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PRACTISING TO DANCE
Okay! So who was ever good at practising dancing? And yet, this is the most important thing of all! Practising makes perfect - and it is quite surprising just how many pupils don't practise! Usually the success of the pupil and their ability to dance well is partially a result of how much support and encouragement their parent(s) and/or guardian gives. Support too, can vary in the way in which a child may succeed or not. If the child has "forgotten" what to practise, it can make things a little more difficult, but after several lessons usually children pick up the steps and begin to remember them very well indeed! It is usually encouraged for a parent or guardian to sit in on lessons occasionally so they are aware of the requirements with regard to practice. So, encouraging your child to practise - over the years there have been all types of strategies used, Sometimes tutors use some strategies that can assist too, but usually the provision of a regular "practising" routine added to the individual's schedule in the home environment helps immensely. There is a fine line between encouraging your child to practise and making your child practise. Sometimes "making" someone undertake tasks such as practising - by threatening them in a way that they may lose other "favourite" privileges - could affect the way in which a child responds attending dance lessons. In fact it could discourage them from learning altogether. A regular routine and encouragement from within the family circle are the two most essential ingredients as far as children and practising goes. When we aspire to our heroes, be it in the arts or in sport - all these people who become good at what they do have had to practise! Even school teachers! Everyone has to practise to become clever at what they do. Take an AFL team member, - all members practise or train regularly before their game (or performance), all swimmers have to practise by training to get faster and faster........ all race horses have to train before they race, gymnasts have to practise to perform well.... all school pupils have to practise their spelling and reading to get better....... as should all dance pupils by practising their skills so they can get better and move on to the next level - even the members in "Tap Dogs" have to practise! Of course teenagers and adults know that practising is essential! Some pupils of course, do show extra enthusiasm - and they practise really hard on their own accord to surprise their dance teacher when they come to their next lesson! Practising should include going over individual barre work, centre exercises/components/steps, one by one, and for more difficult work, should be practised more often than other work that might be quite easy. Sometimes pupils practise really hard and can do a step very well indeed - but forget to practise using their arms, body or head! Practising a little a lot can be more beneficial with regard to less strenuous exercises and/or work, however, for more demanding work, a period of warming up exercises will assist in reducing any injury that may occur. For this reason, lengthier periods of practise may be more suited particularly for an advanced student. It is sometimes good to practise in front of a mirror, although there are times when you need to be able to practise without relying on the mirror as it can restrict one's performance. Using a mirror (whilst it has it's disadvantages) can also alert an individual to how things "look" and can be used as a tool for self criticism that may enhance self improvement. The amount of time involved in practising is dependent on the level the pupil is at. It also depends on whether the pupil is sitting exams or practising for competitions. Beginners may practise from 10 to 20 minutes a day, older pupils may practise from 15 to 30 minutes a day. It is good to get in to the habit of practising 4 or 5 days a week. Whilst you are learning new skills (new steps etc.) it can take a little more practise to get the steps right - and as each step gets better, less practise is required! Then once enough steps are learned, they can be put into a dance routine, which requires practise to learn each of the steps in the correct order and learn to keep in time to the music! As the routines are mastered, then comes the "fine tuning" of the performance! For senior pupils, with up to 8 or so solos or routines, practising can involve many hours, particularly with regard to the "fine tuning" of a performance.
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