CriticalDance Forum

Just found ya'll this evening! Wow!<P>I teach a dance team and dance level 1 and 2 at a public high school. Just recently we hired an assistant and my tired enthusiasm has been renewed. Since we were able to plan so far ahead, I have finally been able to scour the internet for all the extra goodies I can share with my students.<P>I hope to absorb lots of new things here. <P>For starters, I am teaching ballet to some inner city high school kids with NO knowledge or background. I would love additional "interesting" and sparking websites or fun facts to share with them.<P>If you know of some internet resources that I could check out...please reply.<P>I also direct the high school performing dance/drill team. It gets pretty exciting around here.<P>

Hello ShyAnneDirector - it's a pleasure to have you join us.<P>I, too, taught in a performing arts high school and wrote of some of my experiences in that school here on the board.<P>Here is the thread if you are interested in reading about it:<P><A HREF=../../../ubb/Forum7/HTML/000199.html><B>Teaching Ballet in a Performing Arts High School</B></A><P>I would very much enjoy hearing about your expereinces and I also hope that you will join us in our various other discussions around the board.<P>Once again welcome.....!<BR>

Yes welcome - I am sure you will find lots to share around the board and I'm sure some of our younger, teenage posters may be able to give some more ideas as to other websites with some interesting titbits for your classes.

Basheva, you could write a book...well, you practically did!<P>I enjoyed reading of your experiences and encounters.<P>I have mixed emotions about my own compitencies, but I don't consider myself a novice by any means.<P>At this point, I can safely and securely teach level 1 and 2 of ballet. As short of a time period as I'm allowed in the class, I know that I have MORE than enough insight and knowldge to encompass all their questions at this point.<P>We are not in a magnet school, but a public school offering dance as a fine arts credit to students who must receive 2 whole credits of fine arts to graduate. Many students will choose to take dance to fulfill both their fine arts credits and any electives credits they must also aquire upon graduation.<P>I am the 1st dance certified teacher to come to work with the dance team, so they allowed me to begin offering a dance class in the fine arts department for the 1st time last year.<P>I only offered level 1 with a total of 90 students across 3 class periods. (30 each) Now several of them have signed up for level 2, and 300 new students have signed up for level 1!.....Thus the need for an assistant.<P>These are not optimal circumstances of course, but the level one is so much more of an appreciation course that I truly begin the deeper techique study at the 2nd level.<P>I know that there are soe die hard ballet and classic dance enthusiasts who might feel offended by my next statement, but it is truly not meant it that manner....<P>I don't see the practicalness in my setting of being the "stiff and mean" instructor type in a traditional ballet format class. I will lose those kids...<P>I am looking for the blended line between a "hook" to make dance appealing and the technique and traditional form that they must have before developing their own "style" in the dance world.<P>I believe that all other forms of dance must branch from the basic fundamentals of ballet, but how will I sell them on it? These kids are more concerned about where their next meal will come from and 90% of them will not earn a living from tendu's. <P>The more I write, the more my heart tells me they will see my passion for dance and for them and they will catch on...maybe that is true.<P>Well, thanks for your quick response...let's keep in touch...<P>

HI SHY-I hear (Dallas)Texas is a great dance city-Welcome aboard.

I thought that Shy-AnneDirector brings up some very good points and so I have made a thread for it in the Studio so that perhaps the discussion can be carried on there - here is the link, please join us:<P><A HREF=../../../ubb/Forum7/HTML/000869.html><B>Gaining the Interest of the Regular School Student</B></A>