Last Plus Class Completed

The last session of our 10 week Plus class has concluded. The little darlings took to 'spin chain & exchange the gears' like a duck to water; '3/4 tag the line' was trivial.

We drilled and reviewed the entire list of the Plus level. The latest calls were a little sluggish but all successful; 'spin chain the gears' and 'relay the deucey' are still problematic but I'm sure the bugs will get worked out with more floor time and practice.

I have to keep reminding myself that complete perfection by all dancers is not a reasonable expectation: this isn't ballet and the press for perfection isn't necessarily fun for all. We've given them the definitions, some methods for remembering how they work and opportunity to rehearse them in a safe space. Some have absorbed it all flawlessly, others have yet to have their 'eureka!' moment for some calls and others will always need a little extra coaching. They will grow into their own as time passes.

For my part, I know the Plus level in far greater detail than I ever considered previously and have internalized a list of non-standard positions for most calls which hadn't occurred to me in previous research. I'm also grateful to Tim Marriner & otterpop58's CALLERLAB teaching notes & suggestions for extra pointers and ideas.

Most of all, I've come to recognize items in the earlier Mainstream curriculum which I must drill harder the next opportunity. Some of the issues in our Plus class could have been avoided if I had been more diligent in the prior course.

The official graduation ceremony will be at our regular club night, Thursday, September 20.

We have next Monday off, then we start back in with an open house on Monday, September 10, and a new Mainstream class beginning Monday, September 17. Time to start revising my lesson plans and teaching notes!

PS. justetthon is calling A2 & C1 this Thursday, 7:30-9:30 PM!

Last Plus Class Completed

The last session of our 10 week Plus class has concluded. The little darlings took to 'spin chain & exchange the gears' like a duck to water; '3/4 tag the line' was trivial.

We drilled and reviewed the entire list of the Plus level. The latest calls were a little sluggish but all successful; 'spin chain the gears' and 'relay the deucey' are still problematic but I'm sure the bugs will get worked out with more floor time and practice.

I have to keep reminding myself that complete perfection by all dancers is not a reasonable expectation: this isn't ballet and the press for perfection isn't necessarily fun for all. We've given them the definitions, some methods for remembering how they work and opportunity to rehearse them in a safe space. Some have absorbed it all flawlessly, others have yet to have their 'eureka!' moment for some calls and others will always need a little extra coaching. They will grow into their own as time passes.

For my part, I know the Plus level in far greater detail than I ever considered previously and have internalized a list of non-standard positions for most calls which hadn't occurred to me in previous research. I'm also grateful to Tim Marriner & otterpop58's CALLERLAB teaching notes & suggestions for extra pointers and ideas.

Most of all, I've come to recognize items in the earlier Mainstream curriculum which I must drill harder the next opportunity. Some of the issues in our Plus class could have been avoided if I had been more diligent in the prior course.

The official graduation ceremony will be at our regular club night, Thursday, September 20.

We have next Monday off, then we start back in with an open house on Monday, September 10, and a new Mainstream class beginning Monday, September 17. Time to start revising my lesson plans and teaching notes!

PS. justetthon is calling A2 & C1 this Thursday, 7:30-9:30 PM!