There are so many franchises offering lesson plans and syllabus for you to use to help build pre-ballet classes. However many of these require certain rules in which you need to follow, and costs that need to be paid to them. When you're a dance teacher with accreditation through an organisation you are probably already… Continue reading Toddler Ballet Syllabi
As part of training dancers we look to find movements that build up, getting a little harder with each graduation. Most steps have a natural to get further, doing the step in the air perhaps, adding in a double or triple. Other moves can be a little harder to spot what moves can come from this simple step. Today I'm examining the Ronds de Jambe en L'air step that is most common done at the barre.
Finding the balance between too friendly and too stern can be difficult, and is going to be my main form of development as a teacher in this coming year. In this post I've put together 8 basic rules that I'll be putting into practice during my dance classes.
As you read this, I'm not resting as I usually would be over a school holiday. Instead I've will be mid-way through my first Dance Camp. Many schools may already provide these at their dance school and so may not be surprised that I'm using my holiday to create another event for the school. However,… Continue reading Development Series: Holiday Activities
Many dancers are embarrassed to speak and act, which can make musical theatre quite laborious to teach. I've found 10 games that should help your dancers feel more comfortable with a script and improvising drama, comedy, or even romance. This in turn should help create stronger emotional performances that connect with the audience.
I love teaching musical theatre. Getting children, who are traditionally dancers, a little out of their comfort zone and having to act, really brings out a different side to them. Ultimately I hope that this makes them better well rounded dancers, able to perform and engage with the audience on another level. As much as… Continue reading Musical Theatre: Go to songs – Part One
I'm relatively new in my profession as a dance teacher and as such am still learning. Always finding a new tip here or there and thinking about the next qualification to gain. On top of this, I love seeing what other teachers are up to and what they're teaching different age ranges. As I get more confident in my own teaching though, I don't want this level of intrigue to stop as I feel it is a very important part of being a dance teacher. Many professions have this elusive thing called CPD, often it's tied in with their jobs as they try to get a higher position in the company, or their job role changes. Dance teaching is no different, however there often isn't the incentive to go out their and do more training.
Dance can be tailored for many different ages groups and abilities, by using more accessible music and easier to learn steps. But sometimes groups can get bored of the week in week out monotony of learning steps and routine, or in some cases never really seem that interested in choreography. This is especially true of… Continue reading Teaching Tips: Dance Based Games
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attended my first IDTA London Seminar. This is a little gathering of teachers of all styles, to talk about different elements of the syllabus and take part in workshops. Both sides of the IDTA were there, both Ballroom and Theatre. Whilst my qualification resides in the Ballroom branch,… Continue reading Reflecting on Dance Events: IDTA London Seminar 2018
Choreographers are all inspired by different things. Even if they base their routines on the same stimuli/idea, the finished piece are most likely going to look very different. This is because everyone works in a different way, our imaginations can help us find different uses and ways of using ideas. These interpretations can be based… Continue reading Choreography: How to find that first idea.
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