Teaching & Learning in a Pandemic: Spring 2021

Teaching Dance During COVID

By: Abigail Heck

Learning Targets

At the end of this lesson, students will learn how to teach dance online and during the pandemic, as well as

Students will realize the impact that the pandemic has had on dance studios and theaters across the country
Students will get to know what it's like teaching dance online and adjusting to the return of dancing in person
Students will analyze dance teachers' methods of adjusting back to reality during the pandemic.

First of all...what is dance, and why is it important?

Dancing is a form of performing art that comprises different types of movement to create a flowing and alive art piece. Using your head, torso, arms, hands, legs, and feet, you use dance to create many forms of art that can be either inspiring or emotional. It's important to learn how to dance to know how the body works because the more you move and stretch your body, the more you'll be able to bend and flex your body, giving it the ability to contort and shape your body in many ways during a dance. Before you dance, it's important to stretch. Like exercising, it reduces strain on your body, giving your body a chance to adjust before dancing, and regulates the blood flow in your body.

Tech vs. Dance

Before the pandemic, dance lessons were in person. Most dance lessons were scheduled in dance studios, while other times they were scheduled in other people's homes. However, during the pandemic, dance teachers had to improvise and maneuver their way around teaching dance online. Because of this, they took to many areas to ensure that their students would get success and benefits from dancing online. The following are platforms that dance teachers have used according to an interview done with Jessica Fullwood, a private dance teacher who teaches ballet for kids between the ages of 3 and 9, and modern dance for kids between the ages of 10 and 15.

Different Types of Online Video Call Programs

Zoom

One of the most common forms of communication that people use to meet with teachers and colleagues, Zoom is a tool that many teachers can get behind, and for dance teachers, it's a tool that they use quite often when teaching dance online since it's strictly a video call.

Pros: Zoom has a record feature that teachers can use to record sessions and send to their students for them to practice. It also has a chat feature that students can use to talk with the teacher.

Cons: Zoom tends to be very spotty when it comes to poor connectivity, and it makes it harder for students to learn.

Discord

Discord is an app for you phone and computer that serves as both a group server and a video call all in one. For teachers, they have the option to create a server for their students to use, and they also have the option to either talk with the student via a voice chat, or they have the option of the camera. This is more commonly used by public dance teachers with mulitple students in their lessons.

Pros: Very versatile and very friendly towards those who are tech savvy. Has multiple options for multiple uses (ex. posting photos to the Discord server to show different feet positions, links for videos to review, option for camera usage or for voice only usage).

Cons: Must require an invite to enter a created Discord server for students. Tends to be very laggy and have some issues. You also must be 13 to use Discord unless parental permission is required.

Skype

Skype is a video chat service that is similar to Zoom, but is a lot less tedious when it comes to letting someone into a call. This is usually a last resort for public and private dance teachers, and it's not as efficient as Zoom.

Pros: Stable connectivity and easy to work with. Provides easy maneuvering with settings and controls, and easy to set up.

Cons: Skype requires a paid subscription in order to work with, while Zoom and Discord are completely free. It's also the most annoying when it comes to interruptions, as sometimes calls can be interrupted or just cut out completely when situations go awry.

The Return of In-Person Teaching: An Interview with Jessica Fullwood

Jessica Fullwood is a former dance teacher at Golden Slippers Dance Academy, now working as a private personal dance instructor teaching ballet and modern dance for kids and young teenagers. During quarantine, she's had to adjust to teaching dance online, and it's been a struggle for her to adjust back to teaching in person.

Question 1: "What has been the most challenging aspect of teaching online?"

Answer 1: When it came down to working things out in the beginning, working with Zoom was the hardest thing for me to work with. There were some families I worked with who wanted to strictly have their kids in person because they worked better in person, but because it was against my policy, I had to decline. I lost a lot of families that way, but now that I'm back to teaching in person again, those families who left me are coming back.

Question 2: "What were the core methods that you used to teach your students dance over your preferred form of video call?"

Answer 2: One of the most important things that I incorporated was the use of the camera tilted down at their feet, as well as seeing their entire body. I would ask the student or students to tilt their camera down at their feet so I can observe their feet positions, and then I would ask them to see their whole body for arm and body movements and positions. With ballet this is easier to accomplish because my students are young, and with the help of visual aid, they're able to work out their feet easily. As for my modern dance students, I prefer seeing their whole body than their feet. That way I get to tweak their body and tell them certain positions.

Question 3: "How does it feel going back to teaching in person?"

Answer 3: Somewhat comforting. Dance is meant to be taught in person and not over a screen. It's also meant to be learned in person. Sure you can record the session and pre-record videos to share with your students, but it's not the same as the raw material that you get by teaching in person. There's a lot of heart that goes into it, and teaching in person is how you give your students the best experience possible.

Dance 101: A How-To Guide of Online Dance

According to A. and Li, Z (2020), dance classes consist of five steps into teaching dance: warmup, dance combination, creative component, spontaneous interaction, and showcase, otherwise commonly referred to as review. Each session is done in two various ways: filming the lessons and staying on the call with the students, seeing their progress and helping them work towards their goals, or they stay on call while the teacher dances alongside them. Classes usually last from 30 minutes to around an hour-long, and on some rare occasions that can last up to an hour and a half long. According to Rizzuto R. (2020), working with a positive workspace and thinking outside of the box is essential when it comes down to teaching online. Within a condensed time frame, it's important to work with what you got, and when it comes to teaching dance, sometimes it helps to makeshift items that would be essential to your class, such as make shifting a barre if you're teaching ballet.

YouTube Videos

Below are videos that give a more in-depth analysis of what it's like to teach dance during COVID, and how to tackle the obstacles that come with it.

Dancing During COVID|Group Dance Classes?

How to Teach Dance Online

Conclusion

The way that teaching dance has been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic has made dance teachers, both private and public, forced to embrace the technology world. In this technology-based era, dance teachers have learned to adapt and morph with their surroundings while at the same time tackling the struggles of teaching online. They've learned to be creative while at the same time staying functional in terms of working with not only their environment but also their student's environment. Dance is meant to be taught in person, but with a little bit of tech added, dance teachers can be creative and out of the box when teaching online to get their lessons across to their students.

Quiz

Question 1: Out of the following online resources, which one is more likely to be used by private dance instructors due to its accessibility?

A. Zoom

B. Discord

C. Skype

D. All of the Above

Question 2: What is the most challenging part of teaching dance online according to Jessica Fullwood?

A. Keeping students engaged in class

B. Maintaining an online session

C. Working with Zoom and its mechanics.

D. All of the Above

Question 3: Why is stretching before dancing important?

A. It reduces strain on your body when you dance.

B. It gives your body a chance to adjust before you dance.

C. It regulates blood flow.

D. All of the above.

Question 4: From the "Dance During COVID" video, what is the type of dance that the instructor is a professional in?

A. Ballroom

B. Tap

C. Lyrical

D. Swing

Question 5: From the "How to Teach Dance Online", what is the best way to teach dance online?

A. Go slow and steady, even if the dancers are advanced.

B. Go at your usual speed but slow down every now and then so students can catch up

C. Continue the class at your usual pace and making sure to not slow down.

Question 6: According to A. and Li, Z, what are the five steps IN ORDER to teach an online class correctly?

A: Warmup, creative component, spontaneous interaction, dance combination, and showcase

B: Warmup, dance combination, creative component, spontaneous interaction, and showcase

C: Showcase, warmup, spontaneous interaction, dance combination, and creative component

D: Spontaneous interaction, warmup, showcase, dance combination, and creative component

Quiz Answers

Question 1: A

Question 2: C

Question 3: D

Question 4: D

Question 5: A

Question 6: B

References

Authors, A., & Li, Z. (n.d.). Teaching introduction to dance studies online under covid-19 restrictions. Retrieved March 04, 2021, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23734833.2020.1831853

Rizzuto, R. (2020, June 26). How Studios Are Adapting-and Excelling-During COVID-19. Dance Teacher. https://dance-teacher.com/how-studios-are-adapting-and-excelling-in-hard-times/

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