Classes in CMP’s African Dance program will experience the grace, strength, intelligence, and beauty of West African dance and culture. Students will study the geography, customs, and music of West Africa while beginning to learn the basic movements of West African dance from countries such as Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal. Classes will then learn to express themselves as individuals and as a community when they begin to choreograph a song-length African dance to be performed as part of their show. 

Students will:
Study maps of Africa and learn about a number of regions that will be covered in the dance residency
Listen to a variety of song and rhythm styles from West Africa
Read and discuss African folktales
Learn how to properly enter and exit a stage
Learn basic West African dance steps and body positions
Learn, rehearse, and perform choreographed West African dance