This course is jointly created by four elite teachers from Yunnan Normal University and Yunnan Minzu University, including one national-level first-class course leader, two national Latin dance champions, and one national-level high-quality course leader. They have rich teaching experience and a solid professional foundation. In the course explanation, great emphasis is placed on the study of the typical feature of Latin dance, the movement trajectory of the hip (pelvis). The explanation of all technical chapters will analyze how this feature is presented in different movements, systematically introducing the application methods, steps, and techniques of hip movement in Latin dance, enabling learners to truly master the key to dancing and teaching Latin dance well. Additionally, for the first time, this course integrates ideological and political education into the foreign dance of Latin dance. Besides, a special module on ideological and political education is designed to help learners dialectically view Western culture.
In the overall course design, the first three lectures will introduce the theories, including the history, characteristics, and functions of Latin dance, discussing the musical knowledge of Latin dance, to help you understand the basic knowledge that needs to be mastered before learning Latin dance techniques. The following thirty-eight lectures will be about the techniques of Rumba and Cha-Cha dances in this course. They consist of complete action demonstrations, a breakdown of pelvic movements, and music demonstrations. Moreover, this part also explains the inherent connections between basic dance steps and dance styles. The last lecture is a special lecture on ideological and political education, mainly through summarizing the entire course, establishing correct values, and spiritual pursuits.
Our school's course 'Latin Dance School' was established in 2012 and is a compulsory course for the Dance Performance (Sports Dance) major at Yunnan Normal University (4 credits and 64 hours per semester, with nearly 300 students from 10 cohorts enrolled). Since the establishment of this course, we have adhered to top-level design, focused on key areas and crucial aspects, innovated teaching methods, and continuously sought breakthroughs in integrating ideological and political education into the curriculum. The course reform and students' growth have shown significant results. Based on the achievements of the course, we have been awarded the Yunnan Normal University Teacher Education Reform Project in 2018 (excellent completion), the Teaching Achievement Award in 2020, a good evaluation in the assessment of core courses in 2021, and two projects funded by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education in 2021. Students from the course have won nearly 100 championships in international and national Latin dance competitions, established nearly 30 Latin dance training schools after graduation, and over 70% of graduates are engaged in Latin dance teaching and related work, making them a strong force in the national industry.
Course Features:
1. Highlight industry needs and build student-centered course objectives
By conducting social surveys, analyzing the development needs of learners in the industry, formulating teaching content suitable for the development needs of learners, integrating teaching, learning, and doing into one, and positioning the goal of student training as facing the front line of the industry, being able to solidly grasp and apply knowledge to engage in Latin dance teaching and training work, and cultivating high-quality applied talents with comprehensive development of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics.
2. Reform teaching methods and break the monotony of classroom teaching
By observing and analyzing the techniques of hip movement in Latin dance, extracting the teaching mantra of the technique (pelvic movements: abdominal curling, swinging, rotating, shifting weight), guiding learners to explore learning, fully mobilizing students' enthusiasm for learning, breaking the dullness of classroom teaching, and cultivating students' abilities to discover, analyze, and solve problems.
3. Embedding ideological and political education in the curriculum to cultivate new generations for the times
Give full play to the leading role of classroom teaching in the ideological and political education of college students. Take the history and technique of Latin dance (curl, swing, turn, shift weight) as a breakthrough, deeply explore the ideological and political education, guide learners to dialectically view Western culture, change college students' blind worship of Western culture, and encourage college students to contribute to socialist construction, thus contributing to the realization of a culturally strong socialist country.
