Session Two Day Eleven (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger):
We had a fun day today! I decided to try and do the isolations seated, for both classes, to try and help them distinguish movement of their hips and their ribs. It worked pretty well! It is a lot harder to use your hips to move your body when you have both sitz bones on the ground, and they looked good! I think it will still be a while before I can have them move just their ribs while standing, but I think this is good progress, and a good solution to the problem.
We still worked on the usual things; pirouettes, kicks, leaps, chaines, side leaps, and normal leaps, but I began to combine things together. I had her do 8 counts of kicks and then an 8 count pirouette (the music was kind of slow) and it worked pretty well! She got mixed up about which foot to use when starting the pirouettes, but I think that was more me confusing her as I tried to mirror her (I may have done it backwards the first few times). I think with practice we'll be able to get them down really well!
The stag leaps are coming along pretty well too! She gets mixed up with which foot should leap, but they're getting better. I had her practice a high chaine and a low chaine with out the leap before we started the stags, and that seemed to help. She still bounces between each step, which throws off her momentum, but that'll come with more practice.

Class One Jazz (Older):
This class went well too! The girls are getting a little more rowdy, and want to play tag through all the exercises, but they are doing well. We did pirouettes, kicks, kick and pirouette combination, side leaps, leaps, chaines, and I began to teach them how to do a floor roll. We started by doing one chaine and then tucked the back leg to allow us to do a bum roll so we could come back to standing and turn under ourselves. It was pretty rough, but I think they'll get it with practice. I am hoping we can do chaines into a bum roll into two chasses and a side leap, but it'll probably be a few weeks before we attempt that. We made it farther in the hip hop routine, and they are doing well. They understand the counts pretty well, (even if their counting with the music still needs a little work). They all take corrections really well and are a delight to work with.

Session Two Day Ten (MW)

Class One General Dance:
I began teaching modern this time, and it was a lot of fun! We started class by watching part of the Taylor Swift "Shake It Off" music video to show them different kinds of dance. It was a fun way to introduce a new style of dance. We did a combination with the "x" and fetal positions, plies, tendus, walking and leaping patterns and began learning a dance/combination. It was a fun day, and the dancers really enjoyed it! I had quite a few who said they liked it better than ballet, which is kinda fun.

Class Two Ballet (Younger):
Today was a little crazy. The boy and the three younger girls were very hard to get to pay attention. One kept swinging on the barre and the boy would alternate between kicking or punching one girl to the other. It was chaos. I'm starting to realize he needs a lot of personal attention, to keep him on task and to give him the encouragement that he needs. I am very excited to have an assistant!
We made it through plies, tendus, rond de jambs, eleves, releves, kicks, sautes, pas de chat, leaps and chaines, and I tried to have them do a pirouette combination where you do four quarter turns, two half turns and four whole turns, but after the eleves and releves they were pretty tired, so it didn't work very well. I think I'm going to do something else next time.

Class Three Ballet (Older):

I did a few new things to try and help this student progress a little bit more. I had her try and do the combinations without me saying anything and only directly following me on the first side. She did pretty good, but I think I want to keep working on it. I want her to get to the point where she can count and remember most of it on her own. We did plies, tendus, rond de jambs, eleves, releves, pirouettes at the barre, sautes, center tendu and pas de bourree, chaines, pas de chats, and leaps. The pas de bourrees are looking a lot better! I made a center tendu combination that ends with three pas de bourrees and it's helping a lot! I'm excited and I think I'll be able to put them in her dance! She really struggles to remember things, and I think she's not as hard of a worker as the other student who has her own class and I forget that sometimes. I want to inspire her to push herself or even just exert herself so she can do even better without me telling her exactly what to do next. 

I've been struggling with finding ballet music that I like to create dances for the showcase. Everything I find is either too slow or just doesn't fit. I'm going to keep looking and hopefully I find something soon so they can start learning it!

Session Two Day Nine (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger): 
This class went quite well today. The dancer's tumbling classes ended so she is able to stay for the whole hour for the rest of the session! I was quite excited. I decided to add isolations to the warm up for both classes to help them with the hip hop routine, and it is fun to see them learning a new concept. We worked on our leaps, kicks, chaines, pirouettes and I began teaching the stag leap. It was fun to see her attack a new challenge, and I think she'll be able to get them down quite well by the showcase.

Class Two Jazz (Older):
We had a fun day in this class as well. The students are very engaged and well behaved (even if they are quite talkative). We worked on our kicks, pirouettes, side leaps, chaines, leaps, and really pushed straight legs today. They are all improving a lot and it is a fun group! I also talked more about spotting in this class especially. It can be a difficult concept to pick up, but they are doing pretty well. With the spotting their chaines are staying straighter, but there is still a lot of wobbling with each step, which will be the next thing we work on.

Session Two Day Eight (MW)

Class One General Dance:
Today we did ballet again, and I realized that with how many classes we have left I may have spent too long on this style, so we may be rushing through the other styles. It will be good though. We worked on plies, tendus, round de jambes, kicks, leaps and chaines. I tried to teach a center tendu but we ran out of time. I think we might just show different technique things for the showcase.

Class Two Ballet (Younger):
The class went fairly well today. We did plies, tendus, rond de jambs, kicks, chaines, leaps, and I started pas de chats with the students today. It was a bit of a struggle, but with work it will get better. It was a struggle as always to get everyone to pay attention, but it's getting a little better.

Class Three Ballet (Older):
Today was a pretty good class. She doesn't do very well with remembering the names of things, but I'm hoping that she'll get there. We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, releves, kicks, practiced pirouettes at the barre, pas de bourrees, pas de chats, leaps and chaines. It was a good class and I can see her coming along. The pas de bourrees are looking a little better and less confused, but I think I should have started with the simple pas de bourrees (that start with a tombe) instead of the coupe pas de bourree.

Session Two Day Seven (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger):
This class went really well! My one dancer is progressing quite well and I think I'm going to start her on some harder things. We did leaps, kicks, pirouettes, chaines, and leaps, and I think she could do stag leaps as well. She is doing better with the hip hop routine and told me that she has been practicing it. She is doing really well, I'm very excited to get to continue to work with her!

There was another applicant today, and she did really well! She came at four and stayed until partway through the second class. She had a good aerobic warm up, and got along well with the students. It was very fun to see them interact with a new teacher, and it was nice to have someone there to help give corrections and keep the class going.

Class Two Jazz (Older):
This class went well today too! We worked on pirouettes, kicks, leaps, chaines and began learning side leaps today. I've had them do 8 counts of kicks and 8 counts of free dancing, and am trying to work them up to counting on their own. It's kind of fun, and I think this will be an excellent way to teach them how to count music and do each movement on the assigned count. They are doing really well with their hip hop dance, and are all very excited to learn the whole thing!

We had a talk today about failure. Some of the dancers seemed a little frustrated about their progress, and so I decided that it was time for a talk. I told them a story about when I was learning to ice skate from a professional ice skater, and she said that if we weren't falling, we weren't learning. We then talked about what this means in dance. I told them that it doesn't matter how many times we don't get it quite right as long as we keep trying. They took it a little bit literally, (there was a lot of talk about falling when we dance) but I think it helped. The rest of the class seemed to go smoother, and they all seemed determined to keep trying to progress.

Session Two Day Six (MW)

Class One General Dance:
This class went very well today! I have one applicant come in to help assist with the class. She was very good with the kids, had an excellent combination, and did really well keeping their attention. She was an excellent assistant and just jumped in to assist, answer questions and give corrections wherever necessary. The class went really well and was really fun! We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, kicks, chines and leaps. It was especially nice to have help getting everyone turning the correct way on their chaines and keep everyone in line while waiting for their turn.

Class Two Ballet (ages 5-8):
I had another applicant come assist for this class, and she did well too. She was less comfortable with the young kids, but she gave very good corrections, and kept them all in line very well.
We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, kicks, leaps, center tendus, and chaines. The class definitely did better having another teacher there. We were able to divide up giving individual corrections and leading the class, and it worked a lot better! I am so excited to have help running this class!

Class Three Ballet (ages 9-12):
We still only have one girl here (I don't think her friend is going to show up) but I don't think I could merge her with the younger class. We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, releves,

Session Two Day Five (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger):
We still only had one student today, but she is doing really well! We began the hip hop routine with her today, and she had a hard time with which had went where, but she's doing pretty good. She is a hard worker and pays attention, so I think she'll do fine.

Class Two Jazz (Older):
We had another student join today! She was suppose to be in the younger class, but she showed up at 5 pm instead of 4 pm, and her parents said they would rather do this time. She is does not pick up too quickly on dance concepts, so it was a little hard to make sure she didn't feel too behind but still challenge the other students. It was fun, and it will definitely make things more exciting! I continued to try and test their memories and have them try things without my help. I tried to go a little slower for the new student's turn, and helped her along, especially with the harder concepts. She didn't seem to get frustrated or discouraged though, so that is really good!

I'm starting to struggle with remembering what things I've done with which class, but the kids help remind me.

Session Two Day Four (MW)

Class One General Dance ages 5-8:
This class went pretty well. I kept it fast paced enough to keep everyone entertained. It was still a struggle (five and six year-olds struggle with paying attention) but it went well. We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, kicks, stretching, leaps, chines, and sautes.
I think this class is going well, but I need to start getting their ballet dance ready for them to learn so they can be ready before we need to move on to the next style.

Class Two Ballet ages 5-8:
This class got a little out of hand today. The one boy is not very interested in ballet. He doesn't have the attention span for the barre, and distracts the other students and by the time we leave, he is done. I'm going to need to come up with ways to keep his attention.
I think I need to work on controlling a classroom and having a more "teacher" presence. I want the kids to be comfortable and feel safe, but I also need them to listen and learn to pay attention and follow dance etiquette.
Today we worked on plies, tenus, rond de jambs, pirouettes, kicks, leaps, sautes, chaines, and began pas de chats. It was kind of a mess, but I think they are learning, even if it is a struggle to get them to pay attention. I hope I can hire an assistant soon. ballet is very specific, and it is hard to manage five students and give them all the feed back and help that they need.

Class Three Ballet ages 9-12:
Today there was still only one student, but she has a friend that will hopefully be coming next time so we can continue the class.
We worked on plies, tendus, rond de jambs, and did some releves to prepare for pirouettes. We then did stretching, kicks on the ground, leaps, chaines, pas de chats and learned pas de bourrees. It was a good class, and I enjoy teaching an older class, especially a ballet class.

Session Two Day Three (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger):
None of the students showed up today (one informed us that they would be absent when she registered, and I don't know where the other one was,) so I used the time to lesson plan and prepare.

Class Two Jazz (Older):
We were missing one student today (the boy who came last time; I am hoping that I didn't scare him off with the hip hop we did at the end of the class) but everyone else was there. We worked on pirouettes, leaps, kicks, chaines, chasses and continued our hip hop routine. It was a very fun class and the students are a fun group! I had them do most of the exercises without me a couple times which went really well. I'm hoping to help develop their memories as I teach them and it's going pretty well!

Session Two Day Two (MW)

Class One General Dance:
This class was quite fun. There were four students, and I had decided to start with the ballet style since it is the most structured. We learned the positions and leaps and it was a fun class. Only three students, but it will be fun.

Class Two Ballet (Younger):
We have five students in this class, and it's a little difficult. One of the students is a 5 year old boy who likes to do "ballet turns" he is very cute, but has a lot of energy and a small attention span, which sums up most of the class. It will definitely be a challenge, and I don't know that the structured style of ballet will be as fun for these dancers, but I think

Class Three Ballet (Older):

There was only one girl in this class, and she is about nine. It was pretty fun to have an older class, and I think it will be fun to have have an older ballet class and get to do more advanced moves. 

Session Two Day One (TR)

Class One Jazz (Younger):
This class only had two people sign up, and one of then won't be able to come for the first week, and the other one can only come for the first half an hour (because she has tumbling as well). It's going to make for an interesting class!

Class Two Jazz (Older):
We have a good group signed up for this class! We had three girls signed up and one boy who signed up today! We started learning the basics of Jazz (pirouettes, chaines, and leaps) and I started teaching them a hip hop combination. They are a fun group, and the boy had a lot of talent! I'm very excited to work with this group!

Class Three General Dance:
The third class only had one student sign up and she arrived about 20 minutes late. After talking to her mother, she was unable to come to another class and decided to just try again another session. I was a little bummed, but I think it will be more fun for the student to be able to be with other dancers.

New Plans

While this last session went well, I am planning on making some revisions.

I hope to have a more set and planned warm up routine. I think it was good to allow them to free dance and learn about rhythms, but I would also like to do some conditioning and things that will help strengthen them to prevent injury. I think a semi-set warm up could be useful.

I also want to include new steps (especially if there are returning students). I am considering adding side leaps, connecting the chasses and the leaps, giving more combinations and adding some hip hop into the jazz curriculum.

In some of my classes we are discussing the effects of movement and technique on the body. I have also been learning about injury prevention, and want to include some of the strengthening and preventative exercises that I have been learning into my lesson plans. I hope that by providing a sound foundation the dancers I teach will continue to be healthy and avoid injury.

I also plan to build upon the technique. I want to be adding "challenges" each time we practice basic technique so that they can always be learning and it will be less stale and boring.

Day Twelve - Showcase!

I arrived late (due to car trouble) but the girls were there and so excited to go!

We began by doing a simple warm up (some free dance and the rhythm song) and then did some quick stretching. We then practiced our "explode" combination, and ran through the dance a few times. We had to practice not talking and narrating through the dance (which I realized we shoul've practiced a lot sooner). I then sent the girls to grab a drink and bring in their families. We were waiting for one parent so I had the girls show their chaines (since they are the main thing we didn't do in our dance) which was very fun. We then did the dance, and besides some giggling it went off without a hitch! They all did so well, and I was so proud of them for remembering and picking up so much! It was really exciting and fun to see them so happy and excited and to see how far they'd come!

With my plans to get a teaching job out of state after I graduate I was a little sad to have this session be over. I'll miss these girls, and I hope they sign up next session as well! But I am also excited to get an opportunity to try some of the new ideas that I've had with this next group of dancers.

Day Eleven

Today was one of the late comer's last day. (The other student hasn't shown up for about a week and a half, and I realized that I don't have any contact information for her because she signed up late.) We had her mom come and watch which was really sweet. It is so cute to see how much these girls love and are excited to show their parents all they've learned. I was also impressed with how well she focused and paid attention even though she had an audience.

We continued in much the same pattern as last time; we went around the circle picking one stretch to do, practiced our technique and then ran our dance. Today I did better with time management and didn't stay on one thing too long. We made it through everything fairly quickly and got right down to the dance. The girls were very concerned about how things would work with one of them missing, but I told them we would practice on Thursday before their parents came.

I handed out fliers with the details of the performance and what each dancer was to wear and expect. I'm having the students come in to warm up and practice and then the audience members enter after that. Hopefully it will go well!

All in all, even with the late start, I think we are ready to perform!

Fliers and Posters

I finally completed the posters and fliers for the next session!
I'm quite excited about them and really hope they get our numbers up. I plan to take them to different businesses around town this afternoon.

Day Ten

Today the main focus was completing the dance.

Things went a lot better today. We began by all picking a favorite stretch (to test their memories and condense the preparation before we began the technique). It was quite fun to see what they remembered and which stretches were their favorites. We then practiced most of our usual technique. I did not keep good track of time, and we ended up spending more time on technique than I had intended. Next time I'll have to pay better attention and try to go faster.

Next we worked on their dance. They remembered it fairly well! All of the dancers participated in learning and doing the rest of the dance, and everything went pretty smoothly. At the end I planned to have each student do a "trick" or favorite move and then come together for an ending pose, but it turned out to be a bit of a mess. They all picked poses instead of movements, and then I let them arrange the ending pose to allow them creativity. While we made the pose symmetrical, it was a little strange. I think I'll have to change the ending so there's only one thing instead of two that blend together and seem messy.

Hopefully we'll be able to practice enough to be ready to perform!

Day Nine

Today went pretty well. I came prepared with a dance for them to learn, and they got most of it down! I kept it pretty simple because I was worried about the younger dancers being able to remember it and execute it, but with the older girls leading it's going well.

The youngest dancer still refuses to do a lot of the things. She starts to pout when we do the combinations but she came and did them (if in an upset manner) after I told her they would be in the dance. She did the first part of the dance well and happily, but when we added kicks and turns she started to pout and wouldn't do anything. I didn't really baby her today; I wanted to get through as much of the dance as I could, and didn't really want to stop the other girls learning by stopping class to convince her to participate. I'll probably try and do more next class to help her, but I'm not sure what...

I had each dancer pick a stretch to do after warming up today, and that worked pretty well. I wanted to keep everything quick and simple, so we could get to learning the dance, and we were still able to stretch pretty well in all directions. I kept all the practicing technique pretty simple and quick since most of the steps were in the dance.

After the other girls left we practiced chaines and pirouettes and then did some free dancing and walking through the jungle. I wish we had more students that stayed longer so that this one student could experience imagining and dancing with others her age better, but it was still fun.

Day Eight

Today went well. We did the Rhythm game to warm up (a song that has you move and rest for specific times) which was more aerobic than I'd expected, but it was good. Nest we did some stretching, and I tried to do some less strenuous stretched and do a little bit more fluid movements. We worked on pirouettes, kicks, leaps, and chaines. Then we learned a new combination (eight counts of kicks and one pirouette) which they didn't like but that they did very well with and then practiced our combination from last time. We ended with freeze dance because they seemed a little worn out in mind and body. 

Having the girls freeze dance while coming back from drinks has worked pretty well. It makes me feel like we aren't wasting time, but that none of the girls are missing anything either. 

After the other girls left, we played the Jungle Game, the Rhythm Game and did some stretching (only one of the late comers came again). Both of us were pretty tired, and it was hard to come up with things to do that filled the time enough but didn't take up a ton of energy. 

The youngest girl didn't actually cry, but she hid behind some chairs and wouldn't come out until I offered to let her "be the teacher." I had her tell us when to start our combination, but she didn't really perk up much or dance with us again until freeze dance at the end. I am not really sure what was wrong. One of my friends suggested that she is doing it for attention, and maybe I'll have to single her out a little bit more, but my natural reaction to people seeking attention is to ignore them. I don't want to baby her or stop the class for her, but I want her to dance and learn as well...

It has been kind of a struggle for me energy wise lately. It has been hard to find the energy to do all that I need to do body wise (I have 3-4.5 hours of dance before each day of teaching) but the students seem more worn out as well. I wonder how to help with that... Maybe do some yoga or slow sustained movements? I am hoping to teach maybe one combination more and then put together the dance. It's cutting it a little close, but I think we can make it work. Hopefully. I think a good deal of it will be poses or tricks, and then the two combinations that I have already taught them. The girls decided to name the one with the fan kick "The Happy Combination" and the one with the kicks and pirouettes "The Straight One." It was pretty cute. 

It has been so exciting to get to work with these girls and see their progression and excitement. I am realizing that if they come back for next session I am going to need to have a lot more lesson plans and a greater variety of movement and activities for them though!

Day Seven

We did the usual exercises today, but we went through them faster so we could learn new material. The students are beginning to remember how to do each step and how they start, which is very exciting because it means we can focus more on technique and begin adding other concepts and steps.

We learned a simple combo today (it was very cute to see how wide-eyed they got at the new word) and it went very well! They learned it quickly, and were able to do it by themselves by the end of class. It was quite fun and exciting!

The main technique we focused on was spotting during all of the different types of turns that we practiced. We talked about spotting without tilting our heads and I used the image of your chin staying on a table, but I think it was a little difficult for the dancers to understand. I think I might try a book or something on the top of their heads, and see if that helps.

We also attempted to do kicks on a beat, which was fun, if a little messy. There was definite improvement from last class though! Mostly it is a struggle to get them to do the step before the kick on a beat as well, but we'll keep working on it. It will be exciting to see them continue to improve.

After we practiced each exercise I had the dancers try and do it on their own (without my verbal ques or physical example). They did quite well and I was very impressed with their willingness to step up to a challenge.

Our youngest dancer got discouraged at one point, but she cheered up after we did silly high fives. I think she is doing better at facing new steps and not getting discouraged.

It's very funny and interesting to see the different parents who are so involved in their child's dancing and proper technique. In a way it is very exciting and fun, but it also worries me. If a child has too many authoritative figures giving them corrections it is easy for them to become discouraged, but so far the children have seemed fine.

One of the late comers was absent today, so I only had one student until 5:30. We did some simple games (freeze dance, a rhythm game, and a creative game involving jungle animals). Then we stretched and left a little bit early because we were both a little worn out.

Overall I am pleased with the progress that these dancers are making and I really enjoy keeping them on their toes and trying to not do the same type of class twice in a row. I think it makes the class more engaging for the students and for me as a teacher.

Day Six

For the warm up today I simplified counting game. We did hops and steps and then another set of releves and skips (not smooth transition) and did four to one and then one to four. Worked better than four different things (it was hard for me to call everything out in the right order). I was still very out of breath while calling out the next movement, and overall this game not work as well as I'd expected.
We tried to do kicks to beat today. It was a struggle. I may need to try some rhythm games first so they can gain a better understanding of rhythms and beats and then try again.

We also did the "purple mud" again and it helped the newest girl and one other girl (who has been doing pas de papillions instead of leaps) but a little pointless for the other students. I almost wish I could split them up, but I think the youngest dancer would just see that as her not being good enough and the age difference really isn't that different.

We didn't get to chaines with whole group (three of the dancers had to leave) because I lost track of time, but we got through a lot of other things, so that was good.

I felt like today got a little out of control. One of the girls is pretty hard to get to pay attention, or to listen to all of the instructions. As soon as I say we are going to do kicks across the floor she'll just go without the rest of the instructions. Perhaps I can better present my information so that she doesn't think I'm finished before I am, but I think she also has a short attention span.

I think I need to start preparing a dance or combonation for the girls. I have noticed in the past that I tend to lose control when there is too much of a routine and the kids can predict exactly what will happen next. They start trying to take control and getting a head of themselves and I have five children going different directions. It helps having the two older girls there, but it is still a struggle. Maybe we should start playing the shape game and combining things together so that they can progress and their interest is kept.

I am feeling frustrated with my choreography and ideas in the dance world a little bit...

Day Five

I created a counting game to warm up for this day. I was planning on having us do four different movements four times each and then three and then two and then once, to create a fun and silly environment and to help each girl develop a sense of internal counting and rhythm. I planned on doing it once slowly, a few times more quickly and then a few times with music that had a strong down beat to help them practice counting. I created two sets the first was hop, run, jump, and wiggle and the second was releve, skip, spin, and a hamstring stretch (this latter one had movements that would take two counts so we would approach it at half time).
When I began to execute it, I realized that these students would need more time to understand and execute this game, so we only did the first set and did not advance to doing it with music. I may simplify it for next week and see if the students can do it on their own.

I was also hoping to get done with pirouettes before the second set of students came (so that the rest of class would be less rushed and we would have more to do after the first group left), but one girl came at about fifteen after so we had just finished stretching. The rest of class went smoothly, and we revisited pirouettes after the first group of students had left. The student who came early had to leave early as well, so the last fifteen minutes I only had my newest student, which turned out really well. We were able to work on her leaps (using a large scarf as "purple mud" to help her visualize and embody the concept of going from one foot to the other instead of a more skipping motion), and do a small amount of stretching which greatly helped her technique.

The youngest dancer cried and had a bit of a melt down when I tried to help her do her chaines correctly (she was flipping back and forth instead of making complete circles). I'm not really sure what to do with her. I want her to be comfortable and happy, but I also want her to be able to learn and do the exercises correctly.

Day Four

I began class with a game to warm up (free dancing with different challenges; fast, slow, high, low, together, separate, etc) and added some new stretches. I liked having a moment to collect myself at the beginning of class and let the students dance some of their energy out to get warm.

We continued to work on technique for pirouettes, kicks, chasses, leaps, and chaines, and we got an new student! She hasn't danced before but is willing to try everything and will be coming from 4:30 to 5:30 which will be so much fun for the other late comer to have a friend instead of being stuck with just the teacher for her last half hour.

I have also discovered that when I allow them to do fast chaines the momentum helps them continue to go in the correct direction instead of flipping back and forth. They are doing pretty good, and it was very exciting for me to realize that they were doing better than expected!

Day Three

We did a little bit of a creative warm up today. I turned on different music and had them dance different speeds, feelings or styles depending on the tempo and emotions of the music. It was pretty fun, and good to change thing up a little bit.

We did all of the normal exercises, and I was able to clarify the kicks a little bit better. We really emphasis the step before each kick and they all got it! They did really well.

The youngest dancer only cried once! She slipped when she landed a cartwheel and hurt her toes, so it wasn't even because of the material! I was very pleased. I feel like she is really making progress.

Day Two

Combining the classes was a little more complicated than expected. One girl's mother is a teacher and could not get her to class before 4:30 and the other girls' mother had another commitment at 5:00. We ended up doing a compromise, so some of the girls come at 4:00 and some come at 4:30 and I make sure they all get an hour of dance in. It will be different, but I think it will work.

I planned to stretch, do pirouettes and kicks and then do freeze dance at 4:30 so that the girl who had to come later would be able to warm up her body and do the other exercises with us without injury. The youngest dancer still cried a lot, but she was better than last time. Her mother practiced with her at home so she was more confident at first, but I kinda learned that for her getting her to do something across the floor or any type of turn is an accomplishment even if it's not the same thing everyone else is doing. Hopefully we can build her confidence and get her to a point where she will be able to feel safe and do well in future classes.

I introduced the idea of spotting to them as a break for the youngest dancer when she got frusterated and it seemed to really help. I might have to break up the class with small things that will build her confidence before we go do things that are harder.

The sisters brought their neighbor so we ended up with a total of four girls! Which while still small, is still pretty fun. I'm excited to get to continue to work with this group of girls.

When the other children had to leave the last dancer was a little bummed. I think she really enjoyed having other children to play and dance with and it was kind of sad for her to be all alone again. I'll have to come up with some games and other fun things to help her enjoy that last half hour after the others leave.

Day One

I was planning on teaching the basics of pirouettes, jazz kicks, leaps, chasses and chaines, in both jazz classes and was planning on teaching a basic ballet class for the general dance class, but we only had three students sign up total, so we had to combine classes. Luckily they were all in the younger age group (from 5 to 8).

For the first day I taught some basic stretching after we did a little bit of cardio to warm up our bodies. Then we worked on pirouettes, kicks, leaps, and chaines. The youngest girl struggled a bit after the stretching. She was in the class with just her sister which helped, but she still cried most of the class. I think she took gymnastics in the past, and picked up on that very quickly and was just not sure how to deal with not knowing how to do things yet. We took turns doing our favorite tricks (she did some very impressive cartwheels) to help her calm down and gain confidence, and did a bit of freeze dance. Hopefully I'll be able to help her calm down and do a little bit more each class so that she can improve and not feel like she can't do any of it.

The last class only had on girl, and she picked up on things very quickly. I taught her the same things so that she would not be behind or feel lost when we combine the classes next time. She had lots of energy, but was able to focus and follow instructions very well. She responded well to imagery, and it was a fun class!