It occurs to me as I watch my 2nd hour Adv. Dance Class as they work with guest Carlton Dance Professor Jane Shockley this morning, how unusual dance is in many ways in education. It is so normal in my discipline to bring in experts in the field for a day to supplement the curriculum. In this case, for my MYP unit, I've chosen to bring Jane(who is an expert improviser and teacher of dance improv at Carlton) in as a formative assessment at the end of a two week unit on "improvisation".
An uncomfortable skill for me as a young dancer, it is something I value so much now and for my students-the ability to think on one's feet and make choices based on body knowledge and side coaching from the instructor. Listening to the language Jane uses, the music that sets the tone and the response of my students is what I am about this hour.
She brings some students into this quietude more than I , some less, but all are focused after two weeks deeper into themselves and less focused on their friends or their own self consciousness. I hope now their ability to resource a deeper movement vocabulary in their own choreography will become less scarey, more second nature. I see lots of arms and fewer level changes so I know I need to mine that deeper as the weeks go on. The running musical score that never needs to be tended to all hour is something I would like to make for myself. "Pause one minute" she says, "we are going to be diligent"- "you can do better". And they do and they are.
Colleen Callahan-Russell
Southwest Dance Teacher
No comments:
Post a Comment