Technique

As Module Two continues I have been thinking about what it is I have learnt about my interests in dance. I have always had a passion for the delivery of technique and wrote about it as one of my AOL's.

It's such a broad subject area and it fascinates me that people respond to it so differently. In my years of teaching I have had students that really respond to it and others who struggle to see why it is important. I often wonder why this is. Is it down to delivery whether you find a passion for it? Is it simply just like anything we learn some enjoy it more than others? After all, we all work differently. Are some techniques more difficult to engage with than others? In particular these questions refer to teaching technique to young people.

I would be interested to hear peoples thoughts and experiences on delivering technique, at all levels from community based to training programs to degree level. How do your students respond to technique? What are the barriers? Which techniques do you deliver and do you consider to be favourites, to both you and students?

Any thoughts anyone has would be really interesting to read.

Thanks in advance x

Comments

  1. Hannah Lindsay21 March 2018 at 15:02

    I haven't found any resistance in *general*. Where I have found resistance is in situations where dancers are unlearning and relearning, either in situations of relearning previously poor technique or in situations where they're learning a new one. They're skeptical until either A) the proper technique "proves itself" in terms of ease of motion and aesthetics, which takes a while, or B) until they understand the meaning behind it. In particular, my modern class teaching to primarily ballet students currently has taken a while to take hold because it's SO new and SO different that it looks "silly" or "weird." I do a lot of explaining, which has seemed to help. It also seems to depend somewhat on how much the students trust the teacher--I know I personally am likely to absorb totally new information if someone I trust tells me, and I've found my students to be the same way.

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