A Four-part Examination into a Special Subgroup
INTRODUCTION
Who is a late-beginner? A late-beginner is anyone who enters their dance studies when their body has begun to, or has finished, hardening its bones and slowing its growth. They are teenagers, mid-lifers, senior citizens and everyone in between. While late-beginners often include those who have absolutely no visceral experience with their bodies whatsoever, it can also include those who do have an understanding of their body through activities such as yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, competitive sports, aerobics, and other body modalities.
Why Do Late-beginners Choose to Dance? Late-beginners begin dancing for a variety of reasons. For some, dancing provides alternative exercise that is graceful and creative while learning something new that inspires them. Many come for the opportunity to join friends already studying or to meet new people. Sometimes late-beginners come because they have had a long interest in dance and want to learn more about the art in a visceral way. Other late-beginners took dance as a child and want to return to it with the knowledge that it did, in fact, hold value for them.
Should Late-beginners Receive Professional Training? Absolutely! Unfortunately, late-beginners are not always catered to with the same energy as those dancers who are young or those who teachers believe have potential for a professional dance career. That under-estimation is unfortunate. Late-beginners are equal to, if not more important than their younger counterparts, most who are in ballet classes simply because their parents wish them to. Late-beginners, on the other hand, can be a great source of support to a studio and are in class because they have an honest desire to learn and that, in my opinion, makes them deserving of the best training.
What are Our Responsibilities as Teachers Towards Late-beginners? It is our responsibility as teachers and studio directors to carefully examine both the strengths and weaknesses of the late-beginner population. We need to understand the unique teaching techniques needed to effectively teach late-beginners, how they are different from other groups of students, and how to implement that understanding into our classes. It is our responsibility to appropriately guide late-beginners through their training safely and effectively so their bodies feel good, their minds awake, and they feel free to express themselves emotionally and artistically. We must honor and value every students individual talent, purpose, and dedication by offering professionally correct technical and artistic information so they may achieve their goals of being whatever kind of dancer they choose. These important responsibilities are the focus of this series on late-beginners. It is my intention that the information contained within will provide new perspectives on the teaching of this sub-group of students. I believe they are a group that deserves special study due to their immediate potential in encouraging and influencing the dance world into a new era of relevance for todays society.
For the purposes of explaining some of the special teaching techniques that benefit late-beginners, I will compare them against some of the teaching techniques traditionally used for children. I find that by comparison a bigger picture can be understood. The ideas presented will hopefully help create a new dialogue between the teachers of your studio concerning how late-beginners are taught at your studio.