teaching dance: week one-step.

That first week of teaching the middle school girls was really fun, and really informative. It is really fitting that we started off with step. It allowed us to have a certain type of structure that made it easier to keep the girls focused on what we were doing.

We meet with the girls from noon to 1:30. A lot of the talk working up to teaching the girls had been about making sure they stayed focused and being assertive in disciplinary actions. I expected to see a lot of girls who either thought they were adults or were just ready to misbehave, but that's not what I encountered at all.Instead, they were attentive, interested, and excited about what we were going to do. We had less than 10 girls that day, and since step is my realm, I took the lead. We went into the seminar room, and had introductions while Nicole and I located the pizza. I told them to say their name, and one thing that they'd seen that day that was beautiful. The answers were interesting:flowers, siblings or parents, and dogs ruled the day. Nicole and I then introduced ourselves and said a little bit more about what we were going to do. I showed them some videos [including the one of STOMP at Lusher for the Crawfish Boil], and then we got serious with some studio rules (the ultimate favorite is "One Diva, One Mic", which I borrowed from a large discussion two days before between SASS and Enlace.

A couple of lessons I learned that day:
-Mirrors are distracting, because some girls like their reflection a little too much.
-The call of "Attention!" is very effective (it's the one thing that has stuck as far as keeping them focused and moving effectively from one topic to the next).
-Movements that are prideful/full of "attitude" work really well.
-Not everyone is always going to like or be able to learn each movement.Staying positive, but not calling too much attention, is the key to helping them feel better.
-I love hugs.And they love giving them, or at least appease me. =)
-I'm actually good at being the serious one when I need to be.

And here is the video of STOMP 2009 Lusher Crawfish Boil performance. I look like a toothpick.


-be.happy