© 2020, Written by Dani Nobrega, MA. Property of The World Groove Movement™Part 1: Introduction and Grooving children ages 4-6

The Groove Method® Facilitator Training The power of permission and the art of facilitation (part 2)

©2020, Property of The World Groove Movement™

The design is the essence of the experience. It is the decoration, the style, the flavor and experience you want to create.

We use the Power of Permission to • Create powerful connections. • Help participants give themselves permission to tune into their own innate wisdom, be

AUTHENTIC and move confidently in their own way. • Cultivate and inspire WHOLE-SELF INTEGRATION

• mind, body, heart, soul, expression, personality, feelings and emotions.

Facilitation is all about the Design…

Facilitator: “A helper and enabler whose goal it is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance! The Facilitator's job is to support everyone to do their best […]. It is critical to the Facilitator's role to have the knowledge and skill to be able to intervene in a way that adds to the group's creativity rather than taking away from it.” (REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facilitator

Groove is all about style & essence…Getting your participants into the style and essence of the music keeps our simple approach to movement interesting and delicious.

You’ll need to expose yourself to a variety of genres and practice embodying different forms of movement. Be sure to review all the style videos on the Groove Academy resources and learn simple techniques and associated words to inspire your participants to express the style and essence.

Here are some examples:

Hip hop: Raw, hard, attitude, gritty, strong, sharp, smooth

Funk: Personality, attitude, add elbows, knees and head, bouncy, funky

Sexy: Confident, burlesque, sensual, sassy, flirty, stick out different body parts, touch yourself

House: Energetic, bouncy, happy, creative feet, flow

RnB: Smooth, relaxed, chill, soulful, confident

What it’s like to be a new Groover…

Although we teach simple movement, because we invite creative self-expression, grooving can be challenging. As facilitators, we have to keep this in mind and remember our job is to provide a safe space for our participants to move past their fears.

What is it that stops people from dancing/moving authentically?

FEAR False Evidence Appearing Real

The fear of humiliation restricts us from expressing ourselves authentically. Who knows what is best for someone else? The greatest gift you can give someone is the space to go inward and discover the guru within. How do you get someone to move past this irrational fear?

The Power of Permission

The most important part of your job as a Groove Facilitator is to eliminate fear and judgement from the dance experience. It can be uncomfortable to express oneself freely and creatively because we are so used to following and trying to “get it right.”

Guiding one to tune into one’s own authenticity, meaning; the degree to which one is TRUE to one’s own personality, spirit or character despite external pressures, requires on behalf of the facilitator, your presence, intuition and key facilitator tools we will explore and later, put into practice….

“In worrying about what other people are thinking about you and trying to conform to what other people define as acceptable (and often-times your own standards/perceptions), you are exhausting yourself trying to be

someone you are not. Set your mind free of judgments of yourself and release worry about what other people think. Find your own unique way of connecting to and expressing who YOU are!”

~Misty Tripoli

Tools of Permission

1. The 5 Universal Groove Truths

2. Observation

3. Demonstration

4. You!

5. Voice

6. Pathways of Communication

We use the following tools to inspire folks to move past this irrational fear (we all have to certain degrees) and embrace their own unique style.

Let’s take a closer look at each of them…

The 5 Universal Groove Truths

These are simple yet profound truths that we use to help people give themselves permission. We use these when we observe restriction. If someone is afraid or limiting themselves because they feel judged or think someone is watching them.

1. Nobody truly cares what you look like (and if they do, it’s their problem).

2. Your way is the right way! When you do it your way, you can’t get it wrong.

3. You are Unique, you SHOULD look different!Unique: Being the only one; without like or equal; very remarkable or unusual

4. No one can do it for you.

5. You don’t understand something until you have practiced and applied it.

Observation

Everything you say is based on what you see or don’t see… Observation is the primary skill you learn. Observation is a skill or a muscle that has to be developed. Most people who teach don’t actually observe, they just teach and deliver information, but may not be aware if what they are delivering or saying is relevant in that moment. If you know what your participants need, by observing, you will know the appropriate tool to use to assist them in their success of whatever you are trying to accomplish in that moment.

Some questions to consider: What is their perceived level of comfort and confidence? Can they understand you? Are they reacting or responding to what you are saying? Are they dancing? What do they need to hear or see to assist them in DANCING fully? Are they connected to the music and unified with the group? What do they need to hear or see to assist them in connecting to the style and feel of the music?

Demonstration

We use two forms of demonstration in Groove…

We first demonstrate the move we'd like the group to unify in and typically this form of demonstration is “low key” (not over the top or intimidating!). Enough to get the group united.

The second form of demonstration is to show participants what is possible and the essence of whatever you are asking for. If the song requires “drama” for instance, you must be willing to show what dramatic looks like, in your own way. You have to be willing to do EVERYTHING you ask them to do and then some! Keep this in mind when building your playlist and only bring content to your class you feel comfortable using. There’s endless Groove content so you can always keep growing and adding different styles and genres to your movement repertoire. Keep in mind, we aren’t supposed to be good at everything and it is a journey!

Share your uniqueness!Part of facilitating a delicious dance experience for our participants is to show up authentic and sharing your own unique personality with them. Your personality, character and essence: Be yourself, be natural, use your personality, your jokes, your quirks and things that make you awesomely YOU. Your participants come to Groove, but they also come because of YOU! Let them enjoy YOU. BE YOU on purpose! Remember it’s great to be inspired by other Groove facilitators and to draw from them, but you want to make sure what you’re saying comes authentically from your heart.

Your voice is a powerful tool that shapes the experience. Use your VOICE in a way that makes sense with the music. Confidence and projection are necessary to command the space and make things clear for your participants. It should sound natural and strong. Your voice should also match the essence of the music or the experience you’re wanting to create. For instance, your voice during a slow delicious warm up should be calm, whereas an upbeat cardio punching track would require more energy and intensity. Keep this in mind as you’re practicing your Grooves.

Pathways of Communication

K.I.S.S Communication: Keep it stupidly simple! Here are some guidelines… • Tangible VS. Conceptual – We keep things tangible, applicable and real! • Call things what they are. • Say what you mean and mean what you say. • Do not say more than you need to, use as few words as possible. • Monitor yourself – What actually needs to be said and what do you want to hear yourself say. • Speak LOUD AND CLEAR so you can be heard and understood. • Speak in an authentic NATURAL voice – how would you like to be talked to? What do you sound like?

Here are some sample pathways… • Cueing Anything said or done, that is followed by a specific line or action. Examples: “Check it out over here!”, “Get ready for the next move” • Commanding To issue an order or orders. Example: “Put the rhythm in your feet 12, 123…12, 123” • Coaching and words of encouragement To give instruction or advice in the capacity of a coach. Examples: “Oh yeah, looking good everybody!”, ”Great job, now show me what it looks like when you add your arms!”

Pathways of Communication, continued…• Ask Questions: Invite and/or Suggest The act of enticing or attracting; allurement. Examples: “I dare you to touch the wall!”, “Have you tried going backwards?” “What other body parts can you include in your movement?” “Can you add a little more drama?”

• Educating with good information. We use good, practical, SIMPLE information to help educate and inspire our participants to go deeper, try new things and challenge themselves to explore the unlimited possibilities.When someone has a good intelligent reason to do something, they will typically be more willing to try it if it makes sense! For example, “If you want to build more strength in your legs, try getting lower.” “Challenge yourself to get down on the ground and back up so we keep building these capacities as we get older.”

• Enhancements Enhancements deepen the experience without changing what they are already doing or making them “think”. Example: “Let the music inspire you!” “Add more breath to what you are doing.” “Make it feel really good in your body.”

• Silence Silence is POWERFUL. We don’t always have to fill the space with our voice. Once you observe your participants are dancing, let them dance and enjoy the music. The more you facilitate the same people you will notice, you will have to say less and less.