This week we wrap up a favorite time of year at Liberty Dance Center…Student Choreography! Student what? Per Merriam-Webster, the definition of choreography is:
- the art of symbolically representing dancing
- a: the composition and arrangement of dances especially for ballet
b: a composition created by this art
In layman’s terms…making up a dance!
Many of our students do this at their homes and perform their creations for their families. Hearing stories and seeing videos of our students doing that makes us so proud. But creating a dance, WITH a group, WITH staging/formations, AND remembering it for a few weeks is a whole other challenge. But I have to say, they rock at it! CREATIVITY is flowing with our students and it’s so fun for us teachers to get a chance to observe them develop that creativity in real time.
How do we do this? We split our classes into small groups at random. We do this so our dancers will get to know their classmates better and interact with other students that they may not normally interact with. We also explain to them that EVERYONE must contribute. No idea is a bad idea. And to be supportive and work as a TEAM. No “bossy pants” or “wallflowers” allowed. And I have to say, this year we didn’t see much of that at all. Way to go dancers!
Since everyone is encouraged to contribute, this helps ALL our students learn valuable LEADERSHIP skills. We usually have a few kids that are a tad shy, and this gives them an opportunity to share their ideas and be seen, heard and supported. This also gives our students that are super comfortable speaking up a chance to listen to someone else and be in the support role. Learning when to lead and when to follow is a great skill to have and will be very useful later in life.
I asked the kids this week after they performed for a buddy class why we do Student Choreography and what skills they learn from it. I was beyond proud to hear them mention leadership, creativity, and teamwork. But they also mentioned: communication, getting to know each other better, memory skills, and many more.
Moments and lessons like this are what being MORE than just great dancing are all about. And that is what Liberty Dance Center is all about. Yes, we love helping develop awesome technical dance skills and passionate performers. But seeing them develop life skills that can be applied anywhere in their life…that is the true gift and what makes us so very proud. BRAVO!
~Miss Kate
