Are you wondering which members of your teaching faculty would be PERFECT to train in and deliver the Groove Child® syllabus, at your dance school?
This checklist will help…
Ideally, the qualities of an effective Groove Child® teacher/facilitator will include most of the following traits:
- A QUALIFICATION or degree in dance, or an established background in dance and working with young children.
- A genuine LOVE of working with children.
- A PASSION or enjoyment for working creatively.
NOTE: This does not mean you need to bounce around like a children’s TV presenter…unless that’s your style! You can be an introvert, and be a very successful Groove Child teacher. It’s about being engaged in the purpose of the session and facilitating a structured but creative ‘space’ each week for young dancers to be expressive and creative.
- Have an UNDERSTANDING and BELIEF in Groove Child’s purpose; to enrich a child’s WHOLE learning experience through dance. This includes understanding that Groove Child is a great tool to SUPPORT each child’s confidence and talent development through the practice of vital creative skills; such as collaboration, communication, creative thinking, problem-solving, and self-expression.
- A DESIRE to increase the positive impact you have on the mental and emotional development of young dancers. Reinforcing good technique where appropriate within Groove Child sessions is encouraged, but it’s important to not make these sessions predominantly about technique – it’s vital to keep an imaginative and CREATIVE TONE to Groove Child classes, in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes.
- Ideally you will have much experience already in working with young children, but at a basic level you need to be confident with your own levels of CLASS MANAGEMENT! Due to the nature of some of the improvisational exercises you simply need to be able to balance a dance class with the right amount of freedom and discipline to ensure your Groove Child classes offer a rich high-quality learning environment, through it’s balance of structure, imagination and freedom.
- A general awareness of the POWER OF POSITIVE WORDS for a child’s self-esteem is vital, (although it sounds obvious!) but without overly praising so that praise loses meaning. An understanding of growth mindset helps, and this is something explored within the course.
- Finally, you ideally need a genuine ENJOYMENT of creating and exploring CHOREOGRAPHY and/or a DESIRE to explore new ways of choreographing with your young students – and the Groove Child syllabus helps provide you with lots of starting points!
…What happens after our students have completed the Junior Groove Child Levels?!
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The Junior Syllabus
The junior levels give children a deeper sense of musicality/rhythm by exploring creative themes and ideas through dance. It gives them more confidence to volunteer their ideas, improvise, stand up and demonstrate, work creatively in a small group, the seeds of choreographic skills, more use of ‘feeling’ in their overall performance, and the ability to adapt well to various themes/styles and music.
The Intermediate Syllabus
Students aged 10+ can then move forward to the Intermediate Groove Child® syllabus levels (Blue and Green Badges) should the school wish to offer these also. The intermediate syllabus is for young dancers aged 10-14yrs and designed for teachers who wish to extend this creative confidence-building work to their more senior students.
The Intermediate syllabus continues the expressive and explorative foundations of the junior levels but through more mature exercises and with a stronger focus on KEEPING confidence and ‘performance’ high in class, adaptability and style awareness, and includes additional developmental work for BOYS.
Do you have a question for us?!
Check to see if we answer it on our Frequently Asked Questions page! If the answers not there, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The Groove Child® Dance Syllabus is designed to help dance teachers nurture children’s positive sense of self, confidence, and self expression through dance in a way that celebrates their individuality and boosts their performance. Dance School Owners & Freelance Dance Teachers – we’d love to meet you and introduce you further to the benefits Groove Child brings. Check our full details of the syllabus and our courses at the main website: www.groovechilddance.com
Groove Child Dance Syllabus - Blog 