Task 2D

I am really enthusiastic about how dancers especially in the USA can become so talented from such a young age and the difference in the Standard of dancing in the USA to the UK. 

You only have to look on You Tube at American Dance Competitions for example, to see the talent along with a number of hit reality TV shows that show the lives of young dancers, for example ‘Dance Moms’. I believe that the Dance Competitions are so well known in the USA compared to the UK, which inspires children to be the best that they can be.

Training is the USA seems to be a lot more intense; this is not just for dance but also in every sport, which they do. For example ‘Soccer Moms’ my Parents live in the USA and have friends with young children who attend different clubs and those who have also moved from the UK describe how the training is so different. They describe it as a lot more competitive and adults are hitting the gym at 5am to get in their work out before work!   

I admire all dance teachers as I think they do a fantastic job however I do admire teachers such as ‘Abby Lee Miller’ who can see the potential in children from such a young age and adapts the training to enable that child to progress as well as they can.

Below is Abby lee Millers biography:

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms/cast/abby-lee-miller

There has been a lot of disagreement in the way in which Abby Lee Miller teaches, some people believe that she is unfair on the students, expects too much of them or does not approach teaching the correct way. I have to argue against these critics as you have to remember the way we see Abby teach is on the TV show, it has been edited and although it is not scripted there are certain situations that are set up. She has a lot of success with her student getting to be professional dancers on Broadway and all over the world. She could put things across in a better manner but most of the time what she is saying is the truth and it will improve the dancers.

Here is a link to a young dancer from the USA

http://sophia-lucia.com/

Sophia has broken the world record with the most turns and is well known in the dance industry and she is only 11 years old. Most 11 year olds in the UK can't do a single pirouette let alone 55. I ask myself why is this? Should we be teaching harder steps to children at a younger age? 

I must raise the point that i am not talking about Ballet dancers in this discussion as that brings a whole new line of inquiry into my discussion. This is about general all round dancers, ballet, tap, modern, lyrical and contemporary, not children who attend Ballet schools. 

Below is a you-tube clip of one of my favorite dances performed by Sophia Lucia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrm60nbzv3E

Below is a few things however that make me angry and question teaching children so intensely from such a young age?

·      Pushy parents who don’t have their child’s interests at heart, maybe they are living their dream through their child? This cause many problems for the child at a later date emotionally and physically as they are being pushed into something they don’t want to do.

·      Favoritism. This can cause class numbers to drop and other students to feel worthless and become un motivated.

·      Being too hard on the children. Children are still growing and we have to remember this, also mentally children are sensitive and unlike adults sometimes cannot distinguish between the dance being critiqued and them personally. 

·      Can children’s bodies cope with the intense training? Children are growing at different rates and bones are still growing, could they injure themselves?

·      Emotional impacts on the Child. It is hard work being told something is not good enough, for adults let alone children. Or do they just accept it and go along with it more than adults do?

·      You Tube. Anyone can access the videos of these young children dancing.

·      Some of the dances too mature for the age? Some dances that children perform at competitions are far too mature in my opinion. Children are young and should dance appropriate styles for their age. However this is the choreographers fault not the child’s.

·      Missing out on their childhood? Some children train so much that they miss hanging out with their friends. Sophia Lucia who is mentioned above is home schooled, I disagree with this, as I believe school is where you learn how to get on with people and learn life skills.

·      Funding. Not everyone can afford to go to dance classes, or as many as they like. Does this mean that there are talented children slipping under the raider because of this?

I Love that I am a dance teacher and it is exciting when you have someone in your class who is really passionate in dance and has great potential, off course I love teaching all levels of dance as long as the children are having fun that’s the main thing!

I feel that the standard of dance is a lot higher in the USA and I feel that the reason is because children are trained much more intensely than the UK. Some people say that children are just dancing for fun and that they shouldn’t be trained so hard, yet if they have the talent surely it shouldn’t be being wasted?

 A few questions I ask are:

If you don’t train the natural talent from a young age does it get lost as you get older?

Should we be pushing are students more here in the UK?

A dance teacher who I know who seems to have the same passion, they are very inspirational in the way that they teach. They do push the older students more who wish to pursue a career in dance. Which in England this seems to be very acceptable to do rather than training them intensely from a young age.  The dance teacher I find inspirational has a very good balance of discipline and fun with the students so they work hard but enjoy the classes at the same time. She is always pushing the children to be better.

I don’t understand why we don’t have the same high standards here in England as in America. Of course we have the Royal Ballet School where very talented young ballet dancers can go and train but America has ‘Julliard’ and ‘Joffrey’ ballet school to name but a few.

 I have a friend who is also a dancer and dance teacher as she shares the same views as me. In her dance classes she tries to encourpripate some of the American styles of dance, especially in contemporary and tap.

There is so much more I could go into but a line of enquiry could be:

Comparison between USA dance and UK dance?

Is training too intense for children?

Does it help to have pushy parents?

Does intense training from such a young age improve your chances of becoming a working dancer?

Should income affect the training?

Should we have big dance competitions in the UK?

Would love to know your views on this topic, i could go on and on about this as it opens up so many inquiries and different questions! 

Heather X