Oops...I Ended Class Early

Today was a great class, however, it ended a little abruptly and 10 minutes earlier than planned.

My little tough nut, who is actually 6 not 8, did come back this week and was way more engaged than last week. She was also much more responsive to me which was a huge step, but hung off to the side as much as she could. The class was a little bigger this week with three new students. Before we could begin the warm-up, I asked them to make a circle. Sometimes this is a challenge. So I challenge them. Make a circle. Once they got the shape made, we started the warm-up.

Next we played "Magic Soup." This is not my game, I got this game from one of the teachers I worked with at Dell'Arte, but I tweak it a little for my needs depending on the class.  The "ingredients" are different movements. This was our second week exploring the theme of Autumn as inspiration for movement. I asked the girls to think of movements from last week and we added a few new ones - jump, kick, flat, skip, side-slide, gallop, zig-zag, reaching for the sky, crab-walk. Then we started the dancing. I would "taste" the soup and call out the movements I tasted. Then, I went around and had each student taste the soup- and then called out that movement. This game works great for preschoolers and also worked for my older 8 year olds in the class. 

After a water break, it was time to go into our performance scores. We used mirroring. We began with partners and practiced moving slow with the music, making eye-contact, and passing-off leadership. Then we created an audience for the performance score. We worked in trios creating a triangle shape. Leadership passed around the triangle while the other two dancers mirrored the leader in front of them. This is one of my favorite performance scores with any age group because it always works and looks awesome.

When it was time for my little tough nut to go in the stage space, she started off great. She was the first leader, her movements were awesome, and it looked so cool with the other two dancers following her. But then, she noticed and ran off the stage space. She was smiling, but there is some shyness in her about being out in front, about being noticed. She seems way more comfortable participating off to the side. I could not get her to come back out to dance, but I did give her tons of positive praise for what she did do. I don't mind her being off to the side a bit because I know she is feeling it out still and will join us. Unfortunately, one of my new younger students decided to join her, and this is where things got wonky.

Past drama students of mine have noted that "Ms. Julie gives good speeches." My "speeches" are when I have to use my strong voice to discuss good character and behavior with the students. In drama and dance, whenever there is an audience, there are usually some big lessons to learn about respecting others. And so, out came one of my speeches. This was not how I wanted to end class at all, but because I misread the clock, I ended my speech with "...now come see me for stickers."

I wanted to end the class with free dance with the leaves. Instead, I gave out star stickers and to each student said something affirming. I was sooooo bummed when I realized I had 10 more minutes that I could have used. But, I also think everything happens for a reason. So, maybe it was exactly what they needed.

 Next week begins the theme of color for inspiration for movement, and what they really want - scarves!

What Makes Me Want to Blog

I come home from teaching one of my classes at the local youth center and I am energized and excited. I want to talk about it. I want to tell other teachers about it. I want to call all the kids' parents and tell them how amazing and awesome their children are. I want to share my experiences teaching dance, movement, drama, and theatre, and share the creative process of creating these classes. I want my friends and family not to be confused anymore about what it is I do.

I started teaching performing arts as a theatre education student at Emerson College. The summer after I graduated in 2001, I spent two weeks in Blue Lake, California at the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre intensively studying commedia dell'arte. This was a life changing experience. I moved to Blue Lake two months later and was hired by Dell'Arte as an assistant teacher in their Education Through Art program. There, I worked along side master teachers of physical theatre and continued in my training as a physical performer.

This is where my teaching style comes from. I love physical theatre. As a performer, everything for me begins in the body. This is where I begin with my students. I have taken the things I love about being a performer and what I value as a teacher to create a class structure.

Many of my classes end with a performance score. At the youth center, I am typically the only person who sees the performances of these young students. I am so often amazed and typically floored by what my students produce. I feel honored to witness their creations. I want to share those experiences here.