Today we have a guest post from Tricia Gomez, the lady behind “Dance in a Box”…

1.      How did the idea for Dance in a Box come about, and what is it?

In 2004 I got diagnosed with Lupus and I was teaching 21 classes a week.  I had to cut back and was having trouble finding teachers that could teach hip hop to kids as young as 3.  I had a very specific method and terminology that I used and I kept saying “I wish I had something with the steps on it that I could just give to the teachers and say ‘Here, teach these steps and make up a routine with them'”.  That’s how the idea of the hip hop choreography cards came about.

I started cataloging 10 years worth of material and, with the help of a student’s mom who was a graphic artist, we designed 100 cards. Each card has it’s own hip hop step on it, complete with pictures, a verbal description and modifications!  Hip Hop In a Box was the first choreography kit that we mass produced.  It had the 100 mix-and-match hip hop cards, a DVD showing how to do each step, an Instrumental music CD and the “Teaching Tips Workbook”.  It became so popular that teachers were asking for more steps.

We recently released 1-2-3 Dance, a 50 card kit!  At www.danceinabox.com, we also offer original music CD’s that help a teacher’s teach rhythm and explain how to count 8-counts and find the “1” beat.

The mission of Dance – In a Box is to create products that make teaching easy.  Hip Hop – In a Box and 1-2-3 Dance are so easy to use that teachers who are not hip hop “experts” are able to teach it to young children with confidence! [Read more…]