Coordination in formation dancesport at beginner level

Formation Dancesport is a very complex competitive event due to the presence of the 8-couple group that performs choreography altogether. This involves various changes of formations and dance styles in both Standard and Latin sections. In these conditions, the demands on coordination components are particular and specific. At beginner level, the development through exercise systems adapted to formation dance becomes a necessity. In this paper, we aimed to conduct an intentional pedagogical experiment to see how a number of coordination components could be developed in beginner children. We took into account general coordination, rhythmicity, balance and spatial-temporal orientation for which specific tests were applied, ending with initial and final assessments. The research was carried out at the Stop & Dance Studio in Bucharest, sector 1, over a 4-month period, with 3 training sessions per week. The study involved 16 subjects, 8 boys and 8 girls, aged 10 to 13 years. The research hypothesis is that, by applying a special exercise programme adapted to formation dancesport, the coordination components can develop, and the training methodology can be improved. For each targeted coordination type, sets of exercises adapted to formation dancesport were applied in each lesson, directly working with the entire group of dancers. The results obtained in the final assessment compared to the initial assessment were better for all tests, the level of statistical significance being established with the Wilcoxon Test by calculating the Z-value.