Intervention Summary
Task Analysis, Activity Analysis, & Modification (TAAAM) – Short Form
Name of activity: Cha-Cha Slide
Type of modality: Dance Activity
Type of play / Shared CooperativeInteraction pattern / Intra-group
# of participants required / Varies
Equipment/supplies / Cha-Cha Slide music, music player
Facilities required/environment / Room, gym, dance floor, or any open area where participants have enough room to dance
Precautions / The Cha-Cha slide requires a lot of physical activity, so the therapist would want to make sure that the clients are properly hydrated, and are in clothing that would be comfortable to dance in for minutes at a time. The therapist would want to make sure that the clients that are chosen to participate were appropriate in maturity, self-control, and able to socialize/interact with one another properly.
Activity Instructions
(what the therapist needs to do to facilitate the activity)
1. Therapist to initiate the activity with the clients by explaining what the dance is.
2. Instruct clients to stand in the room with enough space between one another to have room to move/dance.
3. Go through a walk-through of the steps/dance moves with the clients before playing the music and beginning the activity.
4. Instruct the clients on how to perform specific steps/moves that are called out by Mr. C if they require assistance (Ex. “to the left now,” “take it back now,” “one hop this time,” “right foot let’s stomp,” “turn it out,” “cha-cha now,” “clap,” “criss-cross,” “slide to the left,” “slide to the right,” “how low can you go,” “bring it to the top,” “hands on your knees,” “reverse,” “Charlie brown,” or to “freeze.”).
5. Inform clients that during the song, they will hear Mr. C calling out steps to guide them so it is not a big deal if they do not have the steps memorized.
6. Make sure all clients are standing facing the same direction before starting the dance.
7. Ensure that all clients are spaced a few feet apart from one another so that the clients do not collide into one another while dancing.
8. Take out the music player and select “Cha-Cha Slide.”
9. Press play on the music player to play the song.
10. Perform the dance alongside the clients.
11. Ask the clients if they want to attempt to dance again after it ends.
12. Play the song.
13. Dance to the Cha-Cha Slide again.
Task Analysis
(what the client needs to do to perform the activity)
1. Make sure are dressed in comfortable clothing and proper footwear to dance.
2. Walk to the dance floor or area that the Cha-Cha Slide dance is being performed.
3. Separate self from other dancers to create open space to dance without bumping into one another.
4. Pay attention to the therapist when the RT goes through a demonstration of some of the dance moves.
5. Ask questions prior to the start of the dance if client has trouble performing or understanding some of the dance moves.
6. Practice the dance moves prior to the beginning of the actual dance.
7. Get ready to perform the dance when the therapist informs all the clients that he/she is going to press play to start the song.
8. Listen to Mr. C during the song, because he calls out the steps to guide the dancers during the song.
9. Start the dance by clapping hands.
10. Slide to the left 2 or 3 feet (when directed). [“slide to the left,” or “to the left”]
11. Take a step back (when directed). [“take it back now ya’ll”]
12. Hop forward with both feet (when directed). [“one hop this time”]
13. Stomp on the ground with the right foot (when directed). [“right foot let’s stomp,”]
14. Stomp on the ground with the left foot (when directed). [“left foot let’s stomp”]
15. When Mr. C says “cha-cha real smooth,” client can either choose to do a dance where he/she crosses the right foot over the left, steps back with the right foot, then steps forward with the left foot known simply as a “jazz square,” or can perform a shimmy by shaking the body, or whatever quick dance the client feels comfortable doing.
16. When the lyrics say “turn it out,” all clients who are dancing rotate 90 degrees to dance facing that direction (will do multiple times throughout the dance).
17. Slide to the right 2 or 3 feet (when directed). [“slide to the right,” or “to the right now”]
18. Stomp on the ground twice with right/left foot (when directed). [“right foot two stomps,” or “left foot two stomps”]
19. When Mr. C says “criss-cross!” client should- jump both feet out, jump and cross right over left, jump both feet out, and then jump both feet back together.
20. Take two hops forward with both feet (when directed). [“two hops this time!”]
21. When Mr. C says “hands on your knees!” client should have his/her hands crossing from knee-to-knee, while bending his/her knees and bouncing to the beat.
22. Take five hops forward with both feet (when directed). [“five hops this time!”]
23. When Mr. C calls out “freeze!” client should stop where they are and strike a pose.
24. When Mr. C calls out “how low can you go?” client should lean back toward the floor, bending down as low as one can.
25. Mr. C will call out “bring it to the top” and the client should bring themselves up to a standing position, and wave his/her arms above their head as if reaching for the ceiling.
26. Perform the previous dance move (in reverse order) that the client just did when Mr. C calls out “reverse, reverse!”
27. Rock forward on right foot while kicking the left foot back when Mr. C calls out “Charlie Brown” (it is similar to a “running-man” step).
28. End the dance by doing whatever freestyle dance the client wishes to when Mr. C is closing out the song.
Activity Analysis
(inherent skills within the activity)
Category / Skills
Primary body position / Standing up, dancing, and moving the body in the directed movement said in the song’s lyrics.
Parts of the body required / All parts of the body are involved as there are many actions during the dance that require the use of many body parts (Ex. Sliding to the left or ride with legs, hopping/jumping that involves many body parts, clapping hands which involves the upper extremities).
Directionality / Left/right, up/down, around, person/object, person/person.
Physical skills / AROM: Neck/head, upper extremities, trunk, and lower extremities. Balance: dynamic standing, static standing. Bending, bilateral integration, cardiovascular endurance, crossing midline, fine motor coordination, flexibility, grasp: scissor grasp, gross muscle coordination, hitting, hopping, jumping, motor control, moving around obstacles, moving on different surfaces, muscle strength, picking up, pushing with upper extremities, pushing with lower extremities, putting down objects, releasing, speed, standing, turning or twisting hands or arms, visual-motor integration, and walking short distances.
Cognitive skills / Arousal/alertness, attention: alternating attention, divided attention, focused attention, sharing attention, sustaining attention, calculation, categorization, cognitive flexibility, concentration, decision making: simple, initiation, insight, intellectual knowledge, judgment, memory: long term, memory: short term, orientation: person, place, time, organization and planning, problem solving: simple, reading, recognition: number, sequencing, strategy, abstract and concrete thought, and time management.
Sensory abilities / Auditory function, tactile function, and visual function.
Communication/language skills / Reception to spoken language, reception of body language, reception of signs and symbols, expression of spoken language, producing body language, and producing signs and symbols.
Social and interpersonal skills / Conversation: starting a conversation, conversation: sustaining a conversation, handling criticism, heterogeneity, homogeneity, interpersonal interactions, maintaining social space, physical contact, relating with equals, relating with persons in authority, regulating behavior, relationships: forming relationships, self-expression, social conduct, social cues, showing respect & warmth, and showing tolerance.
Self-care skills / Caring for skin, teeth, hair, nails, etc. dressing, and hygiene.
Psychological/emotional (possible) / Growth & development, hope/optimism, inner strength, joy, positive emotions of escalation, positive emotions of well-being, sense of competence/mastery, sense of connection & belonging, and sense of freedom/autonomy.
Modification
(to meet the therapeutic needs of the client)
How could you simplify the activity? / RT to decide to perform a slow walk-through of the entire song prior to start of dance, RT to have more experienced dancers demonstrate dance moves with other inexperienced dancers off to the side to watch, individually go through the dance with each client, have clients select their own partner to work on the dance with and then return to the group to perform the dance together, and have clients separated into groups to simplify the dance and work on it alongside one another.
How could you make the activity more complex? / A way a therapist could make the dance more complex would to simply increase the speed of the song so it is playing faster, the therapist could pause the song periodically and have those who are dancing fill in what steps/moves are next, the therapist could change up the sequence of the dance (ie. Fast-forward or rewind the song to random spots), add more movements to some of the dance moves to make them more complex, and change the dance to position the clients to be facing all different directions so that the clients would be performing the dance all over the place.
Any Additional Comments
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