (2 eights) | ||
| Criss-cross jumps (2 eights) | ||
| Rhythm Work: Practice Counting Music | Have everyone sit in a circle. Put on a slower tempo song, with a loud beat | Pro tip: I use instrumental songs for this so they focus on the beat and not the words! |
| Start clapping and counting to 8 out loud to the beat | ||
| Have everyone join. Switch to patting your knees for 4 counts and clapping for 4 counts. Switch songs periodically to change tempos | ||
| Isolations Intro | Explain that an isolation is simply “moving one part of your body, at a time” Have the class repeat that defintion out loud several times. | This is a simplified version from my typical isolations breakdown. This is a great way to introduce the concept to them for the first week. |
| Practice turning, just your head, side to side, without turning the rest of your body | ||
| Move onto your shoulders, then hips, knees, and feet. | ||
| Grapevines | Start breaking down the skill facing the mirror | Use counts like “1-2-3-Together!” And I have them clap when they come together to help with the timing |
| Repeat several times slowly to the right before introducing the left. | ||
| 4 slow/half time, then try 4 quick/double time. Repeat right and left sides | ||
| Strut Walk | Lay out 1 dot at the end of the room and have students line up on other end | Encourage them to shake their hips, find the rhythm of the song, and overall deliver some style and confidence as they go across the floor |
| Students will “strut” to the dot and strike 3 poses | ||
| Strut back to the line | ||
| Can repeat with students “strutting” sideways or backwards instead | ||
| Grapevines | 4 slow/half times with hands on hips | Make sure students are crossing behind |
| 4 fast/double time with hands on hips | ||
| repeat right and left sides. | ||
| Fun Activity: Party Freeze Dance | Go over rules for freeze dance: no running, gymnastics, screaming, etc. Dancing only! | If you have LED lights or anything like that, use those if the class can handle it! |
| Song called “Party Freeze Dance” on most music streaming platforms | ||
| Tells kids to skip, hop, turn, dance, and freeze |
