Class Design, Sequencing, and Cueing
Domain 3 - Class Design, Sequencing, and Cueing
This domain tests whether you can build a coherent, balanced barre class and cue it so mixed-level clients move safely and understand the target. The exam looks for intentional arc, timing, progressions, and cueing that matches the movement.
Core rules
- Use a class arc: warm-up and mobility; standing upper body; thigh work; seat work; core; cool-down and stretch. Allocate time by goal, not by habit.
- Sequence proximal to distal and simple to complex. Warm the hips and shoulders before loaded turnout or overhead work.
- Build progressions by changing lever length, range, tempo, base of support, or load. Regress by shortening the lever, reducing range, adding support, or slowing tempo.
- Cue in layers: name the movement, give one alignment cue, then one effort cue. Use visual demonstration, verbal direction, and-with consent-tactile cueing.
- Match music to tempo: slower for control and holds, faster for pulse sets. Do not let the beat dictate unsafe range.
- Plan transitions: tell clients the next position before they move, and keep barre spacing safe.
Worked example
A 45-minute mixed-level class needs a peak thigh set but includes beginners. Reasoning: warm up with plié and tendu, teach a chair-supported demi-plié, then progress to a narrow second-position hold with small pulses. Offer a regression to a wider stance and a smaller range; offer an advanced option of heels lifted only if knee tracking holds. Cool down with hip flexor and calf stretches. This meets the peak while preserving alignment.
Traps
Random exercise order; too much thigh work and no upper-body or core balance; cue overload; choreography that outruns the music; no regression for beginners; skipping cool-down; and changing too many variables at once.