Dancing News – September 2007

Term 3 is almost over! Oh MY! I can’t believe it! It was a long term but it seems to have just flown!!The dancers have been working so hard on their choreographies and they look great! I can’t wait to seem them performed at the competition on the 30^th September.

Lessons will cease on Saturday 29^th September and will recommence on Monday 15^th October, for Term 4. There will be two holiday classes during the break, I will let you know the dates of those closer to the time.

SATURDAY CLASS - Term 4 will have the Saturday Class from 9.30-10.45. The younger dancers will be from 9.30 - 10.15, with the older dancers staying to complete their beginner dances in the last 30mins.

EXAMS THURSDAY 22^nd NOVEMBER.

Going home with this newsletter is an envelope with your exam information on it. Please fill it in and return to me asap, definitely before the end of term. I need to fill in all the paperwork and post it off during the holidays. The assessments (PrePrimary and Primary) are very good for the children. They get a report on their work, but they are unable to ‘fail’, it is just an assessment – so it is positive in all aspects. The examinations are pass/fail, but I would never send a candidate in who I thought couldn’t cope, so please don’t be alarmed about that, for those of you who are doing the examination segment.

DISPLAYS

We have had lots and lots of displays these past few weeks, with another this Saturday at Bankstown. It has been really lovely to see our beginner dancers performing in the displays, and I know it’s done their confidence a world of good. I would encourage you all to attend dance outs and displays. It is a totally different atmosphere to the competition circuit, the comments from the crowd make you swell with pride (and I say that as a dancing Mum and a teacher.)

PRACTISE

The dreaded word! Recently I have been asking to see the dancer’s journals and setting them practice, not just ‘dance practice’ but ‘thinking practice too’. I have just found some really great tips regarding practice, I hope you find these useful. Perhaps the dancers can cut them out and paste them into their journals? I got these ideas from dance.net. It has a highland segment and many parents, dancers, teachers and judges are on there. They are mostly from America and Canada (where Highland is huge) but some great ideas….

I have two DD's, one is a novice and the younger one a beginner.. We just had conversations with our dance instructor to try to motivate the younger one to practice more, etc. However, the most important thing I realized is my DD's are individuals, and they love different things about Highland dance. My older daughter loves the friends she's made, the motivation competitions provide, and a stage to perform on. She is motivated to work hard, and feels rewarded by learning more dances and seeing the payoff. My younger daughter simply loves having fun, and being part of the dance school. She simply tries her best, and is happy even if her best isn't THE best. Our teacher understands that they are individuals and each is taking something important from Highland dance. The practicing, if forced will simply backfire if they are not self motivated at the time. Good luck

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I'm not just a dance teacher, I'm a dance mom too! I have two daughters who dance. One just finished taking a year off. Her big issue was that she didn't want to perform in the community. She was shy, and some kids at school were just plain ignorant to her about highland dance and she couldn't shake it off. I felt, rather than force her, I'd give her time to discover what she wanted. She tried out a few other activities, but guess what? She's baaack!
Talking about why they don't want to dance or perform in class (again, depending on the age) is a good idea. Setting goals even better. Asking what their favorite competition is and working towards getting a medal at it is an idea.
I did have a dancer who was starting to "stray" in class. Her mother came forward and just simply stated getting the dancer to practice was worse than anything. So I worked a little one on one with her dancer and got her to express what she wanted from her dancing and how she could get it. Part of the problem was when practicing was taking place. If it was right after supper, her tummy was full and she felt heavy (she's 8). Her routine was come home from school, snack, homework, supper, practice, chore, and play/tv/computer. So we talked with her Mom and it changed to come home from school, snack, practice, supper, homework, chore, and play/tv/computer. There was a significant change in her attitude.
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Depends on the age, but I find the following makes practices go a lot smoother and they seem to look forward to them more:
-warm up to some music other than highland- try Irish, fiddle, full pipe band, Red Hot Chili Pipers, pop music
-do choreography first as a motivator, then the traditional dances
-watch other dancers on YouTube and then try it, for example watch a championship fling and then dance the fling
-video tape your child doing a dance and then watch the video with them, then try the dance again
Most importantly, give them a choice: shall we practice Saturday or Sunday? Shal we practice before dinner today or after dinner? I'll choose two dances for you to practise and you choose two. Etc.
Then I always end the practice with "last dance is your choice". I get no arguments and it gets them to do one more

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I have a few suggestions:
If your girls are practicing together, it could be that they're rubbing off on each other. I teach children and I find that if one is tired or unmotivated, the others tend to follow, so it might be an idea to separate them and have them practice at different times during the day.
Also, something that I've found personally helps me to get motivated is to find some new music to practice to! I like to find either new celtic music or even pop music that is in the right time signature and do my fling to a new song! Sometimes Highland can feel repetitive, because it's always the same dances.
You might try also finding other kids in the school who are eager practicers or perhaps a bit older and more advanced who would be willing to practice with your children. Seeing someone else who is eager and dancing well could help motivate them.
Finally, I know you feel bad about making them guilty for not practicing, but it might not hurt to explain the situation calmly to them. They may (depending on their age) be able to see that it's important to earn their new outfits and so they understand that a certain amount is expected of them. I don't think you're being unreasonable to expect them to practice.

My mother was in the same situation with me when I was younger, what with growing and having to get new outfits, and she explained to me that if she couldn't afford to pay for competitions and outfits if I wasn't going to practice. She also added that I was welcome to dance recreationally without a new costume if I wanted, but if I wanted to compete, and all the costs that go with it, I simply had to practice. I'm glad she told me and although there were days I didn't feel like practicing, I don't resent her in any way for making me practice- in fact, I'm glad she did!