A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance
If you are interested in Irish dance, you probably are already aware of what a Feis is, and you may have even attended or competed in a Feiseanna yourself. For the uninitiated, a Feis is basically an Irish culture festival. The dance competitions are one of the main components, and they are organized by level. Categories include beginner, novice and even adult, but they can be called by different names depending on where they are held… [Read more…]
Have you ever wondered how you learn best? I posed the question on an earlier post, but here is a “learning style inventory” that will tell you more about how your brain processes information.
So why is this important? [Read more…]
The Dance Critics Association (DCA) has been around since 1973 and its primary focus is to serve dance writers. It has approximately 300 members and they stretch across the United States, Europe and Asia. Each year the organization holds a conference in the spring or summer. Something interesting is the fact that the DCA has a scholarship fund that was created to help fund new writers who might not be able to attend the conference otherwise… [Read more…]
The dreaded audition. Whether you are trying out for a ballet company or hoping to get a spot in a broadway show, the process can be overwhelming. It gets a little bit better with time, but the butterflies never really go away for most people. Here are some great tips that will help… [Read more…]
From time to time on 4dancers we will offer a “teaching tip”. These short pieces strive to be practical and are designed to be put to use right away. We hope that you will find some useful ideas in this section. Today’s tip deals with giving corrections during class.
Correcting a student can be a touchy thing, but there are ways to go about it gently. Starting out with a compliment can help frame things so that a student is more receptive to hearing them. This works especially well with sensitive students. If you can stress something they are doing well, then correct the behavior you want to change, it can make a difference. This is such a tiny thing, but it works!
