Calasanz.MelissaAdylia 1
LEAP 198 Senior Project
Student Supervisor of the Glendale Community College
DANCE 107
Survey of Dance Teaching Methodology Class
Weekly Reflection Paper No. 6
The Wednesday following the Dance
Audition Workshop with Jim Keith and Jackie Sleight, Dora held a “round table”
discussion with the students of the DANCE 107 class who had participated in the
workshop. Hearing each of the students give their perspective about the
experience they had in the workshop was as enjoyable as it was validating.
Many of the students who had not
completed their Bio/Resume assignments conveyed how they now realize that
working on their professional appearance on paper, is as important as important
as working on their professional physical appearance in person. Several
students took the initiative and asked me to take a look at their dance
educator bio, resume, and pictures, as well as their performance bio, resume,
and pictures. They not only wanted my opinion, they wanted to know what they
could do to make them better.
Considering the resistance that Dora and
I were receiving from the students in regards to the assignments we had given
to help prepare the students for the audition workshop, and to begin work on
their portfolios, it was great to see the students finally understanding the
importance of going through the process that each assignment requires.
In addition to the students’ realization
that their on-paper appearance needs some work, many students got the
wake-up-call that they really needed to heed the advice we have been giving
about taking dance classes outside of the comfortable confines of Glendale
Community College. Several students expressed how they were “over their head”
when it came to executing the simple across the floor exercises that they were
given. Additionally, many students realized they needed quite a bit more work
when it came to picking up choreography.
Thanks to observing the students as they
participated in the workshop, and having to opportunity to hear about the
students’ experiences afterwards, I now know the moments, hours, and days of
frustration were definitely worth it. I am absolutely proud of the work I put
into the Bio/Resume documents, and Bio/ Resume workshop. I presented to the
class. With each week I become more aware of how much I enjoy mentoring young
dancers. It is exciting to be a part of the process of helping these young
dancers gain the tools they need to reach their goals.
Additionally, the discussion about the
workshop with the students in the Dance Teaching Methodology class, lent the
opportunity to steer the discussion towards how the workshop experience
impacted the way they see themselves as current/future dance educators. During
the discussion, some students began to understand how much they really do need
to learn before they can consider teaching dance to anyone but young children.
It was during this time in the
discussion that I suggested to Dora that we create an assignment for the
students to interview a dance teacher outside of Glendale Community College so
they can better understand what is necessary to be a competent dance educator.
I am thrilled to inform you that Dora gave me the go-ahead to put something
together. I’ll be working on that later today. But first, I have been given the
exciting task to prepare a rubric for grading the rough drafts of the students’
portfolios that will be turned in later this week. J
I cannot wait to see how well the students
do with their portfolio rough drafts. Their success will be a testament to the
hard work and thoughtfulness that went into preparing each assignment, for the
arrangement of the workshop, and for each discussion.
‘till next week! J
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