Class Design and Choreography
What the Class Design and Choreography domain tests
This domain tests whether you can build a class that progresses logically, fits the time, and uses music and choreography without losing the group. Expect questions on class components, progression methods, and phrasing.
Core rules
- Standard class structure: warm-up (5–10 min), conditioning (20–40 min), cool-down (5–10 min), with flexibility work after the heart rate lowers.
- Music is phrased in 32 counts: four 8-count blocks. Start a new movement or transition on the phrase, not mid-block.
- Choreography methods include add-on (teach one 8-count, repeat, add the next), layering (simple to complex), substitution (replace a move), and repetition reduction (drop repeats as learners succeed).
- Progress intensity by range, lever length, speed, impact, or complexity-one variable at a time.
- Offer a regression before a participant asks: lower impact, smaller range, or slower tempo.
Worked example
You have a 32-count combo of four 8-count blocks. Teach block 1 with right and left repeats; add block 2 while repeating block 1; then block 3; then block 4. Use repetition reduction only after the class performs the full phrase twice correctly. Reasoning: add-on keeps working-memory load manageable; phrase boundaries give a predictable place to change.
Traps
- Changing moves on count 3 of an 8-count block, which breaks the musical phrase.
- Increasing impact and complexity in the same progression.
- Choreographing for the front row while beginners cannot find the downbeat.
- Skipping the cool-down to fit more conditioning.