A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance
Do you know how you should approach a Generation X-aged classroom? What about one that is filled with Millenials? I came across a resource that discusses this idea, and it can be of value for those who teach dance. After all, not every generation appreciates the same approach.
I found that the comments about Gen X’ers fit me perfectly. Very interesting!
When I was a child, my dance teacher did something wonderful–she had us reverse combinations. Most of the time she would do this with small jumps, and it really made us think quickly. At first it was very hard, but after a while, I began to understand how to break things down into pieces and do them in reverse.
This helped prepare me for complex combinations later in my career. I was always able to pick things up fairly quickly, and I truly think that this is one of the reasons why.
One caveat–don’t do this with beginning students. They have enough work to do in terms of doing things properly. Reversing combinations is something best left for intermediate and advanced classes.
I had been teaching already for about ten years when I realized something very important…let me go back and tell you how it all came about…
I was 29 years old and was getting ready to start my latest ballet class for 3 and 4 year olds. We were all sitting on the ground in a circle, learning names. A little uncomfortable, I uncrossed my legs and crossed them the other way.
Every single little girl there did the exact same thing.
That’s when it hit me–the power of modeling behavior with kids that age is tremendous. They mimic what you do. I had been trying hard to come up with explanations in bite-sized words that I thought the children would understand.
Turns out all I had to do–was do it.
Now this isn’t to say that you should not teach verbally. You should. But never underestimate the power of what you are doing. This includes simple things such as standing up straight and walking lightly.
Remember…those little eyes are taking it all in…
If you are a dance teacher working at a high school or college, you may want to consider bringing in a guest instructor for your class. Guest teachers can help bring some depth to your course and keep students interested. In addition, they can give you a bit of a break…
If you are going to do this type of thing, be sure you have some bases covered. Check with the administration and see what requirements they have, and make sure that you cover the following with your guest teacher prior to class:
Be sure to get contact information for the instructor, such as a cell phone they can be reached at and an e-mail so that you can remind them about the class a day or two before hand. (It is also nice to send a link to directions if you can, along with your cell phone and the school’s telephone number in case they get lost or can’t get inside.)
Anyone have any tips to add?
Teaching dance truly is an art form in and of itself. Besides obvious things such as creating combinations and dealing with any disciplinary issues that arise, you will also need to learn how to pace a class properly.
For example, you’ll to learn how to run the class so that you’re communicating information to the students, but you also want to be sure their muscles don’t get cold while you are talking. There is a fine line between giving corrections and explaining steps and talking too much.
Another pacing issue has to do with how much time you spend on a combination. You will want to do it enough so that the students feel like they are getting it down to the finer points, but not so many times that they are bored with it.
There is no magic number for these things–the point is, you need to be aware of them. Simply thinking about how you are pacing the class will go a long way toward avoiding these problems. Watch your students. Are they shifting around and looking “antsy”? If so, you may be losing them. Or their muscles may be losing warmth.
One great way to get a feel for how to perfect this skill is to watch teachers who have been around for a while. They tend to pace things quite naturally. They have learned over time how to structure the class in the most effective way and how to get information across effieciently.
The good news is that once you begin to get a handle on this issue, you will need to think about it less and less over time.