First the links:
One of my wonderful - and wonderfully creative - students has a blog called
The Spinning Dancer where she likes to write about dance. Most of the time, she comments on ballroom dance, which is her specialty, but
this post is about ballet class. I think you will enjoy it!
And here is a blog that's new to me,
Grown-ups at the Barre (what a great name for a blog!). Thanks to Nichelle at
Dance Advantage for sharing the link. Lots of great resources and insight for the adult dancer. Who knew there were so many aficionados out there? I love it!
And now, the quote...from the illustrious Allegra Kent, on teaching (from Dance Teacher Magazine):
"I think everyone's teaching changes as time goes on. I was definitely a little wilder when I first started--very wild. I've calmed down a bit, but when I teach on Friday morning at 10 am, these students are exhausted, so I need
to give them a lot of energy to wake them up. I've learned that pure
movement and a lot of wit are the best ways to engage them.
Learning
about my students outside of the classroom helps me understand them. I
have them write me poems and through this, I've discovered wonderful
things about them that I would have never known from just seeing them
bend their knees."
Talking with one of my students recently has made me think about the relationship between a teacher and her students. I'm formulating a post on this...stay tuned for a bit of philosophy. Happy dancing!
