Contracted Experience
Where: Artz On Show @ Southwell School When: April School Holidays
Contract to do: Teach Hip Hop dance routines to ages 5 -14 years
I love working with youth. When you meet them, they generally want to like you and trust you. They want to learn and share the experience with you in a positive light. They show it in so many ways as well. Anyone that doesn’t want to, has a conflict holding them back which in many cases has nothing to do with you. It is just that they’ve been burned before or something or someone has made them believe they can’t do it. Once you break through those walls, you will discover the same thing again, that they want to like you and want to trust you.
Highlight: My highlight would be seeing the senior group add their own twist on the dance routines. As soon as they were allowed to add their own flavour and choreography, the dynamic of the dance changed. I saw passion, ownership and success. When I say success, I don’t mean brilliant technique, I mean the love for the subject (Dance) and the learning exploded – and boy was it infectious! It doesn’t take much, but as soon as teenagers take something ordinary and make it their own – it becomes extraordinary! They become excited to show off their idea within the dance so there’s this neat little flutter inside them that anticipates when the showcase can occur and with that this new bit of energy reveals itself right through the routine until that moment and when the moment hits, the energy explodes, and we get a very confident part of the dance routine. If you give them moments through the routine, this energy shift keeps happening and then you’ll find the bubbliness carries right through the choreography, right down to the chuffed pose at the end!
So that is where my bit of advice comes into play –
If you are having trouble with energy and enthusiasm, get them to create a moment that works for them, show them how neat it was that they successfully came up with the idea and watch that energy soar!
If there’s still a barrier, return to my initial response:
…”they generally want to like you and trust you. They want to learn and share the experience with you in a positive light. They want to learn and share the experience with you in a positive light. They show it in so many ways as well. Anyone that doesn’t want to, has a conflict holding them back which in many cases has nothing to do with you. It is just that they’ve been burned before or something or someone has made them believe they can’t do it. Once you break through those walls, you will discover the same thing again, that they want to like you and want to trust you.
And above all things, connect with them, get to know them. When anyone sees that they are not just another client, another student, another person in the world – and they are seen, heard, appreciated – so much more will come from them and enhance their experience.
Love does triumph all.
Time, experience, manaakitanga
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