I’m sitting at the first of 2 dance conferences this week and the topics so far have been centered around collaboration. It had us all thinking about ways to collaborate in our businesses and community. But it also had me thinking about ways we can collaborate more inside the walls of Liberty Dance Center!
The Art of Collaboration at Liberty Dance Center
Many people are afraid to collaborate as they view others as competition. What I believe is that when we work together we actually all succeed. And usually more so than if we didn’t work together.
So what are ways we can collaborate at Liberty Dance Center?
Teachers
Let’s start with the teachers! We collaborate all the time. It’s one of the things that I believe makes our team so strong. We work together (even though we aren’t always physically together) to share music, choreography, lesson plan ideas. We help each other when someone isn’t sure how to handle a behavior situation in class. We sometimes even co-teach or co-choreograph! Not only does that help make the class or dance strong, but it’s really fun!
Students
How can our students collaborate? Well, let’s start with one of our favorite events we do each year at Liberty Dance Center….student choreography weeks! That is one of the main reasons for this event. While yes, we love seeing what cool dance moves they come up with.
But we REALLY love seeing how the small “teams” work together. They have to learn to collaborate to create something beautiful. And the teams that do collaborate well tend to have the most fun, create the strongest/most creative dances and walk away feeling more pride and confidence from the experience.
Collaboration Outside of the Classroom
We also encourage our students (and families) to collaborate outside of the classroom. How so? Well, our competition soloists are encouraged to come in and use an empty studio to rehearse their solos. And it’s so beneficial to partner up or gather a small group to perform for and get and give feedback with.
Our families are often collaborating by means of carpooling, bringing food to a group of dancers and helping with shoe changes, etc.
So we see collaboration all the time at Liberty Dance Center and that makes us really proud! Let’s keep it up and see how many other ways we can collaborate. Collaboration over competition benefits us all!
~Miss Kate
