Today I had my first Dance workshop for the ‘Teaching Across the Curriculum’ module. At first I found it a bit uncomfortable as I wasn’t sure what we would be asked to do. However by the end of the session I found that I was more comfortable in the group and had a clearer understanding of how this links into the professional practice module. At the start of the session we were asked to stand in a circle and copy what the lecturer did as a warm-up exercise. I found this section a bit daunting as the lecturer explained that she would pass the responsibility of leading the warm-up onto someone else. Through doing this exercise I was able to relax a bit more within the group as everyone was doing the same things as me.
We were then asked to pair up and think of different ways to travel around the room, this proved challenging at the stars as no one wanted to be the first to move. After a couple of minuted I found that I was making multiple suggestions to my partner and we would carry these different movements out. This activity allowed me to build my confidence in participating within the activity as I saw what other movements everyone was doing and it made me more comfortable to carry out mine. We then used these movements to swap positions with our partner in a class circle, this allowed everyone to see each others moves.
Following on from this we paired up into groups of 4 and combined our different travelling moves together to create a sequence. We also added a start and finishing pose to create a quick routine. We then presented these routines to the rest of the class.
I found that this workshop allowed me to see what kind of things can go into a dance lesson. It also allowed me to build my confidence in my own ability to lead a lesson on dance. The workshop also sowed me that anyone can participate in a dance lesson and it changed my views on what a dance lesson is. It also showed me some of the range or resources available to aid a lesson in dance. I will be able to use the skills and resource inspiration from this workshop to help me within my placement to carry out my own lessons on dance.
I enjoyed reading this post Julia. I can reflect on occasions where I felt shy or self-conscious as a teacher – mainly involving singing! However, as you described, by being prepared to ‘go first’ we can create a space where everyone feels more comfortable having a go.