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Teaching Young Dancers To Be Independent

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Teacher article

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None

Parents are always amazed when young dancers are able to get out on stage by themselves and remember their dance without coaching from the sidelines or the front of the theatre. I’m talking about the youngsters in the 3 to 5 age group who study once a week, not children who are taking multiple classes. Helping this age group become independent as dancers will also help them to be independent in school and life at home. Very often small children cling to their mothers, which of course is natural, but they are totally capable even at 3 to be able to follow direction and remember steps and combinations of steps when they come to class. With the very young dancer, it is sometimes necessary to let the mother enter the class with the child if he or she is experiencing anxiety, and I always encourage the mother to gradually withdraw herself from the room once the child is fully engaged in the activities. Generally speaking the child’s anxiety is a direct result of the mother not wanting to separate from their child; however, whatever the cause is, the end result we are looking for is for the dancer to feel happy and confident with their teacher. As we know, each child is unique and can present a different set of scenarios.

Author

Angela D'Valda Sirico

Angela D'Valda Sirico

Originally from England, Angela spent her early years in Hong Kong where she studied with Carol Bateman. She continued her training at Arts Educational Trust in England. After moving to New York City she continued her studies with Martha Graham and Matt Mattox. She appeared with the Matt Mattox Company and toured with the first Disney On Parade working with Disney and N.B.C. Contracted to the Teatro National of Buenos Aires she performed for one year and spent an additional year as a featured soloist at the Teatro Maipo, Argentina. Travelling to Madrid, Spain she worked for Spanish television in a weekly variety show Tarde Para Todos and from there decided to form her own Dance Company. With the Company she choreographed and performed throughout Spain in theatres, and on television. Angela met her husband Steve while working together on a television special The Valerie Peters Show filmed in Tampa, Florida. In 1979 they formed the Adagio act DValda & Sirico appearing in theatres, clubs and on television shows such as David Letterman, Star Search and the Jerry Lewis Telethon. In 1982 they were contracted to Europe and appeared in a variety of shows in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Italy before going to London, England where they appeared as Guest Artists for Wayne Sleep (formerly of the Royal Ballet) in his show Dash at the Dominium Theatre. Angela and Steve have owned and directed their dance studio in Fairfield, CT. for the past twenty two years and in 2005 added music and vocal classes to their curriculum. Angela served as chairperson for the tri state panel of the Royal Academy of Dancing and is Co-author of a Partner syllabus currently used for teacher training by Dance Educators of America. She continues to adjudicate and teach for major dance organizations and choreographs for theatre, television and conventions and was commissioned by Boston Ballet 11 to choreograph the highly acclaimed Brother Can You Spare A Dime? DValda & Sirico are currently in production choreographing the opening to the National Speakers Association convention on Broadway at the Marriott Marquis for August of 2008. Angela is co-owner of Dance Teacher Web designed as an online resource for teachers worldwide.

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