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HELP! How Do I Get Back Into Dance Classes?

December 27, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

Photo courtesy of KCBalletMedia at
Photo courtesy of KCBalletMedia at https://www.flickr.com/photos/67555847@N06/

by Katie C. Sopoci Drake

Hey there. It has been a while, hasn’t it? Teaching, the day-job, kids, or just plain old life got in the way. Although you may have been showing others how to dance, practicing yoga, and even performing here and there, it’s not the same as taking class, so now you’re nervous as heck. Now, you don’t have any grand illusions of running off to audition for a national tour (been there, done that), but you wouldn’t mind brushing up on your technique, and making sure you can jump into the odd performance without tearing anything.

But here come the doubts. I don’t know where to go. All of my dance clothes are long gone. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up. I don’t even know what level I am anymore. I really don’t want to be in an “adult” class with 12-year-olds.

Before I give you the pep talk, first things first… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Adult Ballet Tagged With: 4dancers, adult ballet, Ballet, ballet class, chicago, dance, dance class, dance studio, dance teachers, katie sopoci drake, modern dance, teaching dance

Dance: Teaching Beyond Technique

May 2, 2014 by 4dancers

dancer posing upside down
Janet Neidhardt

by Janet Neidhardt

Dance is such an amazing medium and practice because it allows us to be challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a dance educator it is easy to feel successful (or unsuccessful) based on how well my students improve in their physical technique. Days when I see my students finally spot a turn or find their balance on one leg, I give myself a pat on the back because they finally got it! But what that physical accomplishment gives students is so much more than coordination. It provides for them a challenge to try, fail, try again, and succeed. At the end of the day what I really want my students to leave my class being able to do is feel confident and love their individuality a little bit more.

I recently received an amazing thank you letter from a senior student whom I have had the privilege of teaching dance to this school year. This letter did not say thank you for teaching me to do a perfect (insert any dance move/trick here) instead it was a thank you letter that talked about personal growth and discovery. My student wrote about making new friends in my class and what it felt like to be a part of a team. I often refer to our class as a team to help build a safe environment for risk taking.

The greatest section of the letter stated: “One piece of advice that I am always going to remember is you telling me not to judge myself based on peoples dance skills and focus on myself. This stuck with me because for a long time I always focused on other people and how to be like them. You taught me originality and to stop comparing myself to other people and I am thankful for that.”

This wonderful thank you letter was a great reminder to me that what my students leave my class with is so much more than new found physical ability. To be able to teach students self confidence, the ability to take chances, and to not give up when things are challenging is a wonderful gift. Dance offers the opportunity for students to learn these life lessons so easily because they embody movement challenges, emotional challenges, and internalize personal growth.

When I approach teaching movement, giving corrections, coaching performance, etc., I keep in mind how I go about doing these things because I know that my words hold great weight in effecting how my students feel about themselves and their abilities. I try to be encouraging and emphasize effort most of all. Yes, it is important that my students grow within their physical abilities, but I know that everyone will grow at different rates and what is most important to me is that they have fun and embrace the challenges posed to them and do not feel defeated.

We walk a thin line as teachers between challenging students and overwhelming them with difficult objectives. As teachers we too can get caught up in competition of who does it the best in class or whose class has better dancers. We must keep in mind that we set the tone for what is most important in our class, be it work ethic or something else.

It is essential, no matter if you teach in a studio or school, to always remember that as a dance educator we have the ability and responsibility to teach dance in a way that will strengthen our students’ characters. I have never had a student thank me for teaching them a pirouette or tricky movement combination but I have had many thank you’s regarding emotional self growth. I hope this inspires you to see yourself as more than a teacher of dance movement.

I know I will hold on to this thank you letter forever as a great reminder of what I can and should be teaching beyond technique.

Contributor Janet Neidhardt has been a dance educator for 10 years. She has taught modern, ballet, and jazz at various studios and schools on Chicago’s North Shore. She received her MA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and her BA in Communications with a Dance Minor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout her time in graduate school, Janet performed with Sidelong Dance Company based in Winston-Salem, NC.

Currently, Janet teaches dance at Loyola Academy High School in Wilmette, IL. She is the Director of Loyola Academy Dance Company B and the Brother Small Arts Guild, and choreographs for the Spring Dance Concert and school musical each year. Janet is very active within the Loyola Academy community leading student retreats and summer service trips. She regularly seeks out professional development opportunities to continue her own artistic growth. Recently, Janet performed with Keigwin and Company in the Chicago Dancing Festival 2012 and attended the Bates Dance Festival.

When she isn’t dancing, Janet enjoys teaching Pilates, practicing yoga, and running races around the city of Chicago.

 

Filed Under: 4teachers, Teaching Tips Tagged With: dance class, high school dance, teaching dance

Review – Dance Class 5: To Russia, With Love

September 26, 2013 by 4dancers

by Emily Kate Long

dance cartoonIn the fifth graphic story in the Papercutz “Dance Class” series, we follow dance friends Alia, Lucie, and Julie to St Petersburg, where they and the rest of Miss Anne’s students perform The Nutcracker with a group of Russian dancers. This book is as colorful, funny, and sweet as the first four “Dance Class” graphic novels.

While the Russia trip is the focus of the story, there’s plenty of humor at home before the girls leave. The dance dads have their day in Dance Class 5: Lucie’s dad performs a brilliant sissone ouverte while trying to save a batch of crepes, and Julie’s dad snores his way through a family trip to the ballet, to Mom’s great embarrassment.

Abroad, flirtatious Alia becomes frustrated with the Russian boys’ insensitivity…or is it just the language barrier?  “To Russia, With Love” closes with some casting surprises for Miss Anne before the curtain goes down and the students head home again.

Filed Under: Books & Magazines Tagged With: dance class, dance comic, papercutz

Dance: The Importance Of A Good Warm-Up

August 23, 2013 by 4dancers

Jan Dunn, MS
Jan Dunn, MS

by Jan Dunn, MS

Summer is drawing to a close, and I’m guessing at least some of you have already started back to school / dance class / rehearsals….and I would guess that you’re in good shape, because you’ve been reading the Dance Wellness column over the last year and a half, and you know to not let your dancing body de-condition over the summer, yes?

So now that a new season is starting – whether that means as a student or professional dancer – let’s talk about how important warm-up is–and what exactly is this anyway, and WHY is it important?

I remember a number of years ago, when my Denver Dance Medicine Medicine colleague, Sarah Graham, PT, and I were working backstage with a well-known international dance company, and were distressed to realize that 90% of the dancers went on-stage with virtually no warm-up before the show – and the company had many injuries that came as a result. It was a grim reminder of how important warm-up is for your dancing life.

Bottom line:  We warm-up to prepare our bodies safely for the dance activity to follow, and to avoid injury.

Let’s just start with the basics:

The primary goal of a warm-up is to increase your core internal body temperature by 1-2 degrees.  By doing this, you accomplish a number of good things:

-increase your respiration rate (breathing)

-increase the blood flow to your muscles (to fuel your dance movement!)

-increase your joint lubrication, for easier range of motion. Think of your joints as having oil (they do – it’s called “synovial fluid”), which, when cold, moves slowly and makes movement more difficult. Warming-up that fluid makes the joint move more easily and freely.  (Like your car on a cold winter morning–you want to warm it up first!)

-increase the speed of neural signal transmission from your brain to your muscles.

-focus your attention

Misc. points to realize about the warm-up: [Read more…]

Filed Under: conditioning, Dance Wellness Tagged With: dance class, dance wellness, jan dunn ms, muscles, stretching, warming up

Creating A Community In The Dance Studio

January 22, 2013 by 4dancers

by Janet Neidhardt

dancers on stage

Building a sense of community is one of the first things I do when I get a new class at the beginning of the school year. Throughout my time teaching dance I have discovered that my students feel they can be themselves most freely in class when they have trust in their peers to be accepting of them. I am constantly pushing my students to take risks in class, fall down or be goofy with movement, but they are hesitant when they feel insecure about what others will think of them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4teachers, Teaching Tips Tagged With: dance class, improvisation, teaching dance

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