New Year

Tonight, I'm back to teaching.  I'm sure there will be plenty to write about now.  Over the summer, there wasn't much to report (dance related).  I taught a few summer classes.  Some were at the studio with a new group of kids.  They were great & eager to learn.  I'm looking forward to teaching them this year.  I also taught a couple classes at other schools.  This past Monday, I taught an advanced contemporary class.  They were great too.  Maybe because I was new for them, but they didn't talk.  They corrected everything I said, right away.  They were a pleasure.  Which brings me to this blog post.  I realized that my regular students and I are too comfortable with each other.  Today, I'm coming up with a list of expectations for both them & me.

What I Expect from my Students
1. The word CAN'T is not to be spoken in my classroom.  Of course you can!  You may be having trouble with something or are working on it, but you never 'can't do something'.
2. Come to class ready to dance.  This includes walking in with a positive attitude, dressing appropriately (leotard, shoes, tights, etc), being engaged in every activity and having your hair up.  Make sure your hair stays up for the duration of the class.
3. Challenge yourself.  Push yourself more than you did the week before.  Stretch farther, kick higher, etc.  Set goals for yourself.  Maybe you want to be able to do a right split by December.  Maybe you want to do a triple pirouette in the recital.  Work hard & make it happen.
4.  Dance with an open mind.  If you don't like something, give it a chance.  Maybe it'll grow on you, maybe you'll learn something from it.  But don't whine about it.  Dance is about being a good actress without being able to speak.  If you really dislike whatever we're doing, use that time to practice your acting skills.  Convince me that you love it.
5. Have confidence in yourself.  If something is difficult, don't give up right away.  Work at it & it will come.  Maybe you'll get it by the end of class.  Maybe you'll get it next week.  Maybe you'll get it by the end of the year.  Imagine your satisfaction if you've been working on something since September and you finally get it in June.
6. Be respectful of your teacher, yourself & your classmates.  Everyone is here for the same reason.  They love to dance and want to be better.  Encourage your friends.  Clap when someone tries, does something well, at the end of class, etc.  Clapping at the end of class lets your teacher know that you appreciate their time and dedication.
7. Pay attention.  Don't let the teacher give the same correction more than once.  Even if the teacher is not talking directly to you, she may be saying something that will help you.  If she told Susie to point her toes during a leap, make sure that your toes are pointed when it's your turn. 
8. Remember, we are here to dance.  Keep talking to a minimum & relevant.  If you really want to tell me about Grandma Meme's surprise birthday party, send me a message on facebook.  I do care about your new puppy & would love to see pictures, but not while I'm trying to dance.
9. Come to class.  You can't learn and excel if you're not in class.  In fact, you regress.  Missing a week, makes that split you've been working on take that much longer to attain.  Expecting the teacher to repeat what was taught while you were absent is disrespectful to your classmates that were present.
10. Be ready to start class on time.  Warm up is a big deal.  You will be capable of achieving more in class when your body is properly stretched.  Plan to arrive at the studio before your class begins so that you can pre-stretch & talk with your friends before class.  If you must arrive late, come into the class quietly & stretch on your own out of the way.
11. Practice.  Practice at home, while your waiting for the bus, standing in line at the grocery store, etc.  Show or teach your non-dancing friends what you've been doing.  Keep a notebook on how to do a step, any corrections you've received & the counts/steps to a dance.
12. Try something new.  Take advantage of the class coupons.  Being a versatile dancer makes you a stronger dancer all around.  Attend a dance convention.  It's so exciting to be able to take a class from a famous dancer/choreographer and be surrounded by a ton of other dancers that share the same passion as you.  Maybe it'll be the inspiration that you need.
13.  Take corrections well & try to fix it immediately. Ask questions if you need clarification.  Remember & apply the correction forever and ever.  Please understand that if you receive a correction, it's not because the teacher is picking on you or that you aren't a good dancer.  Even professional dancers get corrected (see SYTYCD).  Corrections are intended to make you a better dancer.  No one is perfect, but we can try.
14. If something happens in class that you weren't happy with, don't take it personally.  Reflect on any mistake or correction, and try to do better in the next class.  If you are still upset about something, don't go grumbling to mom.  Be a mature young adult & see your teacher at the end of class to ask when's a good time to speak with her.  In between classes, is not a good time.
15. Be a positive role model.  The younger dancers at the school look up to you.  They want to be and dance like you.  Keep that in mind when you have any contact with them.  They absorb your language, energy and attitude.
16. Never roll your eyes, sigh, sit or lean during class.  It shows the teacher that you aren't interested in the class or becoming a better dancer. 
17.  When doing a combination across the floor, the next group is expected to start after the 1st group completes one set of the combination (unless told otherwise).  Keep the line moving.
18. If your group is sent back to try the combination again, walk around the sides of the room so that you are not in the way of other dancers.
19.  If there is a time when you are waiting for your turn, practice something on your own.
20.  If the teacher asks a question, reply.  If you have a question, ask it.  There's probably other classmates that have the same question & could benefit from the response.  Don't just nod if you really don't understand what to do.
21. If a teacher asks you to do something that is different from what you are used to, it does not make either way wrong.  It is just different.  Be grateful of learning another variation of something you are already familiar with.
22.  Keep your body healthy.  Eat properly.  Stay in shape.  Nurse injuries appropriately.
23. Do not gossip.  It's not fair to judge.  If you have a concern about anything dance related (a student, a teacher, the school, etc), please speak to me (or Miss Sharon) privately.
24. Dancers need to be strong.  Strengthening exercises are not meant to be a punishment or torturous.  They are necessary to obtain strong muscles needed for more advanced movements.

What My students can Expect from Me:
1. I am here to teach you to be a better dancer.  I will give you encouragement, corrections, praise and discipline.
2. Commitment.  I will give each class 100%.  I want you to be better dancers.  I want you to learn.  I want you to try harder.  I want you to reach your goals.  This will be my focus for the entire class and year.
3. Reliability.  I will be in class every week, ready to teach.  Occasionally, something may come up where I will not be in.  In that case, the class will be covered by another teacher.
4. I will challenge you in every class.  Material will be presented that is level appropriate & challenging for every student in the class.  Students will be encouraged to aim for perfection.  If I notice something is too easy for you, I will find a way to make it harder.
5. I do not play favorites.  I care about everyone's development as a dancer equally.  If you notice that another dancer got a special part in a dance or was chosen for something, it is because they deserved it.  They must have worked extra hard or improved a lot.  It is not because the teacher likes that dancer better than you.  Be honest with yourself to determine why that dancer was chosen.
6. I will take the time to answer questions & explain how/why it is done this way.
7. I will try to expose each class to different styles & techniques to present material in a different light.

I realize my list is so much shorter than theirs.  I'll add more soon.

Affirmations

I like when I can find great quotes or affirmations that relate to dance. Here are some that I like.

Football coach Vince Lombardi’s quote, “Inches make champions”.

I like Michael Jordan's quote: “Some people wish it would happen, some hope it will happen, and some make it happen.” I ask my students what they are doing right now to make themselves better dancers.

If you are not planning to succeed, you will fail.

Find your balance.

French Not Spoken Here

I love this lady. I always look forward to reading articles from her. Glad to hear she's on the same page as me. Read on for a chuckle.

French Not Spoken Here

Email

Over the summer, I've been teaching a beginner lyric class. These girls are about 10. One of the students is new to the school & hasn't danced in a couple of years. The director of the school just forwarded me an email from the new girls mom. (Names have been changed)

Dear Director,

I'm not sure if Mary should continue the Lyric Class because at Thursday's class she injured her neck slightly from one of the fast moves the teacher (Me) taught that requires a fast circular motion of the head. -- (We were just standing in 2nd, doing a 1/2 head circle)

Her neck hurt quite a bit that night and so much the next day that I ended up taking her to a chiropractor who diagnosed a muscle spasm which was affecting one of the vertabrae in the neck. -- Oh, brother

Thankfully, it seems to have resolved after that treatment. I'm not used to Mary having injuries from dance class - she was in a ballet school for 6 years with not a single injury...... (the girl is 9 maybe 10. She hasn't danced in 2 years. What could they possibly do in creative movement where she might get injured.)

I know she has been away from dance for two years and that may have something to do with it, but I was not aware that the Lyric Class involved quite a few fast and somewhat "jerky" movements. She also finds the stretching exercises involving trying to do a "split" straining - to the point where she thought she might "pull" one of those groin muscles, too...(She is not very flexible right now.) --- hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Stretching isn't supposed to be straining?

I don't know what to do - I don't want to worry about her getting injured anymore. She does like the class, but maybe it's just not right for her. I don't know how you ( & the teacher) can safeguard her against getting injured, and I don't need that worry.


Oh boy! That's all I have to say.

Summer Classes

Tuesday was my first class since the recital. I'm only teaching one summer class & it's a beginner lyric class. God, am I sore though. It's been about a month since I last danced, you might think it'd been a year.

The kids were great though. There's six girls in the class, but only five were there. One of them is new to the school and the other four were students of Miss C (teacher of the younger ones). I would say they're around age 10 (give or take... mostly take). They were all well behaved, eager to learn and willing to try anything. I love that. It's so nice to have students that want to learn rather than ones that want to complain.

Their next class is tonight. I hope it's more of the same.

They listen!

Yesterday was a miraculous day. While I was teaching my jazz class (they are 3 levels from the advanced class & mostly 8th graders), three of my students from the advanced class came in early to practice their own dances.

When it's really close to recital time, I like to have anyone that's watching give the dance a grade. It works like this: they start with 100 points. Every time the dancers make a mistake, they lose one point. I like this because it makes the dancers work harder the next time to improve their grade and it keeps the onlookers involved and observant. They are also welcome to give corrections if they'd like.

During the jazz class, I had them take turns showing their dance with the few advanced girls. The advanced girls were full of corrections. Everything that popped out of their mouth were things that they are VERY guilty of all the time. Advanced Girl #1- 'Make sure when you land out of a leap, you don't sound like an elephant.' Advanced Girl #2 (correcting her younger sister)- 'Don't let your hands turn into claws.' Advanced Girl #3- 'No floppy feet!'

What???? Are there parrots in here? I've been giving these same corrections to the advanced girls for the past five years. It's nice to know they listen. It would be even better if they applied their own corrections. Lets see what happens tonight.

The Longest Rehearsal Ever

This past Saturday, the studio held a 3 part rehearsal. Part 1- Rama Lama from 12:30-1:30pm. This involves the Thursday advanced jazz class and the Wednesday jazz class (who are 1 level below the advanced class). Part 2- Opener from 1:30-3pm. This involves the top 3 levels of tap. It's the same dance every year with minor changes. Part 3- Finale from 3-5:30pm. This involves the top 4 tap classes as well as some jazz dancers.

Rama Lama- This is the first and last time I will combine these classes together to try and make a huge cool dance. The lack of effort is disgusting. Besides that, I accomplished what I needed to during that hour.

Opener- This was fine.

Finale- Coming into this rehearsal, this was the plan: my choreography partner was supposed to meet with the rest of the faculty to teach them the teacher section of the dance, while I gave all the students arm movements and transitions to do in the background. Then we'd clean, clean, clean & everything would be great. That's not what happened.

We ran the entire finale once. The director walked in at the very end, where it's the messiest and flipped out. 'Why aren't their spots written down?' Really? These are mostly high school students and you want me to waste time during the one rehearsal a month to write down where they stand at every point of this eight minute dance. You've got to be kidding me! Especially, when at every rehearsal one of the 50+ dancers drop out. Why do I sign up for this? This lady has lost her mind. She ended up wasting the rest of the rehearsal writing down spots and moving them based on height. Then she'd move them back because the color of their costume is different than the person next to them. Ughhh! Leave me alone and let me do my job! I've thought of this already & it just doesn't work. I hate you!