Today I taught and learned one of the best dance lessons I can.
Yesterday and today I taught a two day dance class with the middle school kids. We had a blast as we danced to songs from Broadway musicals, talked about Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke, and learned to have fun with dance.
Last night, I found this quote: "It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer." ~ Shanna LeFleur
Hmm...I thought, I want to teach them that tomorrow. As I got ready for bed, I remembered I wanted to bring in some scarves for dancing with so I rounded them up. About halfway into class today, I pulled them out and had everyone pick one. Then I told them about this quote.
Every one of them did sports, gymnastics, dance, or some sort of athletic activity. I then asked how many considered themselves to be an artist. Only a few raised their hands. I reminded them to have confident in their abilities as an artist. Whether they were good at drawing or dancing or sports or a hobby, they had to give it everything.
That's when the scarves came in to play. I put on "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins. Their mission? To go from one side to the other. Their own way. So one at a time they danced their way across. Some gave it their all with leaps and twirls. Some needed encouragement to just simply walk across. The next time around the bold relaxed and just enjoyed themselves, and the timid began to understand. We tried it one more time and everyone just went across with everything they had, including a grin. 😊
It was a great lesson for boosting stage confidence, in what they enjoy doing, and in themselves. All in all, it resonated with me. I'm going to keep that little lesson in my files for future dance teaching times.
