This routine contains a fantastic mix of ideas based on the ‘stomping’ dance style – which is an eclectic combination of tap dance, African-American and dance hall moves to rhythmical beats.
Here I show you how I’ve pushed the boundaries of a normal dance class to incorporate fitness elements so your participants will get a great quads workout as well as having a lot of fun and enjoying the rhythm and beats of the music.
The moves
- Begin with your legs apart, and start with your right leg, stomping into the ground and clapping your left hand onto your right elbow. Repeat this on the same leg, but with the right hand now clapping onto your left elbow. Then repeat the whole move, this time stomping the other leg. This move is really grounded and is inspired by the Maori Haka.
- Moving on from here, maintain the low, grounded position and punch down twice with the fists before pulsing the chest twice.
- Staying low in a squat position, tap the thighs with your palms as they brush across them in a circular motion, letting the arms float out to one side before coming back to the centre
- Wave each arm to the side in an ‘Octopus arms’ movement, raising the body to standing position.
- Perform 4 heel bounces and on the last heel bounce bend over and clap the hands.
- Slide the right hand up the forearm and allow the torso to rotate as the elbow lifts and leads behind the back, then repeat on the other side, performing twice on each side.
- Jump with your legs apart, landing in a squat position and slap the ground with both hands.
- Stand up, then stomp ‘forward’ rhythmically 1 (right leg), 2 (left leg), 123 (pulsing tap-style movement) and repeat.
- Stomp to right hand side, clap, stomp, clap, then clap the hands together before gently clapping each hand against each thigh and then gently slapping both hands against the floor, before ending with both hands clapping together in front of you.
To break it down, I usually tell participants to come back to stomping really heavily, imagining that they have concrete in their shoes, before practising their clapping and slapping movements!
Enjoy your stomping – it’s a little bit ghetto, a little bit gangsta – and a whole lot of fun!
Alissa Hall
An instructor of numerous movement disciplines, from ballet and Pilates to freestyle and MMA, Alissa’s journey in fitness has most recently taken her overseas to learn and develop new styles and assist Madonna’s personal trainer in the development of the Addicted to Sweat program. She has represented Australia on the world stage for competitive aerobics. Alissa’s aim is to lead by example and keep innovating the group exercise industry.