I would love to hear more - learn more about teaching children. For example: I'm always looking for a "better way" to teach Pique turns to 8 year olds. I've been teaching a long time and it seems that the Teachers Conferences are all very far away and very expensive and the Conventions are great - but only really provide Choreography, not teaching instruction. What do yall think?
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Dear Anne, i am sorry to
Dear Anne, i am sorry to post my question in a wrong field!
I am new here, so i did not find the correct post box to send it to! ;)
All the best!
Nataliya
I have started to work with
I have started to work with 4 years old children.
And this age is very new for me.
So i would like to ask for an advice :
What amount of information can the children take, and how complexed can it be?
What we do now - is learning some simple step sequences , stretching knees and feet, balance, arms positions.
They lose their attention after some 15 min. of learning those technical things, although are able to repeat them.
So, how much more of work can i give them in a class?
Thank you forehand!
Best regards!
Nataliya
Thanks to all on your tips
Thanks to all on your tips about Pique turns. It sounds as if I've been doing the "right" thing - or some variation there of. Sometimes I question myself - of course I don't even remember how I learned to do a pique. (30 yrs ago) Yikes! Thanks again for helping me grow as a teacher!
All great...may I add? I
All great...may I add?
I would also teach a passe' balance at the barre until it's right:) Next, teach the pique' into the passe' position at the barre (en avant - straight ahead....as pique' travels on the 4th). When the standing leg has memorized the true meaning of pique' (a shape or position "onto a straight leg"), then you can experiment during center practice with rotation.
The dialogue during the entire process has to be "A BALANCE THAT ROTATES", so it is imperative that the idea of SHAPE balances, then the stepping down from passe' is the ROTATION. Many teachers teach the pique' is the turn, then the dancers start throwing their arms to get motivated. Pique' is a POSITION, the rotation comes during the step after the passe'.
This is simply my opinion, but I find that the struggles that many teachers deal with (bent standing leg, tossing arms, crab arms, bad passe', etc.) come from the teacher and dancer misunderstanding movement (the dancer trying to turn instead of taking a balanced position, then give it expression of rotation or even a jump).
In ballet, the barre work is to find strength, stretch, balance, all using specific SHAPE. SHAPE is VOCABULARY used to dialogue with the audience. Every jump and turn is to be coordinated through alignment of a SHAPE.
Just some thoughts:)
Teaching piques to young
Teaching piques to young childen and making it as fun as posssible can be challenging and fun. You have to very creative. If you are having fun they will want to have fun with you.
Count to eight or sixteen to see if they hold their passe at the barre only. I use imagery words like open the door and close the door so the can see how the passe can go to parallel and then into the turned out position. Using visual verbage in your discription it make it more like a game and much more fun to learn. Clapping and applauding "good job you did it" or attempted to do it and "that's great." Is motivating to the young dancers and they will try to do better and challenge themselves even more each time. I teach children piques holding there balance at the barre and finding their balance. It's a great place to start for the basics. If they start center floor right away and don't find their balance they will get very self defeated fast. Let them feel great about themselves and discover (the best for their age) a turned out (Open the door)
passe and then telling them "this is a passe we are eventually going to be turning with to become a pique." to make it simple so they understand. Also have them repeat the word pique. My 3 to 5 year old can reconize and say piques. Amazing!
I never start turning right away, After they have been to the barre for some weeks or even months .Then they can go center floor to find their passes and balance and correct them with positive reinforcement so the can start to become aware in the mirror what you are asking for and what a turned out passes looks like and what their form is.
Remember muscle memory over and over in short increments is the best. Over and Over again make it fun!
Then maybe 4 weeks to 8 weeks depending on the dancer start traveling foward piques(no turning) just piques foward piques and degage. Hands on hips or out in second try both position of arms for balance. Remember to always have them put their arms somewhere of never hanging.
After they start moving finding their balance and finding their passe and traveling across the floor (still with no turning ) Then you can then attemt to make one revolution. Children have short tension spands. Fun children songs for the different ages make it fun and cheerful.
I found that some teachers may push dancers to turn with out breaking it down then the dancer never really know where the pique starts and where the pique is suppose to finish or to start another one or go into a combo.They never complete their moves.
I have had them also hold a flower, a ball. a stuffed animal , a baby doll, as they just take piques foward( no turning yet) to find their balance. The prop makes it fun for them. When they have have and smile they want to learn more and come back. Yeah for you as the teacher you did your job!
P.S. When you get to the little older dancer of the music will change for the appropriate age to keep their interest, but all dancers with a creative minds I believe associates well with pictures and imagery as you are teaching them dance. Floating like a fairy,Prancing like a beautiful horse, jumping farther than the Kangaroo or the tallest mountain. Good luck. Pam Rossi
I definitely understand the
I definitely understand the concern about cost and the difficulty in finding continuing ed opportunities for teachers. There are a variety of great teacher conferences and workshops, though, that provide real and useful tools for dance instructors. The key is finding one that is right for you and offers what you need. I won't pretend that shopping around does not take time and effort -as with anything else worth the money (cars, trips, quality services) it certainly does. To me, that once-a-year (or less) expense to rejuvenate and renew your teaching methods is a worthwhile expense of time and money, AND it shows parents/customers that you are interested in giving them your best and staying on top of current teaching methods. Dance Teacher Magazine often spotlights a program/workshop in each month's issue and they host their own. Resources like this are a good starting point but additional research will help you decide where to spend your money. Workshops can be expensive (and far away) but incredibly useful and rewarding if you can find a workshop that meets your needs. And don't settle - even if a convention is the most popular gathering of dance teachers on the planet, it is no good if it doesn't provide what you're looking for so ask questions and talk to people who have been there.
With all of that said, however, I do want to add that the number of resources available for dance teachers on the internet is growing. Here, teachers can learn and exchange information and tools of the trade - often for free or a comparatively small fee. Certainly forums like this one are good places to visit. There are also a number of blogs popping up with great information (I happen to blog about a wide variety of dance education topics and my links section includes many other resources for teachers.) Social networks like facebook and twitter are also good places to look for others in the dance community with which you can share tips and techniques. I know from experience that dance teachers don't have a ton of time to spend online but there are lots of ways to streamline your access to the info you want or need (but that's probably another topic).
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I think you gave me at least one new blog post idea - teaching piqué turns! ;) If you do want to know about this specifically, maybe let us know what methods you've tried already, and perhaps we can help you come up with some new ideas.
All the best!
Nichelle
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