 From our Readers
12/02/97
Am I starting her off too young?
I put my daughter into dance class at age 2. This year she is three. I noticed that you
don't start training until age 10. Am I starting her off too young? Her class is 45
minutes long and they teach ballet and tap. One main concern I have when observing her
class is that the instructor shows various dance numbers which the children copy. The
children have not yet been shown the classical ballet positions nor have they engaged in
any proper warm up and stretches. My gut feeling says that her instructor is "Mickey
Mouse". What do you think? Also, what would you recommend a three year old study in
regards to dance training?
Respectfully yours
Mrs. Baxter
Mrs. Baxter,
The students I usually train take 2 to four hour a day, 5
days a week. 10 to 12 years old usually take 2 hours a day, three days a week. A good
introductory program that allows two to three classes per week is recommended for dancers
who are under 10 but not younger than 7. Those under 7 are generally served best by some
form of dance education that has them become excited by the act of moving to rhythms,
acting out stories through dance and pantomime, and other ideas that foster the love of
dance.
I do recommend that, even though they are young,
burgeoning dance students can learn the basic positions and other simple ballet
terminology.
Anthony
Inspiring students...
I have been teaching beg. and int. ballet now for a few years and my question is this: How
do you suggest you approach classes where the students don't care to put in 100% in all
that they do. If I could somehow get them to at least show that they love dance, I could
be OK with that, but their attitude bothers me. Since I'm not planning to come across very
many students who will want to go on to a professional career, this is a problem I need
help with. Any suggestions?
Deidre
Deidre,
I have found that there are three basic things, especially
in a commercial studio, that leads to "un-inspired students". The first thing is
very difficult to overcome, but the other two can be remedied.
- once the dance student reaches a certain age, school
activities, socializing, and boyfriends (or girlfriends) tend to dominate their daily
focus, and/or they are coming to dance class out of habit;
- not having a dynamic and inspiring dance goal in the dance
student's immediate future;
- the dance teacher is showing signs that they are not
inspired by their students.
As I said the first cause is difficult to overcome and this
area will generally be up to the student to remedy for themselves. The second cause can be
overcome, as well as help overcome the first cause, by planning regular dance concerts and
events where the student can actively look forward to performing. But the greatest
motivation of all is the teacher always being inspired by their students. The
quickest way to for a student to lose interest is noticing that the teacher frequently
demonstrates their frustrations and lack of enthusiasm when teaching the class. Think of
it this way... its like a runner who has a baton to pass to another runner; they cannot
let go of the baton until the next runner has it firmly in their grasp. The first runner
is always the teacher and the baton is the inspiration; never let go of
the inspiration until the dance student has it firmly in their grasp.
Anthony
Strengthening feet...
Hello! I wasn't quite sure where I could ask this question so I thought you
might be able to direct me in the right direction. I am trying to strengthen my feet so
that I can eventually go on 'pointe'. Currently, I have this nasty habit of squishing my
toes and not fully extending them. Are there any exercises I can do? Thank you for your
input.
Marie
Marie,
The best way to strengthen your feet for pointe is
to do all the barre exercises (where appropriate) on or through relevé.
Before I train dancers for pointe I make sure that their strength is there before they go
on pointe. By that I mean I have a guided program that ensures this strength. I make sure
that their upper back, inner thighs, buttocks and feet are strong. The year before they go
on pointe I begin to make the dancers do everything possible at the barre on relevé. The,
in the middle of the year, we begin to do many of the centre barre exercise on relevé,
such as... the petite and grande adagios, ronds de jambes en l'air, battement fondu,
frappé, and petits battements.
The things I look for are upper back strength for control
of the torso, inner thigh and buttocks for turn-out and the most important of them all...
not rolling forward in the arch of their foot. The foot must be able to stand firmly
square on the floor without wobbling, or rolling forward. Once they have mastered these
areas of their technique then, and only then, do they begin pointe work.
Below is an exercise I begin with before each pointe
session of the class... (this goes for advanced students as well as beginners).
This exercise is done facing the barre and in each position
(1st through 5th - with both the right foot front then the left foot front in 5th and 4th
position). Musical measure of 4/4:
Execute 6 times:
- demi-plié on 2 beats
- straighten legs on 2 beats
- rise to relevé pointe on 2 beats (making sure that you go
to the extreme relevé of demi-pointe in the pointe shoe before you rise up to pointe, and
that the rise to pointe is done by the pressing down of the toes as opposed to a hop or
popping action)
- lower to whole foot on 2 beats (again making sure that you
go through the highest point of demi-pointe before lowering your heels)
Execute 4 times:
- relevé to pointe on 2 beats
- lower heels on 2 beats
Execute the above exercise 2 times in each position every
day (5 days a week). This should be perform in conjunction with other pointe exercises
before leaving the barre for the centre barre. Be very careful in the centre when doing
any pointe work. It is easy to injure yourself if you are not strong enough for pointe
work.
Anthony
Email Anthony at coach@danceart.com |
