Teaching Dance: Modern 1

Hello, everyone! This is Amy Peters. I have chosen to study the subculture of dance teachers. I am a Nova student who is studying dance, and I really think this will be very helpful for me, because I hope that someday I will be able to teach dance at all levels. Dance is my passion and I want to share it with others.
Tuesday, January 19th at 2:30, I observed a modern dance 1 class taught by Elana Lanczi. She is a professor of dance at Nova Southeastern University. She was very kind to let me observe and take notes. Before the class began, I watched as each student wondered in from previous classes. I could tell that this was a very diverse group of students. Some students seemed nervous while others did not. I sensed a very relaxed and comfortable setting. Everyone sat down while the professor took the attendance and pointed out several important things. Today was a special class because they were going to move the class to the performance theatre, which is a lot bigger, in order for photographers to take pictures. Certain students seemed a little worried about the situation, but the professor explained that it was only for record and was not going to be published. The area in which they danced was large, which is very good because there were many students. As I watched the class continue, I paid close attention to the professor as she taught. It was obvious to me that she had control of the class and the students seemed very attentive. She had a professional approach to the class, making sure that the students had their hair tied back and jewelry off. There was not much dialog except if the students had questions, but other than that the professor was doing all the talking. The instructor was very specific to the details of the movements and really broke it down for all the students to understand. Not only did she speak the instructions, but also demonstrated them, which I feel is very important especially for a level one class. She also had hands on corrections for the students in order for them to completely understand and be able to correct themselves later on. The professor was very encouraging. She walked around the class while the students would do the movement and she would make corrections where needed and encourage the students. This way on student was left out. She acknowledged everyone. She challenges the students by making the combination faster or slower. She opened up the floor in order for the students to explore movement, which allowed each student to add personality to each movement.
Overall, the atmosphere was fun and comfortable. I felt that the professor was very approachable. I thought that observing the class was very good for me and I learned that it is very important to have confidence as a teacher; therefore, you will be able to have control of the students, which is very important. Also, I learned the importance of having fun and enjoying the time with the students and also being available and patient with them. Dance does not always come easy to everyone.