This lesson included a listening activity in which two people discussed their fitness levels and breaking a promise to start dancing more. We discussed the various styles of dancing, along with relevant vocabulary within the subject, and ended the lesson in learning to interrupt appropriately in English (with a game).
First date taught: 11 April 2023
8D – Let’s Dance!
Theme: Persuading people to change their lifestyle; going dancing.
ballet (n) [B1] – a type of dancing where carefully organized movements tell a story or express an idea, or a theatre work that uses this type of dancing
disco (n) – an event where people dance to modern recorded music for entertainment, or a place where this often happens (old fashioned: discotheque); a type of music, popular in the 1970s, that people dance to in a nightclub (American)
breakdancing (n) – a form of street dance (= an informal style of dancing with energetic movements, developed outside in the street or in nightclubs) that is usually done to hip-hop or similar music, and can include fast foot movements, spinning on the head or back, and balancing on the head or hands
hip hop dancing – a fusion dance genre with influences from older street dance styles created in the 1970s which include uprock, breaking, and the funk styles.
vogue / voguing – a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s and which took from the poses in high fashion and ancient Egyptian art, adding exaggerated hand gestures to tell a story and imitate various gender performances in categorized drag genres (see more here)
folk dance – a popular dance considered as part of the tradition of a particular people, culture, or geographical area
interpretive dance – a family of modern dance styles that seeks to translate human emotions, conditions, situations or fantasies into movement and dramatic expression, or else adapts traditional ethnic movements into more modern expressions
tap (n) – a type of dance in which a rhythm is formed by the noise of the dancer’s shoes on the floor
swing music (n) – a type of dance music that was popular in the 1930s and 40s
swing dance (n) – an umbrella term for a number of amazing dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920-1950s, often characterized by lifts, spins and flips
ballroom dancing (n) – a type of dancing where two people use special steps and movements to do dances such as the waltz or tango together
waltz (n) – a formal dance in which two people holding each other move around a large room, turning as they go, or a piece of music with three beats in a bar written for this style of dancing
Inspired by…
watering something down (ph.v.) – to add water to a drink, usually an alcoholic drink, in order to make it less strong; to deliberately make an idea or opinion less extreme, usually so that other people will accept it; to make something weaker or less effective
a Deejay mix
swing – old fashioned and coordinated
hip hop – rhythmic, improvised, syncopated
tumbling (v) – (sport) a gymnastics discipline in which participants perform a series of acrobatic skills down a 25 metres (82 ft) long sprung track; can also refer more generally to similar acrobatic skills performed on their own or in other gymnastics events, such as in floor exercises or on the balance beam
burn energy (ph.v.) – burn off or burn up – to use up energy or get rid of fat from your body by doing physical activity
coordination (n) [C1] – the ability to control your movements well
Opposite: Uncoordinated/clumsy
keen (adj) [B1] – enthusiastic about an activity or idea, etc.
bills and stuff – and stuff is a vague, imprecise way of saying that there are other things but I can’t or don’t want to specify which ones. It is typically used when making a bad excuse – clearly the man doesn’t really have other stuff to do
to get out of doing something – avoid doing something that you have agreed to do.
put on your dancing shoes (idiom) – (literally or figuratively) To be ready to dance, as at a party or other celebratory event.
Example: I hope you all got your dancing shoes for the reception—I don’t want to dance alone!
to have two left feet (idiom) – to be very awkward in your movements, especially when you are dancing or playing a sport
Example: I decided to take dance lessons before the wedding because I have two left feet.
to be “dancing on air/on a cloud” (idiom) – (figuratively) to be very happy; to be euphoric enough as if to dance on air.
Example: She was just dancing on a cloud when she came back from her honeymoon, she was so happy.
dance the night away (idiom) – (literally or figuratively) to dance for the whole evening or night
Example: I just love dancing with you, I could dance the night away in your arms without a second thought.
out of shape (idiom) – not physically healthy enough for difficult exercise because you have not been involved in physical activities
make excuses (phrase) – to give false reasons why you cannot do something
distracting (adj) – making it difficult for someone to give their attention to something
common denominator (n) – (mathematics) a number that can be divided exactly by all the denominators (= numbers under the line) in a group of fractions
Example: 12 is a common denominator of 1/3 and 1/4.
common denominator (n) – something that is the same for all the members of a group and might bring them together
Example: The common denominator was that we had all worked for the same company.
common denominator (idiom) – a fact or quality that is shared by two or more people or groups
Example: Trade is a major common denominator between the two countries.
Venn Diagram – a drawing of circles that partly cross and cover each other, in which each circle represents a set and an area where they cross contains parts belonging to more than one of the sets
derail (v) – (lit.) If a train derails or is derailed, it comes off the railway tracks; (fig.) to prevent or stop something from succeeding
Example: Renewed fighting threatens to derail the peace talks (= stop them from continuing).
Additional Listening:
Additional Resources:
- Communication Lesson: Expressions for Changing the Subject
- English with Kim: How to Change the Subject in English
Attribution: Image by master1305 on Freepik
English With Dixie 