Acro is one of the most physically demanding styles of dance.
What to Expect at Your First Acro Dance Class
If you are reading this, you have most likely enrolled in an acro class or are considering the option of doing so. Acro is hands down the most physically demanding genre of dance classes you can take! It is a really challenging class, people say, “the harder you work the luckier you are in life.” This is similar to acro-- simply saying that since it is a difficult class, if you push yourself and grow with it, the results and rewards will surpass your expectations.
In your first acro class you can expect to meet your teacher, and get acclimated to the structure of class and routine. We start the class with learning beginner cardio movement, basic stretches, and introducing acro terminology, and beginner balance poses. All of your first acro class is structured in a way for the students to participate 100% on their own. This helps to set up their self-confidence for future classes. We don’t want them to leave their first week (or even month) feeling defeated. Building their confidence the first month sets them up for success and committing to the class.
Building their confidence the first month is what sets students up for success and committing to the class...
Give your dancers or students a pep talk on their first day of acro class (parents can do the same), letting them know it’s okay that the class is hard, that having to work on things that challenge them is a good thing.
The acro classes and curriculum we use progress as the year progresses, slowly making skills more difficult, but in a way that grows and progresses with the students in class, never leaving a student behind. But please remember that everyone can learn acro, just not all in the same way, and not all on the same day. Dancers are going to all progress differently as the season goes on, and that’s okay! Dance teachers are equipped to handle this in their classes (that’s their job).
We always end classes with a fun section of partnering! This always makes the dancer happy and leaves class on a positive note. It also helps for the class connection and learning the values of teamwork. Working together on partnering also helps prepare them for performance work, as usually there is a lot of partnering skills done in the recitals, this helps them prepare to be equipped to have partnering in their shows.
If your dancer says they get headaches during practice or after class, this is normal when beginning your acro training and can be expected. Your dancers are learning to go upside down alot, and they must learn how to breathe to keep oxygen flowing to their brains. In class we take lots of mini breaks and refrain from doing too many backbends all at once. As your dancer gets older and stronger, headaches will go away, also as they learn to breathe more.
If you are interested in starting acro, we highly recommend starting at the beginning of the dance season, so you can start from the beginning of the curriculum since it is so progression-based. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, and check out our Youtube channel with full-length classes and more information!