As Term 3 of the Curriciclium year 2020-2021 comes to a close DanceLady reflects on the most challenging school Term she has ever taught!
Like many parents across the UK the evening of Monday 4th January 2021 I was prepping for school and work. My dance work for the term and coming week. Planning for topics including, Welcome back class Children’s Mental Health week, Chinese New Year, and Travel were the topics.
Then at 8 pm Boris announces the country was back in lockdown! My weekly schedule of 9 classes in 4 different schools disappeared instantly. The difference between this Lockdown to previous one is that my self, my business, and my technical knowledge have trebled! so also immediately I was able to contact my schools and set in place virtual/online options.
All of the online formats are offering a portal, which isn’t really set up for what it’s being asked to do! All of the systems whether that is Zoom, Teams, Google classroom Facebook, or Instagram have issues and are glitchy. Webcams need to be positioned accurately to be able to catch a full Dance workshop, music playback can be distorted, and depending on the media platform used Music licensing needs to be addressed. As the front user you then to consider the participants, do they want to be visual?, or just audio attendance, Teaching dance to a blank screen is very challenging! And then on top of all of this there is …WIFI CONNECTION !!!…after many attempts I have found an ethernet cable connected directly from the router to the PC is the surest way to maintain a sure internet connection! I have a drawer of various aux leads, audio in/out cables,& adaptors. . I have Earbuds and a Rode Mic, however, none of which work perfectly if filming with an Ipad!. On this note Sound Dynamics, Stuart Wilkinson, and the team are amazing! , they seem to be able to answer every technical question asked!.
So here are my top tips and suggestions for ease of teaching Dance and fitness to adults and kids online.
TECHNICAL SET UP AND TWEAK I teach all of my sessions from my front room! ..it is in no way ideal, but it is the only option I have. I play my music via an external speaker sat next to the Laptop. In an ideal world, I would have a mixer and play music via Itunes BUT I can’t for various reasons. I would say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But clearly, for a far more professional sound, and end-user experience, it’s definitely worth the investment. One of the best things I have invested in was Lighting I bought a Softbox Light, it lights up what is a very dark room.
Virtual Platforms. My preferred platform is Zoom, I like the functionality of it. I like the way it looks for both the end-user and the teacher. For a small monthly amount, I can teach freely without the worry of the meeting ending suddenly. I find it an easy visual platform. I teach via Microsoft Teams as part of the secondary school work I deliver, in my opinion, it’s ok, I don’t like the gallery visual as much. I much prefer teaching people that I can see on the screen. I have tried teaching via FaceBook and Instagram I HATE IT!. As a Dance teacher, I need to see the movement of my attendees, I bounce off their energy, I like to see people’s reactions to music and choreography. I like to be able to interact with my participants. When teaching kids, Zoom comes into its own! , with some careful class management, it is able to achieve a high-energy fun class with pupil participation. The kids love it when you call out their name or ask them to unmute themselves to answer a question, or to say something. Zoom also allows the class to watch each other, this is especially useful if you are facilitating a “show and tell ” section to the class. A classic child moment happened for me during yR 1 Dance Class, I had taught the class previously in school pre-Lockdown, we continued the sessions via Zoom during Lockdown, on the first session upon realizing who it was, Eric … came up really close to the screen, his face right onto the shot, he unmuted himself and then in a delightful voice announced ..Dancelady, DanceLady it’s me, Eric can you see me? !!! ” this just filled me with joy
Getting it Right! It took me a good few weeks to really feel comfortable and confident when teaching Dance and Kids online.
My top tips are. Have a class plan and then treble that plan !! . Because of the nature of screen teaching somethings, works and somethings just don’t! BUT you can’t predict what will or won’t work, it’s learning on the go. Be prepared to switch the teaching plan quickly, so always have other music ready and routines or sequences at the ready. I have found that using a theme is really helpful. Themes allow a structure. This term I have used the Dance stimuli of Chinese New Year, Children’s Mental Health Week, and Love ( Valentines Day ). All of these Dance sessions were helped along by Props, which again came into their own. For example Chinese New Year, we all wore something Red, then using scarves or blankets we used them to recreate Chinese Dragon Dances.
Be visual make sure you have good lighting and if possible a clear background ‘I personally chose to make sure my background doesn’t contain personal pictu
res etc Wear bright clothes, so that visually you become larger.
When teaching kids I am extra clear with my visual cues. If doing a verbal countdown I will accompany it with a visual cue, a finger countdown. I add simple sign language such a Cupping my ear to say Listen to me, pointing at my eyes for Look, pointing at my feet to indicate a foot pattern. Use long levers ( arms ) to show directional travel ie travel this way. Be sure to teach slowly and repeat teach choreography, adjust your teaching position to show the best angle.
If you had said to me in 2019 that I would be doing my job virtually, teaching all my classes online, I would have said that it’s impossible. In a year technology and my own approach to teaching Dance has changed dramatically. Looking forward to 2021 and beyond I think my business will be a hybrid, a physical presence in actual schools & classrooms complemented by a virtual element. Having to adapt quickly and embrace change has made me a better teacher and educator and has expanded my business forwards in months, which would have taken me years as well as if I would have ever embraced the new ways.
As we await confirmation of what will happen next in regards to lockdown and easing of restrictions. I am confident that whatever happens DanceLady will be able to embrace the next episode, reflect and learn from experiences and do what I do best …deliver Dance education
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