ABOUT DISCO-FREESTYLE DANCE

Disco is a genre of music that was popular in the 1970s, though it has since enjoyed brief resurgences including the present day. The term is derived from discothèque (French for "library of phonograph records", but subsequently used as proper name for nightclubs in Paris). Disco also was a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time.

The Disco/Freestyle Faculty is one of the newest of all of the SADF's Faculties, only being formed in 2002. Initially headed by Motsamai Tsotetsi and now headed by Frans Sema whose responsibility is to steer the Faculty through its early development.

AIMS

The aims of the Faculty are to create a sound and safe technique for Disco/Freestyle, Hip-Hop, Rock & Roll and Street Dance while understanding the need to allow freedom of expression and musical interpretation and to educate teachers that dance within this Faculty is an ever-changing art form. Modern music, trends and different cultures will always give us new challenges and material to introduce to our dancers.

EXAMINATIONS

The basis of an excellent technique has helped to create a challenging examination system. Amateur Medal Tests follow the same structure as all the examinations within the Foundation and Competitive Faculty. Every age and standard is catered for, from the tender age of 6 through the elementary level, the star grades and into championships.

Professional examinations may be commenced at Student Teacher through to Fellowship. At all levels teachers are required to have a good knowledge of anatomy and mechanisms of the body with an understanding of dance preparations and techniques.

FOCUS AREAS

The Faculty will from 2014 participate in an Annual Congress offering a wide variety of lectures with new material suitable for class and competition work. These Congress workshops also provide teachers with modern trends and new ideas. Dancers are therefore encouraged to enroll for this programme and take part in Competitions held throughout the country and the South African Dance Championships held annually, including all exciting and prestigious events of the SADF.