Exciting news!
Courses for March and April 2017 are available to book now.
General information is available about courses on the Short Online Courses page. The brand new course Mindfulness in Dance Teaching will have an information sheet available shortly.
Click here to book your place on a November short online CPD courses for dance teachers.
Please note that the closing date for the November courses is Monday 31 October 2016.
For general information about the short online CPD courses for dance teachers click here.
You still have about 24 days to book your place on the April 2016 short online CPD courses for dance teachers. Please remember that the closing date for bookings is Wednesday 6 April 2016 with the courses starting on Friday 22 April and completing on Thursday 12 May 2016.
The two courses running in April are:
Dance Teaching Ethics: an introduction
and
Aspects of Anatomy: exploring basic shoulder anatomy and function in dance
Further details are available here or click on the image in the sidebar to the right.
I read an interesting article on the BBC website this morning about Eric Underwood, soloist from the Royal Ballet and the difficulties he has faced getting flesh coloured ballet shoes to tone with his black skin. The article explains how non-white ballet dancers have been using make-up on their shoes for years so that they tone with their skin. Click on the link below to read the article on BBC site to see how this problem is being resolved for Eric and others.
Why don’t they make shoes for black ballet dancers?
From Eric’s video (via BBC site) showing him applying pancake make-up to his shoes
I was reminded this week that it is useful to highlight previous posts because they will be new to some of you. If you have not seen these posts before, I hope you find them useful and maybe even interesting. If you have seen them before I hope you will have another look and reflect on them again.
Teaching with mirrors in dance class
Highland Dancing competitors – are we expecting too much?
Valuing dancers for what they are and not just for what they can do
Helping dancers thrive and feel motivated
If you want to start a discussion or interact with fellow dance teachers about one or more of these topics why not leave a comment in the box below.
This is an area of dance that I did not intentionally get involved with but I am so glad that I did. Teaching older adults became popular through the exercise and fitness arena with the groups referred to as:
Dance teaching qualifications come in many different shapes and sizes. Well at least, in many different genres, levels and types of qualifications. Here in the UK there are two key sectors, the public sector which includes state schools, colleges and Universities and then there is the private sector which includes local dance schools, larger private dance studios and other independent dance teaching.
Dates and details for Short Online CPD Courses for Dance Teachers staring in April are:
Have you noticed that my CPD courses and posts are not about dance syllabi? There is good reason for me avoiding syllabus in favour of all the other amazing things that are so enlightening and useful for dance teachers around the world. A good percentage of dance teachers are likely to be teaching some sort of syllabus in one or more dance genres. And if syllabus is your bread and butter for class content then why would you want to spend your CPD time looking at the same steps, movements and dances that you teach most of the time? Yes, we need to know the syllabus and content at each level but if we are teaching it regularly then is it not more useful to use your CPD time to enhance aspects of your dance teaching that whilst not about the syllabus, will surely add to your knowledge, skills and understanding of the how, what and why of dance teaching including syllabus? Teaching syllabus requires much more than just knowing the steps. To be able to teach with understanding of the physical and psychological issues relating to the learning and teaching of dance needs us to look outside of the syllabus and open ourselves up to the other areas and topics that help to make us better dance teachers.
There are two short online CPD courses for dance teachers running in January 2016. Details and booking forms are available below.
This is a brand new course looking at proprioception in relation to dance teaching and learning. We will explore this ‘sixth sense’ or ‘awareness of one’s body in space’ and consider ways to develop and enhance this in the dance students you teach. We will also consider teaching techniques for dance students with reduced proprioception such as those with hypermobility syndrome. Planing and delivering a session or class focusing on developing proprioception enables an opportunity to apply this understanding in your dance teaching practice.
As with all of the Short Online CPD Courses for Dance teachers, the weekly email tutorials over the three weeks of the course are an important aspect of this CPD.
For more details about this course download the information sheet below:
Short online CPD – Proprioception
Booking form – Short Online CPD courses 2016
Closing dates for courses
Closing dates for courses have been introduced so please ensure bookings and payment are received by the closing date for the course/s you wish to take.
Please note that the closing date for bookings and payment for the January 2016 courses is: Thursday 31 December 2015
Learning and Teaching Dance: tension and rigidity in dance
This is proving to be a popular course with teachers. First we will reflect on how tension and rigidity are often taught or encouraged as a way of achieving control in dance. This might relate to a rigid and tense posture or use of tension and tightness to support the arms or perhaps tensing the feet when dancing. Then we will explore methods and approaches relating to your own dance teaching practices that should help to develop control in your students’ technique and performance without relying on tension and rigidity.
Download the course information sheet for this course:
Learning & Teaching Dance – tension & rigidity in dance
Booking form – Short Online CPD courses 2016
Closing dates for courses
Closing dates for courses have been introduced so please ensure bookings and payment are received by the closing date for the course/s you wish to take.
Please note that the closing date for bookings and payment for the January 2016 courses is: Thursday 31 December 2015
April Courses
Dates and details for courses staring in April are:
Starting: Friday 22 April 2016
Completing: Thursday 12 May 2016
Dance Teaching Ethics: an introduction
Ethics and dance teaching might seem like a totally new topic for dance teachers but in reality dance teachers have been dealing with ethical dilemmas for a long time. In ethical dance teaching practice we aim to deal with such dilemmas in ways that respect the whole person. We do this through teaching methods and approaches that value dance students and dancers for what they are rather than what they can do. In other words, valuing the person they are and not just their dance abilities. This ethical or person-centred dance teaching practice considers both the physical and psychological aspects of the teaching. Ethical teaching helps student dancers and dancers to reach their fullest potential.
During this course we will explore, discuss and reflect on examples of teaching ethically and how ethical principles can be applied in dance teaching practice. We will also consider the codes, rules or standards that dance teachers often sign up to and how they work or not in practice.
For more details about this course download the information sheet below:
Short CPD- Dance teaching ethics – an introduction
Booking form – Short Online CPD courses 2016
Closing dates for courses
Closing dates for courses have been introduced so please ensure bookings and payment are received by the closing date for the course/s you wish to take.
Please note that the closing date for bookings and payment for the April 2016 courses is: Wednesday 6 April 2016
Aspects of Anatomy: exploring basic shoulder anatomy and function in dance
In dance we tend to talk about placing and moving the arms and not focusing on the shoulder joint where the movement occurs. So, in this course, we will explore the basic anatomy of this vital joint and then focus on how it functions in dance. You will consider ways of incorporating teaching methods that aim to improve shoulder alignment and movement into your own teaching practice.
For more details about this course download the information sheet below:
Short CPD- Aspects of Anatomy- shoulder
Booking form – Short Online CPD courses 2016
Closing dates for courses
Closing dates for courses have been introduced so please ensure bookings and payment are received by the closing date for the course/s you wish to take.
Please note that the closing date for bookings and payment for the April 2016 courses is: Wednesday 6 April 2016
I hope to have an opportunity to work with you on one or more of the courses outlined above.
A big congratulations to everyone who completed the short online CPD courses that started in September.
It is great to work with teachers who are so interested in exploring the course topics. I am especially delighted with the response to the course Dance Teaching Ethics: an introduction. During the course a lot of ethical issues arose and were explored with each teacher relevant to his or her own dance teaching practice in UK and overseas. This personal aspect of these courses is a key benefit as it enables course content and materials to be meaningful for individual dance teachers and their dance teaching practice and not just in general. I look forward to working with another group of dance teachers on this course in the future.
The next courses will begin in early 2016 and dates will be published on this site very soon. Please check back for details or use the free sign up (on the right) to get email notifications of new posts published or if preferred join the RSS feed.
Please note that there will be a closing date for booking future courses. This will be published along with course information. Please make sure to check the closing date for booking courses in the future, to avoid disappointment.
