The Dance Teacher

One day a little girl peers around the door of Miss Sylvie's dance studio. 'I want to be a ballerina,' she says. Isabelle loves to dance. She practises her five positions over and over again. But does she have what it takes to achieve her dream, and one day become a prima ballerina? Celebrating the joy of dance and the role inspirational teachers can play in our lives, The Dance Teacher will enchant readers young and old.

Brenda McCutchen provides an integrated approach to dance education, using four cornerstones: dancing and performing, creating and composing, historical and cultural inquiry and analysing and critiquing. She also illustrates the main developmental aspects of dance.

With this one-of-a-kind book, dance instructors will develop the confidence and professionalism to quickly and easily go from being a good teacher to a great one, and gain the skills needed to skyrocket their careers.

A yearly planner for dance teachers. Designed to assist in lesson planning, recital organization, inspiration and more!

Harriet Cavalli, internationally recognized as one of the most talented and experienced specialists in the art of music for dancers and dance teachers, presents here the definitive book on accompaniment, as well as her personal - often humorous - look behind the scenes at the world of dance. The text is enhanced by diagrams and 83 complete musical examples, providing a wealth of repertoire choices.

Illustrated with abstract and imaginative photographs, this is a philosophical guide for the dance field about the art of teaching modern dance. Integrating somatic theories, scientific research and contemporary aesthetic practices, it asks the reader to reconsider how and why they teach.

Dance Teaching Methods and Curriculum Design, Second Edition, presents a comprehensive model that prepares students to teach dance in school and community settings. It offers 14 dance units and many tools to help students learn to design lesson plans and units and create their own dance portfolio

Teaching Children Dancecontains a practical framework and approach for presenting creative dance lessons to children in kindergarten to fifth grade. It combines essential dance content appropriate for an elementary-level program with detailed descriptions of strategies. Featuring 20 dance learning experiences, the book has been updated and expanded to reflect educators' renewed commitment to making dance an integral part of children's education. You'll learn to view dance as an art form while improving your teaching and increasing your confidence. You'll also learn the benefits of introducing dance to elementary students, the most effective ways to teach it, and what to teach and when to teach it. In part I, you'll find a wealth of new content, including ideas on how to design and present a dance learning experience composed of units and lessons, suggestions for classroom management, updated assessment content, and strategies for interdisciplinary connections. Part IIpresents 20 dance learning experiences, reorganized for easy reference into two categories: kindergarten to second grade and third to fifth grade. These ready-to-use experiences walk you step by step through the dance process, beginning with an introduction and ending with a dance. Use experiences from either category as a series or dance unit--either way, you'll set a welcoming environment for learning and creating. Other features include the following: -Questions for reflection at the end of each chapter encourage teachers to apply the content to their own teaching style and preferences. -Nuts and bolts for presenting dance learning experiences ensure adherence to national and state standards. -New photographs and illustrations make the book visually attractive and show the ideas presented in action.

"Every commercial ballet teacher should have a copy. . . . offers solid self-evaluation to every teacher--it separates 'the mice and the Nutcracker'!"--Richard J. Sias, dancer, choreographer, and associate professor of ballet, Florida State University "The contribution to the dance world is immense. . . . should be read by all teachers of dance as well as students in preparatory schools and colleges. . . . Mr. White challenges us to reexamine what we have accepted as excellence in the past and to push beyond that to find what is possible."--Patricia Walker, founder and director, Children's Ballet Theatre of New Hampshire "A service of great importance for any artist wishing to pursue a career in dance. . . . applicable to both experienced and inexperienced dancers and teachers. It gives guidelines to the art of teaching ballet where none existed before."--Charles Flachs, principal dancer, Nashville Ballet From his experience of 40 years in ballet as a student, performer, ballet master, and dedicated teacher, John White offers this work of inspiration and step-by-step instruction on the art and craft of teaching classical dance. Stressing excellence in both the creative and the practical aspects of teaching, White discusses what it means to be a "master teacher"--someone with both a deep love for dance and an appreciation for the grandeur of the human spirit. Good art is usually uncomplicated, he says. Illustrating with 97 photographs, he presents a method of study that includes such aspects of teaching as constructive warm-up exercises, when to begin pointe shoes, the beneficial aspects of pain, and appropriate music for the classroom, as well as elements of the basic lesson. He discusses how to recognize talent and to refine and develop it. He offers guidelines for establishing and organizing a well-run studio. And he presents his personal insights into the art of classical ballet pedagogy--shaped in particular by his study with ballet masters from the Kirov and Bolshoi ballet companies and by concepts from the famous Vaganova Choreographic School in St. Petersburg. The book also confronts the controversial issue of the widespread mediocrity that is notorious in dance schools. Poor training often brings about the loss of talented students and the premature forced retirement of professional artists from unnecessary injuries. By contrast, White says, good teaching can be an exhilarating challenge and a profound joy. John White is codirector of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, located in a Philadelphia suburb, which he opened with his wife in 1974. He has been a soloist and the ballet master of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and the head instructor and interim ballet master of the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. Since 1980 he has conducted seminars for dance teacers, training more than 400 teachers during this time. In addition, he was a contributing editor and writer for Ballet Dancer Magazine.

Grade level: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, e, i, s, t.