More Kid Concepts...

Have you ever taught anatomy to young dance students?

You might be thinking, “Why teach anatomy?”  “What will they learn and how will I teach it?”

Let’s answer these questions one at a time.

Why Teach Anatomy?

©Dave Wood Photography

Since dance is the art of motion, in order to become a proficient dancer one must understand how the body moves from the inside; how the muscles and bones work to leap, turn, kick, stretch and fold. A pretty sophisticated idea for a young dancer. Since learning is a layered experience, introducing  the concepts of anatomy now will allow them to build upon this foundation in the future. As a dancer learns how to plié before he can jump, so to must he understand that the knee and ankle joints allow him to bend his legs.

The more a child understands how her body functions, the more she can develop a sense of her whole body. This ties directly to performance. We have all seen dancers who perform steps but have no connection to what they are doing. Sometimes people say these  performers have no stage presence.  I say they have no body presence. They have no connection to their bodies.

How To Teach Anatomy

This is the fun part. Taking basic facts about bones and muscles, you can turn your dance studio/space into a dance exploratorium!

Simple Facts:

• There are 206 bones in the human body
• Muscles, by contracting and relaxing, are what allows bones to move
• The lungs supply the body with oxygen, and gets rid of carbon dioxide

Activity 1 – 206 Bones

What does 206 look like? A lot of public schools celebrate the 100th day of school. Sometimes kids are asked to bring in 100 paperclips, rubber bands, popsicle sticks, etc. so they can see what 100 looks like. Well, what does 206 look like? Have your students bring in 206 of something or have each child bring in a certain amount of cotton balls so the total will equal 206. The point is for the children to visualize how many bones they have in their body.

See if you can have the students do 206 of a certain movement, like a skip. Have the first student skip 20 times and tag the next student and so on until the class has skipped 206 times. Having them do 206 skips helps them connect to what 206 feels like.

Activity 2- Make a Muscle

Sitting on the floor in a circle, ask your students to show you their strong arm muscles. (They should all look like Popeye flexing their arms and squeezing their fists.) Have them tap their bicep muscles. Let them know the job of the bicep muscle is to move their arm bones. Have them shake out their arms and flex them again.

Now have them flex and extend their knees. Ask them to tap their quadriceps muscles. This is the muscle moving their leg bones. Repeat this several times. Now see if they can flex both their biceps and quadriceps muscles together.

Muscles move bones. Ask the students if they can move other bones with their muscles.

Lastly, have them squeeze every muscle in their bodies! l Let them know the more they use their muscles the stronger their muscles will  get and the faster and longer they will be able to move their bones!

Activity 3- I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff and I’ll Blow Your House Down

Sometimes it is hard to feel what your body is doing but you can see it. Hand out tissues or scarves to your students. Have them hold the tissue/scarf a few inches from their mouths and breathe in and then blow out. Notice what happens to the tissue. Why? You are taking in wonderful oxygen that enables you to breathe and you are sending out carbon dioxide that your body doesn’t need (but plants do!) Do it gently. Now blow hard.

Now dance the story of the 3 little pigs.  The three pigs dance together and build 3 houses. The first one is made of hay, very light and quick to build. They scoop the hay, toss, spin and skip, it is so easy to build.

The second one is made of sticks, its a little heavier and takes a little longer to build. They pass the sticks to each other, climb, connect, reach and fall and reach again.

The third house is made of bricks.  It takes lots of strength to build.  They take lots of deep breathes as they lift, push, pull, twist, reach, balance and climb.

Now the wolf comes. He takes one big breath inhaling in the oxygen and breathing out all the carbon dioxide and the house tumbles down. He goes to the next house and has to take two deep breathes and then the house falls down one stick at a time. Finally, he comes to the house of bricks. He takes a big breath and blows on the house. Again, and again he tries but nothing happens. His lungs are working really hard but the brick house is too strong.

He stomps away and the pigs celebrate with a dance!

What Do Students Take Away?

This is a great question to ask them.

I love to ask my students questions because this is how I learn about them, about myself and how to tailor my classes to reach them as effectively as possible. My guess, however, is that they will learn that there is more to their bodies then what they see in the mirror.  And that is an awesome thing!

Can you think of more ways to explore anatomy concepts with children?

© Stacey Pepper Schwartz for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Category: Blog, Featured, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Technique, Toolbox

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As teachers, we have the challenge of framing our corrections in a way that is concise, accurate, and effective. Certain catch phrases, quibbles and mantras have been told to us by our teachers, and, as we became teachers we use them in our turn.  I’ve been thinking a lot about correcting students and how effective some of the standard dance teacher vernacular really is.  One such correction is “Get up on your leg”

“Get up on your leg”…

Muscles involved in hip abduction

Teachers have a habit of saying this when students are “sinking” into their supporting leg while balanced on one leg. A lot of dancers do, in fact, demonstrate this, but is “get up on your leg” the best way to correct it?

When a dancer is supporting the body weight on one leg, either standing or en relevé, there is a tendency to release the gluteal muscles (maximus, medius and minimus) and abductors (tensor fasciae latae, piriformis, obturators, gemelli and sartorius). Whether this is due to laziness or lack of strength isn’t quite the point, but ultimately lax muscles that are meant to support the hip allow it to fall away from the midline and sink.

The big problem I have with saying “get up on your leg” is that students often overcompensate by raising their working hip.  Then you tell them to drop their hip, and they overcompensate by sinking into their supporting hip again.  Then you tell them to get up on their leg…. it’s a vicious cycle.

What To Do

Sinking in the hip is an error many student dancers (and, let’s face it, some professionals) experience that takes a while to correct, as it is likely the result of weak muscles in the ankle and hip (3) (specifically gluteus medius and minimus; tensor fascilae latae; and posterior tibialis, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus).

While some corrections are given due to negligence or laziness on the part of the dancer, if a student is continually being asked to get on their leg and simply can’t seem to maintain the proper alignment, try encouraging them to strengthen their abductors.  Though other muscle groups are implicated in a sinking hip, the abductors are not especially targeted by ballet technique, which makes them a likely culprit.  Working with the feet in a parallel position (by taking a jazz or modern class) can strengthen these muscles-especially exercises that extend the leg to the side in parallel.

Use a theraband wrapped around the legs, for dancers who can’t “get up on their leg”.  Although it is a trademark of dancers to walk through their daily lives in turnout, simply making it a point to walk in parallel can help keep these muscles active.  For dancers interested in Pilates, the hip abductor series is a great tool for this problem.

Related Injury

Weak hip abductors can also be implicated in a couple of common dance injuries. Runners with weak abductors experience increased knee abduction during the stance phase (which is essentially equivalent to dance positions placing the body weight on the supporting leg) (4).  In this case the femur is not stabilizing the hip and is not fully supported at the knee joint, causing abduction of the knee and the potential for the femur to rub against the patella (5). Patellofemoral stress syndrome has been also correlated with weak hip abductors as a result of this movement within the knee joint (2).

What To Say

So if “get on your leg” doesn’t work, what do you say to a dancer who sinks in her supporting hip?

Courtesy of Menomonee Club

As I’m sure you already know, it depends on the student.

Some students respond better to metaphors that will encourage them to activate the muscles of the hip and ankle:

“Drive your leg into the ground like you are mounted in cement…”

or to engage the gluts and lower abdominals:

“Lift the upper body and perch it on to of the legs like a bird resting on a thin branch…”

Some students might respond better to physical manipulation. Back up your adjustments with verbal cues:

“Lift the lower tummy; feel a pinch under your bottom; engage your hip and feel it wrap around to your back…”

What do YOU say to a student who sinks in her hip?

–

References:

1. Calais-Gemain, B. (1993). Anatomy of Movement. Seattle: Eastland Press.
2. Dierks, T. A., Manal, K. T., Hamill, I. S. (2008). Proximal and distal influences on hip and knee kinematics in runners with patellofemoral pain during a prolonged run. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 38, 448-456.
3. Grieg, V. (1994). Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Class. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Company.
4. Heinert, B. L., Kernozek, T. W., Greany, J. F. & Fater, D. C. (2008). Hip abductor weakness and lower extremity kinematics during running. J Sports Rehabil 17, 243-256.
5. Schamberger, W. (2002). The malalignment syndrome. Oxford: Churchill Livingstone, 344-346.

© Lauren Warnecke for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Technique, Terminology, Toolbox

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As mentioned yesterday on the blog, Dance Advantage welcomes Lauren Warnecke as a new contributor to this site. Her column Art Intercepts will provide tips for teaching ballet and modern dance technique, discuss injury prevention and dancer wellness, help you sift through current dance research about the body, motor-learning, and developmental psychology, and (as in the post below) cover Lauren’s journey through the Cecchetti method certification process.

Art Intercepts

Wendy is my friend, former college roommate and fellow dance major, and the quintessential ballet teacher. I’m not exactly sure how she roped me into the teacher’s certification program through the Cecchetti Council of America. I’m not teaching. I’m not dancing. Shucks, I had a ceremonial burning of my leotards a couple of years ago.*  I’m a barefoot dancer who got injured and can’t dance barefoot anymore. By whatever means, my deeply buried inner bunhead was revealed and after nearly 5 years away from dancing and a brief hiatus from teaching while I went to graduate school, last Friday morning I found myself standing in front of a committee of fierce ex-ballerinas in a black leotard, pink tights, and a hairnet.

What Wendy probably knew, but didn’t bother to tell me, is that this was actually the perfect move for me. I had been working on Art Intercepts throughout graduate school, but was otherwise so far removed from dance that everything I was thinking and writing about was, kinesthetically, in my head. Maybe this sounds a bit dramatic, but when I did that first plié it was like every plié I had ever done flashed before my eyes. I was back. Moreover, I was plié-ing with a fresh perspective and a newfound respect for ballet.

What is the Cecchetti Method?

Enrico Cecchetti is among the most influential historical figures in ballet. His method is analytical, systematic, and anatomically sound (given the knowledge of the time). He was Marius Petipa’s right-hand man at the Imperial Ballet and served as Ballet Master at Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. During his time at the Ballets Russes, Cecchetti established seven lesson plans (one for each day of the week) and by the end of the week the Cecchetti dancer had spanned the entire breadth of the ballet vocabulary.

Inspired by these lesson plans are seven graded syllabi created by the Cecchetti Council of America for students training in the Method in the United States. Each student must test out of his/her grade before moving on to the next one and each grade also has a corresponding teacher’s grade. The teachers must go through the same process as the students, standing in front of two tough broads from the Council, demonstrating the exercises in the syllabus and passing each grade before moving on to the next. The teachers’ exam is more comprehensive in the fact that you have to be able to demonstrate physically and verbally that you also can effectively teach the syllabus to students of the particular age range for that grade. I thought I knew ballet until I was standing in front of the examiners rambling on like a bubbling idiot searching for that one word they are looking for (like salient, or render, or rotation…).

What I’ve Learned:

I probably learned the most from the teachers around me. It’s great to have fresh energy, new analogies, and alternative approaches thrown at you. The two other teachers in my class are actively teaching beginners and so they see first-hand the common mistakes that students in this age group tend to make. I can benefit from the incredible attention to detail paid by the Cecchetti Method and from the meticulous nature of the placement of every centimeter of the body from the tip of the index finger to the pinky toe. It’s tempting to throw out the details and simply say “So what? Who cares if the toe or the heel leads down the back of the leg when closing from a retiré?” Apparently my examiners cared because I bombed this question big time.**

I learned the ins and outs of so many positions and movements and analyzed them in ways I’ve never thought of before. I’ve never paid much attention to the working foot in a frappé or thought about which way works better or how it impacts other steps. I mean, I consider myself a thoughtful teacher, but this program is really hitting it home that the whole of ballet is interconnected. All steps and positions are preparation for bigger steps and more advanced positions. I now more carefully consider the through-line of a class and the importance of carrying certain objectives consistently through the lesson plan–and this is a lesson that applies not just to ballet but to all forms of dance.

I learned that ballet is pretty much awesome. Don’t knock it. It IS possible for ballet, contemporary (whatever that is), and modern dance to co-exist harmoniously. I don’t have to disregard all of my ballet training to be a modern dancer, and vice-versa. They are mutually beneficial in creating a whole dancer–and to advancing and evolving concert dance. I’d like to see a modern dance with a story, and I’d like to see ballet have more emotional content and more body types dancing together. But those changes will never happen if the two forms don’t collaborate. I don’t believe that Isadora Duncan’s objective was to entirely abandon pointed toes and épaulment and nice lines–I think she just didn’t like tights and pointe shoes….I digress.

What I Already Knew:

Training in ballet makes you part of a rich history that includes direct and indirect lines back to the greatest of ballet masters, including Enrico Cecchetti. His Method is one of the most prevalent and perhaps misunderstood styles in classical ballet. Much like Graham technique in modern dance, most of what you find is really “Graham-based” training or “Cecchetti-based” training. By going through this program, the method and syllabus are coming straight from the horse’s mouth–that is–the Cecchetti Council of America. Most dancers (especially American dancers) are trained in ambiguous combinations of techniques that generally come from whatever their teachers learned from their teachers. The fabulous thing about this program is that there is no ambiguity. There are answers for everything, no shades of gray, and very little room for interpretation. Since some of the greatest dancers in history passed through Cecchetti’s own hands, he was obviously doing something right. So from my perspective, if you’re going to train your students in the Cecchetti Method, why not go all the way, teach the syllabus, and send your dancers for examinations to be recognized and endorsed by the Council?

What I’ll Take and What I’ll Discard:

Image courtesy of The Cecchetti Society of Southern Africa

For my own purposes, I am not in a position to teach syllabus classes, nor do I have any direct say over the curriculum of other teachers in my program. That said, there are things that I can take from this experience that benefit me as a teacher and choreographer, such as the phenomenal attention to detail and anatomical harmony of the Method. I’m not sure that Enrico Cecchetti exactly knew how the femur rotates in the acetabulum, but he studied the movement of the body and made very deliberate technical choices based on his observations. What I love about this method is that the exercises are perfectly tailored to be sequential in both warming the body and as a preparation for future steps. I get so nervous that my class isn’t going to warm someone up properly and put them at risk for injury, and this program has given me a lot more consciousness and confidence with regard to sequence and selection of exercises.

The unfortunate truth about the graded syllabi is that Cecchetti himself didn’t make them up. In fact, he never taught student-aged dancers. The meat and potatoes of his work are contained in the seven advanced lesson plans he established at the Ballet Russes. The seven grades were devised by the Cecchetti Council of America who make up the presiding body over the content and preservation of the Method. I was a bit disappointed to hear this and curious to know if syllabi are different in other countries that participate in training students in the Cecchetti Method and have Councils of their own.

Continuing Education For Dance Teachers

There aren’t a lot of options for continuing education in dance. Dance teachers, in particular, have limited choices in graduate school programs, and there is no overriding governing body in charge of training teachers to ensure the highest quality in dance education. For teachers especially interested in ballet, this program has a lot to offer. Whether you are searching for some guiding principles and a fundamental technique to draw from or looking to validate and supplement your own ideas and teaching practices, this program is a relatively affordable and beneficial process.

More than anything else, it is a humbling and emotional experience to perform the same exercises to the same music that were being performed 150 years ago in the greatest of theatres by the greatest of dancers of all time. That feeling is the essence of my love for dance and why dance matters to me most–not the costumes, or the stage, or the accolades and applause, but the simple act of bringing music to life through movement and playing a minuscule part of the rich and glorious lineage of dancers. Thanks, Wendy.

* True story, not just for literary effect.
** For those of you who DO care, the toe leads both up and down the supporting leg and draws a diagonal line from fifth position to the notch at the side of the knee. The foot does not stop in cou de pied because doing so causes the foot to sickle as it closes to fifth.

Interested in the Cecchetti Method? Check out their website and search for the committee in your specific region. Communication tends to be a bit antiquated, so you are best off making phone calls to the members in your region to seek out a coach to train you.  Examiners visit each region approximately twice per year.

© Lauren Warnecke for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Category: Blog, College and Career, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Perspectives, Summer Study/Workshops, Toolbox

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Kid Concepts

Have you used this nursery rhyme while teaching? If you have, then you were probably utilizing time.

Time is an element that dancers use without even thinking about it. We clap the beat, we adjust the tempo or speed as need be, and challenge students with fun rhythmic patterns. We even play with accents. How many teachers have recited the phrase “run, run, LEAP, run, run, LEAP” while tapping on a tambourine, the loudest tap being on the word leap, or count three?

Time in classroom management

How we break down time helps to teach technique as well as classroom management. I use time in my classes to transition from one activity to another. “You have 10 counts to make a circle.” One, tap, tap, Two, tap, tap, Three, tap, tap…

Time is great for engaging the entire class when only a few students are moving. The remaining “audience” can accompany the movers by clapping the beat, accents or rhythm. Try allowing students to be in charge of changing the tempo or accent and watch how it affects the choreography.

Internal Time

When I was young dance student I was always a few counts ahead of everyone. My body liked to go fast. As a dance educator I still work to slow myself down when I teach and when I talk and give presentations. I learned as a dancer how to dance with the music, how to count and perform choreography but my natural inclination is to go fast. All people have a natural rhythm that they need to adjust to various situations.

When teaching, see if you can pick out the students who have a need to go fast. Which students bound into class full speed ahead? Which students have a slow inner tempo? Which students have a non-metric rhythm that seems to have no discerning pattern at all? You might find out that some of the kids that are moving really fast have a hard time slowing down because they lack muscle control or balance. And the kids who are prone to moving slow might need help in organizing their bodies. Some might have low tone and have trouble getting the push off the floor they need for jumps.

Time is a tool that can give us a window into the inner workings of the body. Play around with beat, tempo and rhythm for a more cohesive class, to help the children learn to move together, and challenge their natural tempo inclinations.

More ways to explore time with nursery rhymes:

Image via Wikipedia

1.  Jack be Nimble

Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick, Jack Jumped Over the Candlestick

I have the students run and jump over our “candlestick” on the word OVER.  We accent the third beat and the children clap along. (one, two, Three, four/one, two,  Three, four/one, two, THREE, four/ one, two, THREE, four.)

2.  Pop Goes the Weasel

All around the cobblers bench the monkey chased the weasel; the monkey thought it all in fun, POP goes the weasel.

We lie on our stomachs and kick our legs to the beat and push up into a “cobra position” on the word “POP goes the weasel.”

3.  Peas Porridge Hot

Peas Porridge HOT, Peas Porridge COLD, Peas Porridge IN the Pot Nine Days Old.  Some like it HOT, Some like it COLD, some like it IN the pot nine days old.

For this exercise we stop and go. On every third beat we do a jumping jack. We jump out and hold the shape on HOT, we jump in and hold the shape on COLD, we jump out and hold the shape on IN and stay frozen for the remaining phrase.  Then repeat for the next phrase.

4.  Hickory, Dickory, Dock

Hickory, Dickory, Dock, the mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck one, the mouse ran down, Hickory Dickory Dock.

When I first started teaching pre-ballet, my mentor Carolyn Santanicola, taught me some dances she did with the little ones.  One of them was to Hickory Dickory Dock.

Hickory: toe tap (one)
Dickory: toe tap (two)
Dock: feet in (three, hold four)
The mouse ran up the clock:  Run in place (and one and two and three and four) hands climbing up mimicking the feet counts
The clock struck one:  Swing arm in big circle ending vertical over head on count two
The mouse ran down:  run in place with arms (and three and four)
Hickory:  toe tap (one)
Dickory:  toe tap (two)
Dock:  feet in (three, hold four)

When Carolyn first taught me some of the preschool dances I was resistant to teach them.  I wanted the children to come up with their own ways of moving.  I quickly realized that children love to learn dances as well as make up their own.  Teaching specific steps and rhythm is beneficial for little ones to integrate time into their kinesthetic world.

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Since nursery rhymes have poetic meters, they are easy to use when working on time.  The possibilities of course are endless.  Ask your students to suggest their favorite nursery rhymes as well.  My daughter’s favorite nursery rhyme book right now is Monster Goose by Judy Sierra.

Mary had a vampire bat.
His fur was black as night.
He followed her to school one day
And promised not to bite.
She brought him out for show-and-tell;
The teacher screamed and ran.
And school was canceled for a week,
Just as Mary planned.

© Stacey Pepper Schwartz for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | CLICK HERE to comment | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Music, Other Dance Forms, Toolbox

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Today’s guest post is by Lauren Warnecke, a fellow blogger and dance teacher. With a BA in Dance and an MS in Kinesiology, Lauren is a unique voice in the online dance community. Her website, Art Intercepts is “bridging the gap between experience and evidence” with a look into how science overlaps, meets, influences, compares, and even contrasts with dance training. With the goals of improving dance education, teaching practices, and overall health and wellness, Lauren is providing a reliable resource for dancers and dance teachers.

Dance is a craft that is largely passed down from teacher to student. This is something that I personally find to be a both blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s an indescribable feeling to know that as a teacher, I play a small part in creating the rich history of dance and sit on a teacher-pupil lineage leading back to the greatest of ballet masters. However, it is a history comprised largely of anecdotal and subjective information passed down through an oral tradition that is rarely corroborated by members of the scientific community.

Most teachers likely agree that demonstration and practice are critical to the success of dance students, but to what extent should the instructor encourage doing over watching or vice-versa?

Watching

Two research studies (5, 12) involving young children learning complex dance movements support every dance teacher’s belief that modeling as an instructional tool is especially important in learning motor skills, especially with younger children. Furthermore, it’s a good idea to demonstrate as fully as possible, especially with beginners and young children, if you want them to get the most out of your demonstration (13). Kids have a natural tendency to imitate anyway (6), so what better way to get them to learn the basics of dance then to give them something (that is, you) to follow!?

So what happens when I get old and can’t demonstrate? An instructor who can no longer demonstrate may find it helpful to bring an assistant into the class who can model the exercises full out. The use of a model appears to be especially important in mastering the qualitative form of movement, which is of obvious important in dance education.

What about pre-professional and professional dancers? As the students grow older and their movement vocabularies grow broader, accurate demonstrations are not nearly as essential to higher-level dance students. Indeed, most dancers have stories about their old, strict instructors who sit in an armchair barking out exercises and pounding out the beat on the floor with a cane….. I digress. Because more experienced dancers have already programmed the necessary vocabulary, it is simply a matter of rearranging them in different patterns (1). Instruction in the case of older or more advanced students can therefore be accomplished through vocal instructions and “marked” exercises. It’s important to note once again, however, that demonstrations are the best way to communicate the qualitative aspects of movement, so marking should not be a casual or sloppy endeavor. You should mark it how you want it to look!

Doing

Photo by John Jelinek

Young dancers can watch you all day long, but in the end, they must be given the opportunity to practice. Watching a demonstration before practicing a motor skill may be most beneficial for long-term learning (5, 12). Furthermore, children require more practice than adults to master a skill (10).

Should you be saying anything to them while they practice? Should they? To really maximize the effects of practice, it can be very helpful to ask your students to “say and do” a skill at the same time, in other words, using self-instruction. In one study, three to five year old dance students learned a gross motor pattern more quickly through modeling, praise and self-instruction than by modeling and praise alone (11). However, it should be noted that in this study the use self-instruction tended to drop over time. So eventually the incessant “tombe, pas de bouree, glissade, saut de chats” that your kids say over, and over, and over, should eventually (and thankfully) internalize!

When in doubt, call on our old friend the metaphor. Another tool all dance teachers are intimately familiar with is imagery. Imagery has been shown to enhance dance performance and, likewise, previous dance experience and familiarity with a skill facilitates the dancer’s ability to accurately picture the movement in their minds (2). Using metaphors and imagery are invaluable tools to utilize both during practice and in corrections.

In A Nutshell

Courtesy the Menomonee Club

Given the dualistic nature of dance, in which both accuracy and aesthetic quality are both essential to success, watching and doing appear to play equally important roles. A former teacher of mine once wrote, “A strict tradition governs the structure of a ballet class. It is a tradition based on logic, trial and error, and natural evolution” (7). Indeed, dance is steeped in traditions passed down from student to teacher. Modeling, verbal feedback, and practice are essential components of an effective dance education, but it is not always understood why they work or in what combination they should be used. Here are some general suggestions to beef up your teaching skills and maximize the potential of your students:

1. Demonstrate, and demonstrate correctly especially with young students.

2. If you mark, they’ll mark, so bring in an assistant if necessary to provide full-out demonstration. Marking is okay for advanced students, but be sure to maintain the correct qualitative components of the music in your demonstration

3. Practice. Give your kids enough dedicated time for them to practice and master the skill!

4. Use self-instruction, metaphor and imagery. Have the dancers say the steps while they are doing them, and give them enough mental images and metaphors so they know exactly how to perform the steps correctly.

Lauren Warnecke trained at Barat College and holds a BA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago and an MS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She has more than ten years of teaching experience, and is currently seeking a teacher’s certification through the Cecchetti Council of America. She is the Performing Arts Coordinator at the Menomonee Club. For more of Lauren’s work, visit Art Intercepts.

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11. Vintere, P., Hemmes, N. S., Brown, B. L. & Poulson, C. L. (2004). Gross-motor skill acquisition by preschool dance students under self-instruction procedures. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 305-322.
12. Weiss, M. R., Ebbeck, V. & Rose, D. J. (1992). “Show and tell” in the gymnasium revisited: developmental differences in modeling and verbal rehearsal on motor skill learning and performance. Res Q Exerc Sport 63, 292-301.
13. Williamson, R. A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Markman, E. M. (2008). Prior experiences and perceived efficacy influence 3-year-olds’ imitation. Developmental Psychology, 44, 275-285.

© Guest Contributors for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Perspectives

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You may remember the feature I did on Maria’s blog Move.Create.Educate., one of my favorites because Maria is journaling her daily experiences, inspirations, and challenges as a teacher. This time, I wanted to pick her brain a bit and find out which three CDs she just couldn’t live without in her work with young children. Here’s what she had to say:

“If you are a teacher you probably know how hard it is to find great music to use in your classes that are all on the same album. Here are my top 3 picks that have it all. They are creative, inspiring, and leave a don’t-forget-it-at-home impression on me. I am always looking for new music to spice up my classes, so I hope these will help you! I tried to feature a little something for everyone!”

Maria’s Top Three

by Pamela Conn Beall, Susan Hagen Nipp

1. Wee Sing and Pretend

This is my all time favorite. I use this in all of my preschool classes, creative dance classes, and baby ballet classes. It has everything from a dinosaur dance to a song about a washing machine. Every song takes young dancers on a new adventure, or to a new place. I love it most because it gives room for their imaginations to grow, my philosophy as a teacher of young ones.

Note from Nichelle: Incidentally, I happen to use this CD with my little ones too! The variety of topics is a really nice feature. To adult ears, I have to say they may not seem like much, but my kids got really attached to the ones I used in class most often — particularly Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Jack-in-the-Box.

by Steven Mitchell

2. pas de tot

This CD is a great addition to a PreBallet class. I use it for everything from teaching the positions to across the floor steps like chassé. There is a song for every exercise and it even repeats the song over for teaching the other side or repetition of a step. I love to use the Reverence song to end my class. It’s such a refreshing CD to have on hand whenever you are looking for the perfect song!

by Kimbo Music

3. Tap Your Troubles Away

I love this CD because it has something for every level. I use it for the little ones, right up through the teenagers. I find it to be progressive through the exercises and many of the songs have an even beat for counting purposes. I love to choreograph combinations and parents day showings to this CD. A well rounded CD for any tap teacher!

Bonus!

Maria couldn’t resist sharing a few more recommendations. Check these out too!
Baby Jamz: Nursery Rhymes, Vol. 1: Solange Knowles
Wake Up and Wiggle: Marie Barnett

Do you teach little movers?

What are your Top Three?

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Category: Blog, Dance Media, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, In the Spotlight, Music, Other Dance Forms, Tap, Toolbox

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Not such an exciting story.  I gave you the events but not the texture, the details, the emotions, or the dynamics.

Let me try it again.

Photo by Viv Evans

I sat on the front steps very still, searching the sky. I watched with excitement as the rain came down lightly as if greeting my cheeks with a familiar hello.  The ground was soft and my boots sank ever so slightly as I stood up. And as I jumped with ease into the tiny puddle that was before me I thought of the spring showers I remembered as a child.  I went into the house, haphazardly skipping from one puddle to another, giggling with my wet clothes hugging my body.

Or maybe the story went like this:

Photo by Meredith Harris

I sat bound to the front steps, my stomach tightened, feeling the darkening sky closing in on me.  I watched with alertness as if danger approached. The rain came down like strong unrelenting tears. The ground got soft like it could not hold my weight. I sank deep into the thick mud as I stood up. With heavy feet I jumped into the closest puddle. I went into the house without looking back; my wet clothes drenched from the sky’s sadness.

These are two completely different stories with the same framework.  What makes each one so different?

It’s the details.

This is how I see dynamics, which is an element of movement and I feel an element that deserves some much needed attention! Dynamics or in the world of Laban and Bartenieff otherwise known as efforts are broken down into weight, spatial focus, time and flow.

Weight: Light or Strong

The way we use our body’s weight can be light  or strong. Think of weight in terms of force. How much force are you putting behind a gesture, or a leap? How much force do you use to lift a feather? Barely any. But a brick can take lots of effort, making you use a lot of strength or force. You can play around with weight by guiding a blindfolded person around the room. Do they like to feel a strong forceful touch or light touch?

Spatial Focus: Direct or Indirect

The next effort is spatial focus which can be direct or indirect. Direct is easy to understand. You want the cookie on the plate. You keep your eyes on the cookie, reach out in one distinct movement and take the cookie. You don’t meander around the room and wind up at the cookie a few minutes later. As for indirect, I once had a teacher describe indirect as a buzzing bee around your head. You swat at it, in no particular order or sequence and can never fully get a sense where it is at any moment.

Photo by Alan Cleaver

Time: Quick or Sustained

Time is a fun effort because our own understanding of time changes as we age. It can be quick or sustained. My daughter lives in sustained time unless she wants to watch t.v. when I am on the phone. Then all I see in her body is quick. When I want her to get ready for school she puts on her clothes like she has all the time in the world. In fact it seems to me that she is not bound to any clock or time concept at all. This is sustained effort in a nut shell. As she is doing this I am pacing back and forth, peeking out the window for the bus and grabbing for her socks and sneakers. Absolute quickness!

Flow: Bound or Free

The last effort is flow which can be bound or free. Think of when a child is really angry. The child makes fists with their hands, tightens her belly and clenches her jaw. This is bound. Or think when a child has no care in the world and he is skipping around the jungle gym with ease. This is a perfect example of free energy.

Teaching Dynamics to Kids

How can you teach these concepts to children you might be wondering? Children experience these efforts in their bodies all the time. Just like you. It is becoming aware of them that is the challenge and the fun. I like to experiment with different efforts by getting in touch with emotions.

How does your body like to move when you are happy?

Kids might say when there bodies like to skip or jump.  If you pay attention to the quality, it will  be light and free.  I have never seen bound skipping!

How does your body like to move when you are angry?

I usually see fists, direct punching in the space, stomping, tight contracted shoulders. Again, the quality of movement is drastically different then free and light but they won’t be able to express it without some guidance from you. Try doing the same punching action with light and free qualities and she how the movement changes. Ask the kids if it is a movement from an angry body – they might say it is now a happy movement!

How does your body move when you are surprised?

How do you react when someone yells boo! You will see all the children do a quick movement. Usually when I get startled I flail my arms, very indirect! This brings on lots of giggles as they watch each other.

How do your body move when you are tired?

When you ask this question you might get bodies falling to the ground at first.  The distinction is not how does your body move when it falls asleep but when your body is tired. Walk around the room jump, hop, and skip. The children’s movements will start to lack a sense of time and a specific spatial direction. It is amazing to watch the efforts change in the children’s bodies.

A great book that discusses effort into length is Primer for Movement Description Using Effort-Shape and Supplementary Concepts by Cecily Dell. This book is invaluable to me. The explanations are thorough, detailed and easy to understand. This is one of my books that never spends too much time on the shelf.

I hope by breaking down the different dynamics or efforts it has helped you understand them in a new way, and will make teaching and experiencing effort in your classes or with your children very accessible to you. Remember, dynamics help texture movement stories. Like the story I told in the beginning, when you change the dynamics, the entire mood, feeling and emotion changes. The meaning of the story changes as well. Just like the meaning of a gesture will change when you simply replace bound effort with free!

© Stacey Pepper Schwartz for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Category: Blog, Featured, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners

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March offers some opportunities to try something a little different. Here are some ideas:

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

A Night at the Oscars

Sometimes new accompaniment is all that is needed. Use movie soundtracks and classic cinema songs to spice up your classes one evening this month.

For fun, you might host an awards ceremony during the last 15 minutes of class – this could be your own version of “paper bag” awards… the presentation of silly or teasing award categories with low-budget trophies (like paper bags). The point is not to hurt anyone’s feelings, though, so create your awards with care. Encourage your students to dance their acceptance speech, and be sure to cut them off before they are finished!

You could even try some choreography inspired by last week’s Academy Awards dance segment.

St. Patrick’s Day

This holiday is coming up soon! You might use any music connected with Ireland (Riverdance, U2, Clannad) or the color green during your classes on or during the week of March 17th.

Why not try some Irish dancing? You can find an introduction to the basics at E-how. Or, better still, hire an Irish dance teacher to conduct a class.

World Meteorological Day

My husband is a meteorologist so this March 23 day of recognition (spearheaded by the World Meteorological Organization) stood out for me. You can do a lot with a weather theme, including everything from song choices (Singin’ in the Rain, It’s Raining Men, Here Comes the Sun…) to dancing about weather, water cycles, and more.

I own and have used these two books by Thomas Locker with dance classes to build choreography as a group. They feature poetic reenactments of the water cycle (Water Dance) and an introduction to cloud-types (Cloud Dance) accompanied by beautiful illustrations. With clouds that march, drift, and burst, and statements like “I grow ever wider, broader and deeper. I am the river.” The descriptive language lends itself to movement.

You may also want to check out this Weather & Wind Dance lesson plan from the Kennedy Center’s Arts Edge website.

Women’s History Month

March is also Women’s History Month so this is a great opportunity to educate your students with a little history lesson. Introduce through books, film, photos, or words, dance visionaries and groundbreakers like Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Martha Graham, Maria Tallchief, Anna Pavlova, Janet Collins, Eleanor Powell… and so so so many others! In my post 9 Biographies for Students, some of these women are covered in books for juvenile readers.

Print or photocopy photos of a few legendary women in dance to informally post on the walls of your studio with small index cards highlighting their life and contribution to dance. Allow students to peruse the gallery and encourage them to practice spotting pirouettes with Pavlova’s picture or chassé toward Eleanor Powell. At the end of the class, week, or month quiz your dancers on these dance luminaries.

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | CLICK HERE to comment | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Fun, For Teachers/Studio Owners

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Beginning Improvisation Exercises

(Appropriate for students of all ages and levels, unless otherwise noted)

Exercise 1: Group Nursery Rhymes

Goal: Get feet connected to brains, and get students moving!

Choose a song that everyone knows. My suggestion is “Mary Had a Little Lamb” for the first time you try this. Remind them that there are no rules except to dance one sound for each note in the song. Sometimes this will take more than one try, especially if you notice dancers adding extra sounds. Encourage them to leave space during the silence in the song.

If you have very young students (I start them at age 3 with this exercise), have them sing and dance at the same time. If you have intermediate dancers or adults, they can dance without singing.

Master Teacher Heather Cornell with beginning improvisational students

Exercise 2: “Fancy Dancing”

Age/Level: Beginning Students, ages 3 to 7
Goal: Learn how to dance in an improv circle

All dancers begin in a circle. Choose a fun song that the kids can relate to, with a steady tempo and a good beat. One by one, dancers enter the circle and “show us their best moves” and dance as long as they want! Encourage them to do ANYTHING they want, not just tap dance. This gets them thinking about moving things other than their feet!

Exercise 3: Toes Only, Heels Only

Ages/Levels: Beginners of all ages
Goal: To eliminate the pressure to come up with impressive footwork when a beginner doesn’t have a big vocabulary

Once again, make a circle. You have two variations that you can try with this exercise, both of which help relax self-conscious beginners.

Variation A: Repeat Exercise 1 as a group, but using only toe drops or heel drops. This can also be done one at a time so they can hear their taps, though you’ll need to pay careful attention to their self-consciousness and be sure to encourage them!

Variation B (ages 6 and up): Have each student choose their own nursery rhyme and tap it out with toes or heels. Make the rest of them guess! This is challenging, but fun.

Exercise 4: Pass the Buck

Goal: To learn how to “pass” to the next person

All dancers begin in a circle. Choose a fun song with a steady tempo and a good beat. One by one, dancers either enter the circle (young kids and advanced dancers) or dance in place in the circle (ages 6 to adult) and “show us their best moves” and dance as long as they want! Encourage them to do ANYTHING they want, not just tap dance. This gets them thinking about moving things other than their feet!

When they are finished, they must gesture with a foot, hand or eye contact to the person they choose to go next. If the “passing” is too complicated for your little ones, you can verbally prompt them to pass it to someone, or simply progress one at a time around the circle.

Exercise 5: Bars, Meters & Counts

Image by Horia Varlan via Flickr

Goal: To create music awareness while dancing and practice structured improvisational trades around a circle

Begin with a very structured 4/4 song that does not have any strange segues or extra measures. Have all students beat their hands on their legs, clap or snap to the beat. Continue their time keeping, but have them now count out loud – “1..2..3..4″. Be sure you do not have them count “5..6..7..8″. This is a cardinal sin in the music world, as you’ll find out if you dance with live musicians! Explain to your students that each set of four counts is a measure, or a bar. I often use this with my elementary students who are learning addition and/or multiplication. They love when they know the answer to “How many counts are in four measures?”

Once you have explained the concept of bars/measures and counts to them, try dancing four measures. If this is too tough, they can even use toes and heels like before. Have them help each other by counting out loud and holding up fingers for the number of measures that have passed. Everyone loves a little help from their friends!

Note: Remember that each student should begin on count 1 of their first measure and end on count 4 of their last. This will help with students transitions to one another. You can also require them to “pass the buck” once they’ve finished their turn.

–

I hope these beginning exercises give you some ideas for your own classes, or even your own individual improvisation work. Let’s find that creative genius hidden inside your students (and maybe even you)!

For more information or to purchase a complete copy of the syllabus, please feel free to comment below or email me at sarah.mason@PennAcadArts.com.

© Sarah Mason for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Category: Blog, Dance Styles, Featured, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Tap, Toolbox

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About a month ago I pinched a nerve in my neck. OUCH! Even though the experience was less than ideal, I was able to tune into my body and learn or, I should say, re-learn some very important body lessons. As a firm believer in learning through our kinesthetic experiences, this strengthened my educational philosophy and excited my teacher self, even with ice packs pressed firmly on my neck.

The nerve I pinched was on the right side of my neck, which caused major pain down my right arm. As a right handed person, this affected everything from brushing my teeth to buttoning my pants. It was so interesting to observe how heavily right handed I am and how hard it was for me to switch gears and use my left arm more. it has an affect how I move my body in general as well as my balance. The quote “practice what you preach came to mind” and since I am now practicing using both sides of my body more in my life, I feel I can now preach more effectively, so hear goes!

Coordinating the Body

A balanced and integrated body is necessary for movement mastery. To explain, I am going to break down the various ways we can organize and coordinate our body. Explore these concepts with your students and see what you discover! These concepts are heavily influenced by Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals.

Upper/Lower Body

You can break down movement into utilizing the upper half of your body (torso, arms, shoulders, back and head) and the lower half (hips, legs, knees, and feet.) This is something we do all the time when we teach. First we teach steps with the feet and then we add the choreography for the arms.

Are your students aware that they have a lower and upper half and that they are doing a great job coordinating the two? You might ask why this is important and the answer is for body awareness and ultimately better execution of technique.

Play a game where they are only allowed to use the lower half of their bodies. They can run, skip jump, bend, tap, wiggle – but only from the hips down. Then they can only use their upper halves: torso, back, ribs, shoulders, neck and head. Next, tell them to put the two together. See if it is easier for them to use both the top and bottom of their bodies with this new understanding that they achieved from their kinesthetic exploration. It is one thing to be told how your body works and it is another thing to explore it and learn for yourself.

When kids play leap frog they are illustrating this upper body/lower body concept beautifully (otherwise known as homologous movements). Reaching out with the arms, pulling the upper body forward and then jumping with their legs is a perfect homologous movement or in kid terms a frog jump. See if you can think of other ways we might move in an upper/lower way.

When I teach mommy and me classes I teach these concepts and share with the parents what we are doing and why. I feel this helps the parents become knowledgeable about the importance of the activities and helps them to reinforce the movements at home. (It also helps them in their own body awareness.)

Right Side/Left Side

It is fun to play with the right and left sides of the body.  We can move in a homolateral way, meaning right side (right arm, right leg) or in a contralateral way, meaning left arm, right leg. Naturally when we crawl or walk we move contralaterally. You might notice that when you teach a step like a leap kids and adults will over think the step and leap stretching out the same arm and leg. They turn the step into a homolateral one.

I teach kids how to connect to the right side or left side  (otherwise known as body half) by doing an exercise lying on the floor in an “x”position. Which literally means that you should look like an “x;” arms overhead and spread out, and legs spread out making the bottom of the “x.” I ask them to bring their right elbow to their right knee by bending both their knee and elbow so they meet. Then they should go back to the “x” position and do the other side. Kids love moving and exploring in all sorts of different ways and I always hear sounds of glee as they discover this fun new way of moving. (This exercise is taken directly from my Barteniff Studies.)

To understand how moving the right side independent of the left and vice versa helps dancers perform various skills, all you have to do is analyze a pique turn or chanines turns. When you are performing a pique turn to the right, the right leg steps up and the left side comes around. I can’t count how many times my ballet teacher used to tell me to bring my left side around. I now understand this concept on an entirely new level.

See if you can discover other ways we move homolaterally.

Contralateral movement

Contralateral movement might be easier to analyze because this is how we move all the time. We move this way every time we walk. But some kids need extra work in this area, and it will not only help them in dance but in their everyday lives. Think about when you throw a ball. You step with your left and throw with you right. You are using the natural spiral in your body for power. If a child is does not have the contralateral connection, this will be amazingly difficult.

Movement is a layered experience. We develop movement patterns and then continue to relearn them as we get older. Babies learn to crawl, developing the spiral and then relearn and master it as they walk and then run.

When I teach my mommy and me classes, I always crawl as an activity. The parents are usually puzzled at first because their kids know how to do this. I explain the more practice the better! The kids can continue to develop these contalateral movement patterns and the parents can take the time to re-learn these patterns as well. The parents all get a new appreciation of the movement because their children are so much faster then they are!!

To learn more check out the book Making Connections: Total Body Integration Through Bartenieff Fundamentals by Peggy Hackney

Body Integration in Class

As you continue to teach, see if you can bring a new awareness to body integration. For teachers with little ones, can you create activities to help your students build these important connections? And for teachers with older students, see if your students can demonstrate homologous, homolateral and contralateral movements. Who knows what they will develop and learn about their bodies, all by tuning in to their bodies.

I would love to hear what you and your students discover. As for me, I am off to ice my neck with my left hand. I love re-learning through my experiences, hopefully next time it will be a little less painful!

© Stacey Pepper Schwartz for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, Technique, Terminology, Toolbox

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“Finding good ballet class music is so difficult. I am hard to please, and I want the music I choose to inspire my students, not just provide accompaniment. To that end, I have gone through a lot of CDs searching for ones that have good length, sound and quality. I use these CDs for my intermediate adult ballet class. I find that they truly appreciate it if you take the time to select pretty music that makes them feel like they are dancing—even at the barre. The CDs would also work very well for younger, more advanced students.”

Catherine’s Top Three:

1. Between The Barres 20th Anniversary Edition

This is one of my top picks in terms of barre music. There are quite a selection of tracks available, and most are long enough to do at least two sets of the exercise. Plus, it’s a 2-CD set, and both are excellent. Worth the investment.

2. Russian Music for Ballet Class Vol. 3

Although for me it is difficult to use this CD to do a complete barre and centre, I still am in love with many of the tracks for the sheer beauty of the music here. Track one is my favourite. The whole CD is lovely, and moving. Terrific for inspiring students.

3. Music for Ballet Class IV

I was sent this CD to review recently and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It is a departure from the typical fare out there, but not so much that it is difficult to use for class. The tracks are quite pretty and unexpected. Great if you are experiencing music burn out from your usual lineup.

Do you teach adult ballet?

What are your Top Three?

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Category: Ballet/Pointe, Blog, Dance Library, Dance Styles, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, In the Spotlight, Music, Toolbox

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I was immediately drawn to the material over at Move. Create. Educate for its emphasis on creative movement for young children and began interacting with Maria, the teacher and blogger behind it all.

I discovered that Maria is an independent dance educator around New York City who holds a Master’s degree in dance education from NYU. I discovered that Maria is currently building her own business called Maria’s Movers where she offers creative ballet and creative movement to children around NYC. I discovered she is a teaching artist in public elementary schools for New York City Ballet, a creative movement and tap teacher for Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn and a movement specialist for 2-3 year olds at York Avenue Preschool on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. And then, THEN, I discovered she and I both received our undergraduate degrees in dance from Slippery Rock University! Needless to say we’ve had a lot to talk about.

I thought you might like to get to know Maria a little better too so, I caught up with her to ask a few questions about her blog and her life as a teacher.

DA: What inspired you to start your blog?

Maria: I was inspired to start Move. Create. Educate. because I was looking for a place to share my ideas about dance education. I had so many ideas, frustrations, and questions that I needed to write them down. I was feeling alone in this profession, but I knew that wasn’t true. So I set out to just write, write, write — not really knowing if anyone would read it. I think of the blog as my journal. I try to write everyday, as I think of it as an extension of my job as a teacher. Now that I have been blogging for a while, I think it is so important to share and connect with dance educators everywhere. I hope the blog will build a community of teachers and become a place to talk about challenges and accomplishments of dance educators. It was just the outlet I was looking for!

DA: What is the biggest challenge you face as a teacher?

Maria: My biggest challenge right now is being able to get all of behind the scenes work done. If you are a teacher of any kind you know that just because you leave work, it doesn’t mean your work is done. Planning, playlists, e-mails, and evaluations, it all has to be done in between or after the day of teaching is over. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. The challenge is making time and space for all of this work. I use my New York apartment as my office/planning place. If you know New York apartments, you know that space is limited! Oh and did I mention I carry my dance room on my shoulder? A challenge in itself!

DA: What do you love most about what you do?

Maria: This is such a tough question! I love it all! I love when the kids see me and their faces light up with a huge smile and offer me a huge hug. I love when the parents tell me that all they talk about at home is ballet and that they sing the point and flex song to fall asleep at night! I love parents days and performances because the kids feel so accomplished. I love to see my students of all ages engage in the creative process. I love to hear them laugh. I think what I love the most though is just knowing that everyday I get to teach dance and make a living. It was always my goal, and I finally have reached it!

DA: Name three items that in your work with little ones you just couldn’t live without.

Maria: 1) Hand drum: I bought a hand drum when I first graduated from NYU and was first hired to work with preschool age kids. I wasn’t sure what I would use it for, but I knew I could figure something out and it would come in handy. It is now a regular part of every class. The sound of the drum signals for them to stop, look, and listen. We practice jumping on the beat, and they love to play it too. If I have a new class, I begin with letting them play the drum. Works like a charm! This also works with older kids, and I have used it in all types of classes — ballet, tap, and creative movement.

2) Star spots: My life saver, but so heavy to carry around in my bag! These star spots keep everyone organized and in a happy place. We sit on them to start, but then I incorporate them into the class. They put them on their heads, we balance them on body parts, I put them in charge of their star. They keep it the whole time, so they know exactly where they need to be. I think of the stars as my special “assistant.”

3) Stickers: My students love stickers (better than stamps, the ink gets all over) after class. I started this a few years back when they come to me at 2 years old for behavior modification. As they grow, they never forget about them. They always want the “pink” stickers. I try to buy stickers that are all the same size and color, so no one gets upset! If I forget the stickers, I am in trouble!

If you teach dance, and particularly if you work with young children, you’ll want to keep and eye on Move. Create. Educate. too!

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Category: Blog, Dance Media, For Classroom, For Inspiration, For Teachers/Studio Owners, In the Spotlight

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Without a good overall (curriculum) plan, teachers may find themselves skipping around or getting ahead of their students’ skill level. The tell-tale symptom that this has occurred: You find yourself drilling the same movement over and over and over without much improvement.

The Treatment Plan

If you are working with a group and finding that the students have missed some important information along the way, it is not too late to get back to basics and back on track. You can do so without making the students feel like they’ve been demoted to Dance 101. The approach to practicing the skill they are trying to master may just have to be a bit more creative than repeat, repeat, repeat, a process that only leads to frustration or injury.

The Dosage

Let’s say you are working on pirouettes. There isn’t any other way to practice a pirouette than to just do it… or is there? Well, in essence that is true but the prescription for faulty pirouettes is not to do fifty more of them. Instead, the teacher must get a bit sneaky: crush up the medicine and sneak it in with the rest of the students’ food. Here’s the process:

1. What’s in a pirouette? Break the movement down into components

Some will be obvious: A properly turned out retiré passé. Others may be more underlying: The use of the core to avoid spiraling in the pirouette. Make a physical, or at least mental, list of these components.

2. Examine where in a class these elements can be practiced

Add a balance in retiré to the end of one or more exercises in both barre and center; Have students do “log rolls” across the floor to create awareness of rotating without a spiral in the body. Find places to sprinkle your list of pirouette essentials throughout the entire class… throughout the week… throughout the term.

3. When it comes time to practice pirouettes, look for quality not quantity. Address how the movement feels and look for imagery to apply whenever possible – be creative.

Rise from a plié into a space that, like a jello mold, is shaped exactly like the your body is or should be in the turn; Imagine a string connecting the lifted knee to the opposite shoulder, as the knee leads the turn around, the opposite shoulder comes along.

Preventative Medicine

Photo courtesy D Sharon Pruitt

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sometimes in class the best practice is in fact just performing the skill. However, without a good working knowledge of a skill’s properties a dancer is doomed to repeating the same mistakes. Consider it preventative medicine to begin with a plan for how you’ll build toward more advanced steps and movements with students. Look for ways to work or improve the basics before asking students to “leap.” If you aren’t sure where to start I’ve outlined some of my ideas on developing curriculum and lesson planning in other posts.

Have you found creative ways of getting back to basics?

Share your prescriptions in the comments!

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | CLICK HERE to comment | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners

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At age eleven Li Cunxin’s life was changed when a delegation from Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy selected him to be taken from his home, a village near the city of Qingdao in northern China, and brought to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979 at age 18 he was selected to perform with the Houston Ballet as part of a cultural exchange. After falling in love with both America and an American woman, Li defected to the United States, and rose to fame as one of the world’s ballet stars.

Li Cunxin (pronounced Lee Schwin Sing), performed with Houston Ballet for sixteen years and in 1995 became a principal artist with the Australian Ballet. In 1999 he retired from ballet, supporting his wife and their three children as a stockbroker. In 2003 his autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer, was published and became an instant success, remaining on Australia’s bestseller list for over a year and a half.

In 2004, Houston Dance Critic Molly Glentzer in her review of the book for Dance Magazine stated, “Li’s tenacity is an inspiring lesson to any reader, dancer or not. It’s the stuff of which great movies are made. Expect this one soon, and bring Kleenex. But read the book first.” A handful of years later, Li’s story is now a motion picture. It has already done well in Australia but unfortunately distribution in the U.S. is still speculative. The film is directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy), written by Jan Sardi (Shine, The Notebook), and choreographed by Graeme Murphy and his creative associate and partner, Janet Vernon.

See also the book review at Ballet.co

Stars of the Film

Though the production team is largely Australian, the filmmakers of course had to look worldwide for the right cast. The movie’s plot spans several years, requiring not one but three actors to play Li Cuxnin as a boy, a teen, and as an adult. The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Chi Cao was selected to play the adult Cuxnin. His shared history of having trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and known for his virtuoso performances, Cao was an natural choice for the role.

Cao appeared last month as a guest artist with the Houston Ballet, playing the Nutcracker Prince for four performances in their annual production. HB blogged about it here and Cao talked with Molly Glentzer for the Houston Chronicle about his film debut.

Other notable actors in the film include Amanda Schull (Center Stage) and Bruce Greenwood as Ben Stevenson (Captain Christopher Pike in last year’s Star Trek). You can see interviews with more of the cast and crew at the film’s website and YouTube channel. Read a review of Mao’s Last Dancer via the Hollywood Reporter [link].

Classroom Applications

The Peasant Prince

Dancing to Freedom (US title)

Li Cuxnin’s story is available in multiple formats. The picture book version “focuses on two stories from Li’s childhood that hold a particular appeal to young children – tying wishes to a kite and a fable told to a young Li by his father of a frog in a well. Both stories illustrate how as a child Li longed for a life away from the hardship of his village.”

[Read more at Suite101: The Autobiography of Li Cunxin: Book Review of Mao’s Last Dancer and The Peasant Prince].

Young Reader's Edition

Cuxnin’s autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer is also available in a Young Reader edition for teens. Teachers might use any of this literature to explore movement or develop choreography with students. Below are a few of the major themes presented in these stories about Cuxnin’s life. They might be summed up and explored as follows:

• Overcoming Hardship
  • Challenge students with a difficult phrase or combination. Reflect on Li’s perseverance despite hardship and ask students to come up with a plan (see this post on goal-setting with dance students) for improving or learning this combination in a way that addresses both the physical and mental (or emotional) battles that must be overcome.
• Oppression vs. Freedom
  • Improv or create a movement study of bound versus free flow in movement.
• Chinese Culture and History
  • Research Chinese Dance and the influence of ballet on the art form. View video or read about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. You may find these teacher’s notes from Penguin Books helpful [download the pdf]. Choose movement or music that reflects your findings.
• Adapting to Change
  • Coming to Texas in the United States from China was a big transition. Have students create two lists of adjectives – one describing Li’s life in China, the other his life in America. Have them improvise or develop movement or actions that build upon these lists.

What are some other ways you might tie-in the books or movie in your classes?

Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

© Nichelle Strzepek for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | CLICK HERE to comment | Category: Blog, Dance Media, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners, In the Spotlight, News and Events, The Dance World

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I am happy to introduce Stacey Pepper Schwartz as a new columnist here at Dance Advantage. You may recall that we featured Stacey’s DVD, Up Down & All Around on the blog recently. During our interaction behind the scenes,  I was pleased to find (and I think Stacey would agree) that we share similar values and ideas regarding dance education and I invited her to share her considerable knowledge on the blog. I am so proud that she has agreed to add her voice to Dance Advantage. Her Kid Concepts column (say that three times fast!) will appear each month, bringing you Stacey’s insight, tips, and ideas for teaching creative movement for our younger dancers. Please welcome her and be sure to visit Stacey’s Leaping Legs website and her new blog, where she’ll share even more tools and tips!

When I teach dance I always start with the concept of space. It doesn’t matter if I am teaching 3 year olds or 63 year olds, space to me is a blank canvas. And I want to teach my students how to fill it.

Why Space?

There are so many places to begin, what makes space so important? My answer is the body cannot move without space. The body cannot breathe without space in the lungs to take in air, space for the heart to pump blood or space in between the joints to move the bones. We can not relate to each other and to the world around us without space. Notice the space between each letter on this page, the space each letter carves out with it’s curved, straight and angled lines, and how you feel when youseewordscrammmedtogether and

very            far                     apart            from             each         other.

Space is where we live and why not start at home which in essence is the beginning.

How to begin

I feel like the studio is like a laboratory of sorts, a place to explore, study, investigate and find answers.

I begin by asking my students to notice the space inside their bodies.

Feel the space inside your belly when you inhale, filling it with air, and feel the space change when you exhale, sending the air out of your body through your nose or mouth. Now take your attention to other areas of your body: in between your toes, under your armpits, inside your mouth.

Now I ask them to take their attention away from their bodies and to notice the space between themselves and the person next to them.

Are we close together, or spread apart from each other? Without moving from your spot reach your hands out and feel the space outside of yourself. Reach high above your body, around your body, under your body. Can you reach with other body parts and explore the space immediately surrounding you? Now it is time to be space explorers, and move through the space. Leave no space unexplored. Can you run, leap, roll and jump through the space. Feel as you move the space lights up around you. Explore above you, below you and all around you. Can you light up the entire space?

Can you feel your lungs expanding and contracting? Can you feel the space or silence between the inhale and the exhale? Can you feel your heart beating?

How Space is a Tool For All Aspects of Dance

No matter what type of dance you teach, be it ballet, modern, jazz, creative movement, hip hop, or belly dancing, space is an element of movement and therefore relevant. It can be used as a tool to explain how to perform steps, perfect alignment and execute routines. The next time you are teaching a dance combination, focus on space and see how it changes the steps.

Explore if your explanation of the exercise changes as well. A leap or a pirouette might take on a whole new level of understanding. For example, when leaping, you might encourage your students to focus not only on how stretched their legs are but the space they are stretching through. When performing a pirouette, you might explain that the body is not moving from its spot but touches the space all around itself. Or, have them imagine a crayon attached to the toe, knee or leg that draws a circle around them as they turn.

And when choreographing a dance, one tableau can say it all. The space between two dancers can evoke such emotion and the space between many, such power.

A Final Word or Two About Space

As dancers we choose to define the space, break through it, or make the audience believe it does not exist. But it is always there. When we leave the studio, the stage, or the classroom we do not leave the space. It is always with us in our bodies. It is always around us to explore and it will always be.

I tell my students to be aware of space when they are walking down the street, moving through a crowded room and when they are the only ones in a room.

Can you get close to another person without touching? How does that feel? How does it feel to be the only person in a room and feel such an enormous space around yourself?

Your students don’t have to have dance shoes on to explore how space effects them. And yet when we come to understand space, it can transform our movement experiences inside, outside, through our bodies, and our lives.

Special thanks: BenSpark.com

© Stacey Pepper Schwartz for Dance Advantage, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Category: Blog, For Classroom, For Teachers/Studio Owners

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