Perhaps the single most important part of any lesson plan concerning dance is the element of self-awareness and body placement. Because dance is essentially a series of movements that come together to form choreographies, a firm knowledge of body positioning, placement and function is needed. Include explanations of a dancer's center of gravity as well as the importance of using senses and sounds in your lesson plan. Your lesson plan should also include breathing exercises and contraction/expansion exercises.
Understanding space is important for two reasons: A dancer must learn to use his body to fill the space allotted to him by a choreographer, and the use of space is essential to the visual presentation of any dance piece. Include a variety of exercises that teach your dance students about shape within space, including the shapes their bodies can make as well as shapes that a pattern of dancers can make.
While it is sometimes said that the element of time is less important in modern dance because of the lack of rhythmic music when compared with other dance styles such as ballet or jazz, this is not the case. Tempo exists not only within music, but also within a dancer's steps. Understanding tempo and time are paramount to a dancer's education. Include exercises that teach tempo in relation to music as well as tempo in relation to the steps of other dancers in your lesson plan.
While partnering is not a part of every style of dance and not every choreographer will choose to incorporate it, a dancer's relationship with another dancer is an important element to understand. Because partnering is an element of dance that relies on the others (self-awareness, space and tempo) to be successful, it should be included only as a final step of a lesson plan for the elements of dance. Include theoretical as well as practical exercises using partnering in your lesson plan.