Comments on: Month by Month: January — Setting Goals

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:04:45 +0000

Hey Sarah! Thanks for sharing this on your blog and with your students. You’ve done a great job at “reblogging it” (For those unsure of blog etiquette, the preferred method would be to repost a small portion – something particularly relevant to you or your students and then just give a big shout out back here!)

Sarah, you may offer the pdf at your blog, if you like. Thanks for asking. Let me know how your students do with this!

By: Sarah Mason

Sarah Mason — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:39:55 +0000

Nichelle, thanks for this great resource. I’ve used it with all my upper level dancers. May I repost on my PAA blog?

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:44:09 +0000

Brianna, thanks so much for your comment!

I never would have thought of this from a gymnast’s perspective. Goals in ballet and dance can be a struggle for all dancers because the “checklist” for things to improve or attain is a complicated one. I think getting the kids to think critically about how the ballet exercises apply to their training is a great idea.

But this goes for dance teachers too! The big movement skills (the ones students are so desperate to attain – fouetté turns, triple pirouettes, grand jeté, etc.) are all made up of smaller building-block movements (tendu, grand battement, retiré, rond de jambe…). Plotting out their goals is a great way to harness their desire and motivation and help them see how it all connects… the big picture!

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:34:04 +0000

Thanks Catherine!

By: brianna

brianna — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:59:51 +0000

I teach dance to a group of competitive gymnasts who are used to setting specific goals, or rather, having goals set for them. It’s an inherent part of the system in gymnastics. I struggle to provide a reason behind the movement sometimes. In gymnastics, they work on progressions that are concrete and easy to understand, however, in ballet class, particularly at the barre, the movements can seem detached from their gymnastics skill set. I try to explain with every exercise how it is related to a gymnastics skill so that they will not loose motivation. However, explaing things can be difficult, especially to the younger gymnasts. For example, I explain how a degage needs to roll through the ball of the foot and how that process is ultimately connected to chasses on the floor, landings of jumps, and leap take off and landing. But the explanation sometimes is easily lost in translation. Maybe I could work on these goal sheets and have them list three barre exercises to help with their specific goal. Thanks!

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:23:00 +0000

This is great Nichelle! Goal setting is so important and you’ve outlined a great plan for it here.