Hip Hop Level 2  – Mighty M.C.’s

Hip Hop is a street style or urban style of dance that focuses on self-expression and movement that involves the whole body. Students will have fun while focusing on techniques of gliding, popping, breaking and whacking. Hip Hop II, is perfect for the beginning or advanced student who has the desire to participate in a less structured dance form which does not require knowledge or training in classical technique. Students without experience will be fine in this beginner dance class that is easy to navigate and allows for some freestyle movement, too.

With the instruction of the experienced Kevin “Kasper” Glasper, students have an opportunity to learn the newest and trendiest moves while building a foundation based on the history of Hip Hop. Learning Hip Hop will help your child in developing range of motion, body awareness, balance, and muscle strength. Hip Hop Dance is the perfect way to help a child come out of their shell and learn self-confidence because it allows the student to add their own personality into the dance.

Kevin “Kasper” Glasper is a local dancer with a national reputation. While dance festivals take him across the country to California, his love for this region keeps him rooted here in Northeast Tennessee where he teaches movement and dance, and is hired regularly as a choreographer. His repertoire includes jazz, ballet and hip hop, and it is his hip hop moves that has built his reputation.

“I bring hip hop with me wherever I go. What I mean by that, is that hip hop is about more than just the moves There’s five parts to it, part of it is the moves, it is also the history, the DJing, the MCing, and the graffiti art.” Kevin takes his work as a dancer seriously. More than a hobby, he says, dance can bring people together, that it is a universal language.

Glasper also points out there is much more to learning dance than just the moves. There are life skills being taught that will help them grow and mature. In dance and choreography, there is a process of active listening, always big in communication. There is listening and repeating back. He immediately knows if his students are listening when they repeat back the moves he teachers- or not. Critical thinking skills are combined with learning basic movement. Students learn a pattern, take it, then think about how to make it better and make it their own. Behavioral skills are in play, as student discover when it is the best time to add or take away a movement, the right time to ask questions, and when to defer to another dancer.

Glasper’s philosophy of teaching is that we all have a chance to make the world a better place. Or not. And we each have a special skill to do that. He believes his is dance. “And that’s what I am doing every time I teach it.”

As students take on the basics of Hip Hop and learn to move around, they will also be learning a choreographed dance that will have the opportunity to perform at the end of the semester in our student art show.

Hip Hop II, is usually offered each semester on Thursdays. However, class schedules and fees may vary. Please review the most current class catalog for specific detail and always feel free to call the McKinney Center to discuss what class is best suited for your child.