Try Something New
HPU Dance, Global Dance Forms
One of my favorite things to challenge movers to do is to, “try something new.” Last month I had the privilege to visit High Point University and teach a dance workshop! This workshop was for students across different majors exploring various global dance forms.
Like a good instructor, I began by getting to know who is in the room and then presented a “posture” of taking the class that I believe would leave students feeling successful. They were:
Let’s look crazy together
Try something new
Have fun
…And these students were game! I watched movers who were new to African diasporic dance styles dive in head first-with joy!
My goal as an instructor is to make sure students feel empowered to continue their learning. I often find that if there is a barrier in a new experience, whether it be exposure or lack of familiarity, like all of us, students can recoil, proceed with hesitation, or just resist.
I have found the joy and value of dance, and want to provide the opportunity for others to find it too. I am learning that rather than offering a class that only challenges in an effort to prescribe value to the field, providing achievable entryways into all its complexities can spark an interest in students to continue. These three postures could be also read:
Let’s acknowledge that moving this way may be new to your body, and its pathways might not all connect in the way you’d hoped, imagined, or saw on TikTok. It might in fact even look “silly” but that’s okay! Let’s look silly together.
Learning is exposure that meets practice. It’s how we’ve learned everything we know up until this point. Dance is no different. Let’s lean into this new experience to see what it might hold.
Trying new things that might make you look “silly” doesn’t have to be stressful. It might actually, kinda, be fun. Plus these beats are too fire to not let the joy in!
Including to diffuse with an open hand to potential responses is my current way of approaching class. So far I have been encouraged by student feedback! I’ll update you as I learn, this process is still in the making. Till next time, let me know about any postures you invite your students to take while in class!
-VC