So you’ve received your certification and are officially a dance movement facilitator. What next? It’s time to lead your first dance movement session, that’s what! Though I’ve been leading sessions and retreats for almost 2 decades, I can still remember how intimidating it felt to lead those first few sessions. Creating an environment where people from all different backgrounds feel safe enough to let go isn't exactly an easy task. Fortunately, with some careful planning, preparation and practice, you can set yourself up to lead a successful session that is engaging, energizing and transformative for everyone involved. 

Here are the top four things I believe a facilitator needs to prepare for their first dance movement session.

1. Define Your Goal: Before you begin planning your session, it’s important to define your goal. Are you looking to help people feel more grounded in their bodies? Or just get everyone moving and having fun? Knowing what you want to accomplish will help you define your session's structure and plan accordingly.

Here are some questions that will help you narrow down your goal: 

1. What do I want to accomplish in this container?
   
   

2. What will participants get out of this session?
   
   

3. What do I want them to learn?
   
   

4. How do I want them to feel during and after the session?
   
   

5. What realizations will they have?
   
   

6. What will they transform? 

Once you have answered these questions, or have at least 1 very clear answer to the questions above, the next step is to create an outline of the session using my propriety 8-step structure below.

2. Set Up a Structure: Once you have your goal in mind, it’s time to create a structure for the session.  The structure below is one that I have developed over the past decade and works quite well. In fact, I still use this structure every time I plan sessions and retreats and hope that you will find it as useful as well.

First step - INTRO - Create a safe space, open the session, and outline the rules

Second step - Quickly establish trust, connection, playfulness and flow

Third step - Warm up the body and lift up the energy and spirit

Fourth step - Core energy activation and breathing techniques

Fifth step - Dynamic muscle warm-up and stretch meditation

Sixth step - Movement exploration

Seventh step - Cool it down

Eight step - OUTRO - Share and close the session

When I clearly define my goal of the session, first I jump to the Sixth step, finding the movement/dance exploration tools that could support the main work for the group, maybe upgrading or changing them a bit, and then reverse-engineering the process backward to First step with all the tools, exercises and games for each step that supports the main goal, so it all became as a journey. And in the end, add the Seventh & Eight steps to wrap it up.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ADD: 

As a facilitator, it's important to be flexible and adapt to unexpected situations that may arise during a session, even if you have a clear structure in place (because it happens to the best of us for sure at one point or another.) These situations can be valuable opportunities to learn and grow. Our job as facilitators is to transform this experience into a teaching moment, artistic expression, or even a therapeutic or healing opportunity. If you do end up going “off road” for a while, you can always return to your 8-step structure and ride out the session to the end. 

3. Craft a playlist or musical journey: Music is essential for any dance movement session, so it's important to select music that fits your goal and structure. Personally, I like to take participants on a journey through the session, and so I choose music that supports that journey. 

Because music greatly impacts our bodies, emotions, and minds, it’s very important to choose music and sounds that YOU like, finds inspiring, and have transformed you in some way.

Taking time to craft your own playlist, versus choosing one from Spotify right before class starts, also serves a practical purpose. You will always know how much time is left in a session at any given moment without watching the clock because you’ll know exactly where you are in the “playlist journey”.

Can you recycle playlists for future classes? Sure, but I typically prepare a unique playlist for each session. This keeps things fresh for me and for my clients. If I always used the same playlist, it would get boring and people would likely lose interest. 

4. Preparation ritual: Before your session, take some time to familiarize yourself with the space where you'll be dancing. Clear the space, and make it yours… You should also consider the acoustics of the room so that everyone can hear the music clearly. But maybe most importantly, take a power nap before the session or a meditation! Why? 

Before leading a session, class, workshop, or retreat, especially if I am teaching in the afternoon or evening, it’s so important that I reset my mind and restore my energy. I will typically mediate or take a “power nap” just before a session. This helps me to feel more grounded so that I am able to guide participants more clearly. 

Here’s my not-so-secret “power nap” formula:

1. I set up an alarm for 30 min. 

2. Then I start to count down from 100 to 0 and with every exhale, I imagine that my body is like sand - dissolving, pouring down to the earth, grounding. You can use this same image or create another that supports you. I am usually asleep before I reach the number 90. 

3. After my alarm goes off, I wake up feeling totally refreshed, connected, in my center, and ready to go. If that technique doesn’t work, you can also try putting on a 30-minute Yoga Nidra meditation. You can find them for free on Youtube, Spotify, or Insight Timer.
   
   

By taking the time to define your goal, set up a structure, create a playlist, and prepare your space and mind, you'll be well on your way to becoming a successful facilitator. With the right level of preparation and practice, your first dance movement session will surely be a success!