There are two new lesson plans in development which will be up on the web site shortly: one entitled ‘Building’, the other ‘Bhangra’ (so all the ‘B’s, then…). In the meantime, I’d like to briefly share with you some pearls of wisdom from my collaborator Michelle Rochester, who is doing sterling work in developing these schemes for you.
(Incidentally, I was in a school recently to observe one of Michelle’s classes and the headteacher there – who has a keen interest in dance – said that in twenty years of teaching, Michelle is by far the best dance teacher he has seen.)
MR: “For some reason, teachers seem to be frightened of teaching dance, when they needn’t be. Most teachers are quite happy to teach geography or maths or English, even though it might not be their speciality. With Dance, for some reason, people think they can’t do it or can’t approach it. With any other subject, they’d go away and look up whatever they need to know. All they need is for someone to show them how to approach dance and they’d be surprised how easy it is really.
BM: “But you’ve got years of experience and training, so you can spot what needs to be done and react to the class.”
MR: “Yes, but they’re teachers – they know how to teach; they know their class; they know how to inspire and respond to their kids – otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it. If they think of dance as just being one of the subjects they can teach, then they’ll get on and the kids will respond to that.
BM: “So hopefully we’re giving them what they need to feel that they can teach dance?”
MR: “Yes, it’s all there. They know they can do it but they just need a framework and for someone who is an ‘expert’ to say ‘this is how it’s done’. I’m not a trained teacher but I’ve learned how to teach dance in schools by doing it. With classroom teachers doing dance, it’s the same thing but the other way around.”
So there you have it: there’s nothing to stop you – just think of dance as being like any other subject you teach and you’ll be fine.
Incidentally, you may have read about the subscription scheme that I’ll shortly be making available. A part of this will be email support from a dance specialist, so you can have your own specific questions and queries dealt with. And remember, I’m always keen to hear your feedback and for your suggestions of lesson topics that should be covered by the Dance Notes schemes.
Happy teaching.
Brian Madigan,
Creator of Dance Notes
P.S. For more information on subscription, give me a call or send an email and I’ll get in touch.
Posted by dancenotesblog 
This week’s new lesson plan is ‘Building’ and can be found at the lesson plans page or by clicking 
