Working with young dancers, we are accustomed to giving endless feedback, critique and correction as their young bodies and mind progress and develop. While technical and performance skills are on the forefront of one training agenda, part of their dance education should also reflect alternative skills which go hand in hand with that technique. The importance of instilling application of correction is an important concept which they will take with them in any profession they ascertain. It’s also ironic that it is a skill very difficult for some to grasp.
     Think about it. How many times have you been in class or rehearsal and have the same correction? Too many to count, right? Why is that? Are their minds still only to grasp small bits of info at a time? Are they just not being mindful enough to give them heavy consideration? Are they lazy? Or are they just not practicing the skill enough?
     Like anything, remembering corrections is just that, a skill that needs to be reinforced. Dancers should be getting in the habit of not only taking a correction, but processing it, applying it and maintaining it. This is just as important as how quickly they can pick up choreography. Getting a correction and applying it once and then forgetting it and reverting back to the incorrect way give it ten minutes later is a concept that should be discussed with your dancers in class. The chances are this is not something on the forefront of their mind to give attention to when they are focused on perfecting pirouettes or holding a balance or getting their leg higher. As teachers we understand the significance and importance for a variety of reasons. It’s our responsibility to bring it to their attention as well- often.
     Presenting the skill set for dancers in a thoughtful but authoritarian way lets them know this trait will help them along whatever path they choose. No choreographer or employer wants to tell their dancer or employee ten times to correct something simple. And they certainly don’t want to revisit the issue after it’s been discussed and seemingly rectified because one simply forgot. Explaining to dancers that retaining corrections means you understand how to self process and self correct. Maintaining it means you care enough to think about it carefully, make the changes asked of you and apply them consistently so you can move forward onto the next bit of information.
     So, while unlike technique this skill set may take time to develop, nurture the idea with your dancers and continue to emphasize its importance and how integral a concept it is to part of their technical training which will only propel them to the next level with time!