Teaching | Dance Advantage

Measuring Success: Data Driven Dance

May 9, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard Leave a Comment

Dance educator, Heather Vaughn Southard, encourages tests that go beyond pencil, paper, and even presentation as she outlines ways to assess program philosophy, performance goals, teaching methods, class achievement, and individual student growth.

Filed Under: Beyond the Bubble, Blog, K-12, Teaching Tagged With: arts education, assessment, creative process, dance education, dance in the public schools, educational philosophy, K-12 dance education, measuring achievement, National Benchmarks and Standards for Dance, National Dance Association, program assessment, program evaluation, testing in dance ed

How To Help Young Dancers Look and Feel Confident By Recital Time

May 7, 2013 by Guest Contributors 2 Comments

Dancers need repetition and consistency to perform recital dances without help from onstage or off. These steps from guest, Janet Jerger will help you prepare your youngest students to space themselves and dance without you.

Filed Under: Blog, For Classroom, Teaching Tagged With: center stage, choreography spacing, cleaning dances, entrances and exits, find their spots, kindergarten, know their dances, marking the stage, paper plates, preschool, recital dances, space themselves, stage tape, young dancers

Teaching Dance Freelance – Do You Have An Umbrella?

April 30, 2013 by Maria Hanley Blakemore 5 Comments

Maria shares how she’s made her way as a freelance dance teacher in New York City, providing tips for how to do the same. Her story encourages you to find your niche and build an umbrella, or brand, to create a place and set of guidelines you consider “home”.

Filed Under: Blog, Career, Teaching Tagged With: branding, branding yourself, career, dance niche, finding your niche, freelance dance, freelance teaching, freelance teaching dance, freelancing, homeschool, niche, teaching career, teaching children, teaching preschool, umbrella

Let’s Talk Arts Integration: Defining What You Do

April 11, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard 1 Comment

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Have you ever danced about the water cycle? Did you learn anything about dance? If not, then your science education was enhanced by dance not integrated with it. Heather gives examples of how dance might be integrated with other subjects and some tips on collaborating with another teacher.

Filed Under: Beyond the Bubble, Blog, For Classroom, K-12, Teaching, Training Tagged With: arts education, arts enhanced teaching, arts integrated lessons, arts integration, ArtsEdge, co-teaching, collaboration, collaborative teaching, constructivist classroom, dance education, dance ethnography, dance ethnology, dance history, dance in the public schools, dance K-12, dance teacher, defining integration, discussing dance, English Language Arts, Inclusive arts education, integrating arts, integrating core subjects, K-12 dance, K-12 dance education, Kennedy Center, Key Arts, Math, parallel teaching, patterns, public education, Social Studies, teaching dance, teaching sequence

Four Things I Learned from Teaching Littles

April 9, 2013 by Lauren Warnecke 1 Comment

Lauren went from teaching young dancers ballet to teaching college students how to exercise. Surprisingly, teaching the “pampers” crowd was great preparation. Here are four things she learned that have helped make interactions with her university students successful.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, For Classroom, Teaching Tagged With: college courses, college students, connecting with students, exhaustion, inspiring students, learning style, little dancers, littles, motivating students, mutual respect, patience, preschool dancers, relating to students, rule of three, self-care, stamina in teaching, taking care of yourself, teaching a lot of classes, teaching at a university, teaching college, teaching smarter, teaching tips, thinking on your feet, university classes, young dancers

Celebrate Birthdays With Creative Dance

March 26, 2013 by Maria Hanley Blakemore 3 Comments

Maria had a birthday this month so her gift to you is to share her ideas and tips for leading fun, creative dance birthday parties. If your young students want to share creative dance with their friends, this is a fantastic way to use your talents to earn a little extra money (not to mention market your classes), but it’s not really a ‘piece of cake!’

Filed Under: Blog, Teaching Tagged With: activities for young dancers, birthday, birthday activities for young dancers, birthday parties, birthdays, celebrating, celebrating birthdays, celebrations, children, children's birthdays, children's dance, creative, creative dance, creative dance birthdays, creative dance ideas for holidays, creative movement, creative movement parties, dance party birthday, for young dancers, parties, young dancers

Managing the Middle School “Shut Down”

March 19, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard 2 Comments

Dance educator, Heather Vaughan-Southard uses exploration, choice, and personal responsibility to get beyond the walls her middle school students sometimes throw up. If you’ve experienced the emotional and academic ‘shut down’ typical of this age group, her findings will interest you. We’d also love to know your approach to reaching your tweens.

Filed Under: Blog, For Classroom, K-12, Teaching Tagged With: behavior management, classroom management, dance students, Dave Funk, exploration, involving students in process, Jim Fay, junior high, middle school, middle school dance students, personal responsibility, providing choice, teaching dance, teaching dancers, teaching styles, Teaching with Love and Logic, teenage dancers, teens

Exploring Limitations With Your Students

March 14, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard Leave a Comment

Heather’s middle school dance students research limitations in dance by mapping phrases, making observations, and finally working within set limitations.

Filed Under: Blog, Choreographing, For Classroom, K-12, Teaching Tagged With: applying findings, assembling movement, choreographing dances, choreography, class discussion, constructive feedback, constructivist teaching, critical discussion, dance, dance composition, dance education, dance education in public schools, dance limits, dance styles, dance technique, defining dance, directions, findings, K-12, K-12 dance, limitations in dance, mapping, Maria Hanley Blakemore, middle school, movement maps, movement prompts, music for dance, observations, posing questions, public arts education, research, scientific method, social action, teaching dance, weight shifts, writing prompts

Captivate Your Recreational Dancers in 5 Steps

March 11, 2013 by Guest Contributors 26 Comments

Dance is a hobby for many students and they come for all sorts of reasons. If enrollment, attendance, and motivation are a problem in your recreational classes, guest, Jamie Benson offers some solutions.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, For Classroom, Teaching Tagged With: captivate your dance students, dance hobby, engaging dance students, grow your classes, grow your dance school, how to, keeping dance students, motivating dance students, motivating dancers, recreational dance, retaining dance students, teaching recreational dancers

Why You Should Jump, Play, And Roll On The Floor With Your Students

February 26, 2013 by Maria Hanley Blakemore 8 Comments

Teaching dance is not a spectator sport! Do you dance with your students? Get up and down from the floor? Follow the rules you have set? Maria offers tips on why you should dance with your preschoolers and how to save energy doing it!

Filed Under: Blog, For Classroom, Teaching Tagged With: children's dance, class rules, creative dance, creative movement, creative movement for children, dance student, dance students, dance teacher, dance teachers, dancing while teaching, dancing with your students, energy, energy saving, for dance teachers, for teachers of young dancers, for young dancers, play time, playful, pre-ballet, rules, saving energy while teaching, tips for teachers, young dancers

Happy Slips: Using Competition to Internalize Good Habits?

February 13, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard Leave a Comment

Heather had mixed feelings about the “Happy Slips” reward system she established in her elementary school dance program, however, a small change that has kids “competing” for slips seems to encourage more personal responsibility in her classes. Learn more about what’s working for Heather.

Filed Under: Beyond the Bubble, Blog, For Classroom, K-12, Teaching Tagged With: arts education, auditioning, classroom management, dance, dance education, elementary, K-12, motivation, teaching dance, teaching dance in the public schools

Personal Study: Observation In and Out of the Studio

January 15, 2013 by Heather Vaughan-Southard Leave a Comment

Heather thinks ahead to how she’ll refuel in the New Year and during the summer so that she can best serve her students. Don’t worry, early planning of stay-home summer strategies can ensure better productivity through-out the current semester. Try it!