A new supplementary teaching document entitled ‘Dance Tools’ can be found at http://www.dancenotes.co.uk/Dance Tools.pdf and will be available long-term to subscribers.
I’d like this week, also, to ask you the question:
Where do you think the Dance Curriculum is heading?
Maybe you have an idea, maybe not: either way, the following information should be useful, so I hope you can spare some time to read further: I’d suggest printing this out so you can read it a couple of times and have it to hand when you need it.
Over half term, I had a meeting with Rachael Jefferson-Buchanan, (whose full title is – take a deep breath – Senior Lecturer in PE, Dance, Education Studies & Primary Professional Practice, Bath Spa University Teaching Fellow, UK Consultant in “Fundamental Movement Skills” (STEPS PD) ) and her colleague Lorraine Franklin (for whom – thankfully – I have no title but who is a similarly well-qualified Dance Education specialist), to discuss how the Dance Notes resource can be made even more useful to you now and remain relevant into the future.
What became clear is that:
- The emphasis in Dance is shifting towards creativity-led learning
- No-one knows for certain where the curriculum will go from here
- There is no definitive approach to teaching dance
- Different dance teachers (especially at primary level) have different aspirations and expectations from their teaching
- Everyone needs good music to work with
Let’s just repeat that last point: everyone needs good music (and I’ve some to give you – for free – if you can bear with me).
This may all sound rather vague – apart from the last point – but there’s actually an upside to the ambiguity.
Whereas in the past you would have to research the available resources (which could generally be counted on one hand), pay your money, take your choice and hope it was the right one as you’d no more budget left: now things are rather different. Now you can access what you need when you need it -and it doesn’t have to be one fixed product: you can now dictate precisely what you want – and the provider (that’s me) has to jump when you say so.
In fact this is good news for both of us. Before, I’d have to create and package a whole album of music or book of lessons, then try to find a way to let you know they were there so you could decide whether or not you needed them. Now, I can keep feeding you new material as it’s produced – and not only that, I can constantly refine and amend what’s on offer to keep up with curriculum changes and current teaching practices.
Here’s how it works: (please feel free to skip to the bits that relate to you…)
For Primary Teachers
You have already discovered that there’s a growing number of teaching schemes online for you to download and use. These have evolved in response to feedback from teachers and currently comprise a ‘bare-bones’ classroom-friendly layout, presented in a plan that runs over 6 weeks. The topics covered reflect the teaching experiences of my collaborators but if anything you need is missing, just ask and we’ll write something for you if we can.
Supplementary information on the ‘hows’, the ‘whys’ and the ‘wherefores’ is provided in separate files so that Information common to all teaching plans is there for reference when you need it, without cluttering the lessons.
Alternatively, there is a range of single-unit lessons, which you can use individually or combine to provide an outline that is more flexible, should you prefer this approach.
Also, the earlier ‘First Steps in Dance’ book is available to download in its entirety or as individual lessons. This has a denser layout, with detailed instructions to the teacher and specific timing to the music (a format that has been emulated and copied by other providers and suits some but not all teachers). I am currently negotiating with another Dance specialist to provide further material in a similar style for those who prefer this approach.
The advantage of this modular approach is that you can find dance plans to reflect topics you are covering in a style that suits your teaching. You can pick from a whole library of resources, rather than being stuck with a predefined selection.
Which brings us to the point:
For all (don’t skip this bit…)
What’s new is the method of delivery and how it all integrates. Let me explain:
We’ve established that everyone in Dance education needs good music. And you know that there’s a whole range already available from Dance Notes (so I won’t bang on about that now). But what we’re talking about here is future-proofing your teaching: providing a resource that will grow and develop as your needs and the demands of the curriculum shift and change. And to do that, you need constant access to both these evolving resources and the people behind their development. And guess what?…
…That’s exactly how it’s going to be.
… And guess what else? It won’t cost nearly as much as you’d think.
It all comes down to subscription. This is what ensures that I can continue to develop the materials you require while you work within your budget, knowing that your resources are being constantly updated. By subscribing, you are effectively spreading the expense with your contemporaries: it’s a bit like a car-share scheme – and taking that analogy further, the best bit is that the car won’t wear out; it will be continually upgraded and/or replaced.
Did I mention I’ve some music to give you? I’ll come to that in a moment…
Firstly, I want to tell you about the really exciting part of all of this. Imagine you had your own composer locked in a studio somewhere, constantly working away to produce new music for your use. And rather than bundling these tracks into arbitrary collections on CD or trying to second-guess what kind of selection you might need, the whole lot would be open for you to choose from whenever you wish. You could even put in requests for specific styles and themes or ask for rewrites. How would that be? Expensive? Well it would be, except that now you can share that cost with other teachers and it really won’t break your budget at all (Lorraine Franklin – see above – said “that’s fantastic, that’s less than the cost of a handful of CDs”).
Now everyone’s needs – as we have established – are different, so I’m proposing a flexible subscription whereby you can pick and choose from a range of resources as you need them. What I’m offering is this:
- A subscription scheme with a range of options to suit your needs and budget
- Full access to the new Madmusik online music library for ALL subscribers
- Full access to the lesson plans library (including supplementary materials) for ALL subscribers
- Plus CD copies of your selected tracks (up to 10 CDs per year) for Premium Subscribers
- Plus, the ability to request edits/rewrites for Gold subscribers
Here comes the freebee…
Thanks for hanging in there – my special offer to you is this: subscribe for a minimum of 12 months and you’ll also receive
a full set of the existing Dance Notes CDs – worth £89.95 – completely free of charge.
After that period, you may cancel your subscription at any time, no quibbles (just tears…).
For full details, go now to www.dancenotes.co.uk/jointsubscription.html
Kind Regards,
Brian Madigan,
Creator of Dance Notes
P.S. Please take advantage of this introductory offer now, before I come to my senses: www.dancenotes.co.uk/jointsubscription.html
www.dancenotes.co.uk
madmusik@brianmadigan.com
Tel: 01225 313082 Fax: 0870 759 8462
46 Devonshire Road, Bath. BA2 6UD
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