I actually enjoyed our dance class lesson. This is the one that made me the most nervous about teaching and learning – my strategy to pair up with Agnes (a fellow nervous dancer) was foiled when our group was separated into 4 lines! Now what was I going to do!
My only dance experience has been some less than enthusiastic swing dance lessons, “dancing” at the bar or whatever you call that – mostly just distract and run away from the dance floor – weddings (which are always a great time!) and PE class where we learned line dancing and two step (probably). So far my love of line dance has not been very useful so I was really excited to learn this dance – they taught us 4 basic movements, eliminating any fear or confusion – and then a simple set of steps that we all completed IN A LINE! I loved that. This was line dancing without being country which means most people will like it, not just redneck girls like me. It was a great lesson and I appreciated their instruction and enthusiasm. By the end of the lesson I was feeling brave enough to incorporate more emotion and movement into my steps. SUCCESS!
Dance can be intimidating because we often think of ballerinas or real modern dancers and their ability to perform complex moves synchronized and very quickly. It was nice to see that this is not the only way. I also really enjoyed the articles that taught the basics of modern dance. I want to teach dancing as a story telling and dramatic movement – from more of a theatrical approach than an actual song and dance routine. Maybe as teachers we just need to demystify dancing. Don’t worry so much about looking good or getting the beat right and practice using your body to show emotions. The kids that love dancing will be able to take this and expand on it, and the kids that are intimidated by all this dancing, will be able to access it from a point of view where they can be more comfortable. I actually feel prepared to teach dance now.
On a side note, I was watching SHAW local tv this morning and they had a kids dance instructor group on there called FUCI, fun unique creative individuals and they were great! I want to bring them in to my class. Also DancePlay is full of great resources as well. Dancing can be fun and easy to teach!