The jazz class has now finished up their first song and are working to perfect it. They are also working on their facial expressions as well. The hip hop class has also finished up their second song and are now on their third song (which is a free style song). The free style song is a less choreographed song and moreso a song where the children are free to dance how they feel. Since this dance will be the last performance for the spring showcase, I will allow for the other two classes to join the hip hop class on stage for the freestyle song. This will be considered the finale part of the show.
(Classes were closed due to weather and below zero wind chill factors on February 16th and 18th).
Classes resumed today after being closed on last week due to temperatures and below zero wind chill factors here in Michigan. Nonetheless, the Teen pop class and the Street Jazz in Heels class are moving right along. Although there is low participation for both classes, I am still able to work with these young ladies very diligent and progressively. Although each class will perform in the spring showcase in the beginning of June, I have given the Street Jazz in Heels class an option to do so or to choose not to do so, since this is an adult class. These ladies were not hesitant to opt in the chance to participate in the spring showcase. They are probably more excited than the children are! The hip hop class has now been working on their second song for a few weeks now and are finishing up their second song. There are still some issues with getting this class to give me the facial expressions that I require for such choreography however, they are beginning to come into their own. By this, I mean that there are a couple of participants that are becoming more comfortable with what they are learning and they are working on their confidence little by little. This is a good sign of advancement.
The pre-ballet class are now finishing up their first song and are working on perfecting it. Again, this group is a fairly young bunch of participants but are very much so enthusiastic. The jazz class are struggling a bit now due to the nature of their choreography and song. Their song is a rather upbeat tempo song and requires more energy than this group are use to giving. However, I do not have any worries that they will get through this song just fine. (Classes were closed on February 2nd and 4th due to weather and dangerous temps).
Today the Teen Pop class and the Street Jazz in heels class went well. The adult Hip Hop class has been canceled due to there being zero participants to sign up. The Teen Pop class are learning choreography for their first song. They are doing quite well. Better than I had expected for a beginners class. Again, there are some insecure issues with facial expressions as most beginners, however, we will work on that at a later date. The Street Jazz in Heels class is going quite well too. The ladies are catching on quite swiftly and are enjoying themselves. Although the class ages for this class are 17 years and up, the participants in this class are adults that are attempting to get their "groove back." As all three Wednesday night classes are finishing up choreography, reviewing technique and beginning new choreography, parents are turning in payments for costumes weekly. I have not decided what they children should wear for costumes yet but I am reviewing costume options as the weeks go on. My parents are very active in their parental roles each week with suggesting ideas for costumes, assisting me with music selections as well as assistance in the classrooms. Although the fundraising has come to an halt, some of my parents are still very active in other ways.
In a previous discussion with the acting recreation center supervisor, we decided on adding three new classes to the dance program to be held on Monday evenings.
Today, I signed up individuals for two out of three of those classes. Those two classes are titled Teen pop, ages 13 - 17 years and Street Jazz in Heels, ages 17 years and up. The third class is titled Adult hip hop, however we did not have any sign ups for this class. If there aren't any sign ups by next Monday, February, 2nd then we will have to cancel the class. After sign-ups, I began to teach choreography for each class. The lesson plans for the teen pop class is similar to the Wednesday night hip hop class for the younger children, whereas there really isn't a technique to teach, we just start choreography. The street jazz in heels class also consist of teaching choreography. (No class on January 14th due to unsafe weather temps)
Today the hip hop class began new choreography. (this class is moving along quite swiftly). The jazz class is still working on the same choreography in order to finish their dance. Although the jazz class is still working on the same song, this isn't unusual for this group. They are still on track as expected. The pre-ballet class are still reviewing their technique, weekly, as well as finishing up their choreography for their song. Today is the first day back from the Christmas Holiday break. The next few sessions will partly consist of a refresher ( a review of what was previously learned) as well as a continuation of learning new choreography. On today's session, I reviewed various techniques and choreography for all three classes (pre-ballet, jazz and hip hop dance).
The pre-ballet class spent most of their class time reviewing technique, versus choreography. With this group being the youngest, I have to constantly reiterate technique so that they can remember the correct ballet terms, matching the actual movement. The jazz class spent most of their time reviewing the choreography as well as continuing on with the next level of movement. The hip hop class also reviewed choreography as well as worked on facial expressions that should accompany the choreography. Today is the first of two classes that will conclude this month for the Christmas Holiday break, then resume in January after the New Year begins. As usual, this is a time when attendance becomes lessened due to the holiday season, bad weather in Michigan and flu season. However, the hip hop class began their choreography on their second of three song dance performance. The pre-ballet and the jazz classes are still working on their first performance (which is not unusual for these two groups). The pre-ballet and the jazz classes do not have a trio song dance performance, rather they have one song, per one performance.
December 17th will be the last day of classes for these three groups but we have replaced class time with a holiday party. However, since there is a new Recreation Center Supervisor, he has approved the start of three new classes in January. These three classes are as follows: Teen Pop, ages 13 - 17 years ( a mixture of hip hop dance and jazz funk movement). Street Jazz in heels, ages 17 and up ( a mixture of jazz and jazz funk movements). And an adult hip hop class, ages 18 and up. The adult hip hop class was a request of a few of the participants parents. I am very excited to present these three new classes to the dance programming. This week was a very busy week. Today, we held our very first fundraiser at the Big Boys Restaurant in Madison Heights, MI. We also resumed classes from the Thanksgiving Holiday break. I also discussed, via email, the Christmas Holiday Party with my volunteer committee. We have decided to have a Holiday party for the participants on the last day of class for the year, December 17, 2014 versus our regularly scheduled classes. This will be a pot luck event with music and games. We believe that this is something that the participants would enjoy. This is also my token of appreciation for their commitment and dedication to the program.
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