The editor at Dance Teacher magazine cut lots of information from my article on Denise Wall for lots of reasons – mostly because of space, especially after she asked for more information on Danny Tidwell – and I had to cut an immense amount of information simply to meet her word-count requirements. However, I wanted today to include one little bit of imagery from Denise that does not appear in my article, which is the featured article on this month’s (October) issue of Dance Teacher magazine.
Denise herself told me about this bit of imagery, as did two of her students…but the editors felt it was a bit “suggestive.” Well, maybe for girls, but I didn’t see it until she said it to me. As for boys, which is who we’re talking about, I think we can let that particular sexual reference go. Or I hope we can.
Anyway…Denise’s biggest “secret” to teaching dancers comes down to imagery. She finds imagery that works for each individual dancer to help them complete whatever dance move they are having difficulty completing. In this case, to help all her dancers improve their turn out in ballet class, she offered a visualization about a flower bud opening. Here’s how she told me about it:
“There’s this new thing I made up, and this is crazy! I tell them to imagine what a flower bud looks like opening up. I come behind them and put my hands between their legs and say, ‘Back here I have your flower bud.’ I push my hands through and open my hands to give them more turn out and say, ‘Imagine the flower bud opening.’ Then later during the class, they’ll be standing there, and I’ll just point to their legs and say, ‘Open up your flower,’ and they will turn out more. And they all freak out, because they weren’t trying to turn out more. But the imagery makes them turn out more.”
One of Denise’s students actually said that now during ballet class Denise only needs to say, “Flower!” and everyone’s turn out miraculously improves.
I share this not to prove the editors at Dance Teacher wrong (and maybe you’ll think they were right to exclude this visualization. I could see their point after they made if – if not before) but for this reason: If your son is having trouble with some aspect of dance, maybe you or someone else – his teacher can employ Denise’s imagery secret. Come up with an image that works for him.
I tried one of the others in my article with Julian (the one about the Achilles tendon and pointing the foot), and it didnt’ work for him. However, in tap, we talked to him about pretending he was playing soccer and getting over his knees like in soccer when he dribbles or juggles the ball, and that helped him.
It seems this is a very personal art, and Denise has it down. She is so good at it because she really knows her students. That doesn’t mean someone else can’t learn this art, and who knows these young male dancers better than their mothers? Anyway, give it it try.
Wow, no wonder they excised THAT from the published article! It does sound quite sexual, in a rather victorian sort of way.
Still and all, the idea is a very good one. I’m still trying to think of what would work with my son…”Open your DS case wider”???
Hmmmm…while I work on that, I’d like to thank you for presenting a blog about dancing boys. My 13 year old son is really getting into ballet. I don’t know if it will last but he’s to the point where he wants to do it nearly every day and is interested in schools that offer ballet in the curriculum.
He is in a boys’ class taught by a male, no less, and I consider us very lucky to have found such a one. So far there are only four boys in the class and my little guy is the oldest of the lot, but just to have a class that celebrates male energy instead of cursing the guys for not being girlishly mature and “pink” enough is a wonderful thing.
It’s the lack of male comradeship that I think sidetracks so many boys who would otherwise enjoy dance, especially at the middle school ages.
Boys are, by and large, social creatures and not only are they isolated from boy society (how many boys are the ONLY ONE in the ballet class?) but if they mention THEIR sport, they run the risk of being laughed at by the boys they know from school.
At that age, it’s a toughie. It’s flying in the face of a natural developmental need of a personality still in the process of forming.
I just think we need access to more male teachers in the smaller studios where the majority of kids get their introduction to dance.
You keep writin’ and I’ll certainly keep readin’.
Cheers
Queenie
Thanks for your comment, Queenie! I’ve actually written about it in the next post! Your son is very luck to have four boys in and a male teacher for his ballet class. Too bad none of them are his age. I think finding a male friend in class is so important. Julian was friends with the boy in his ballet class last year and the year before; he was one year older. However, the kids had some major problems outside of ballet, and we weren’t too pleased about the alliance. That was unfortunate. The boy in his dance company this year is a year older, and he likes him quite well. They live far from each other, though. I doubt they will be close outside of class. However, he did meet someone at school…and they are friendly. I’m not sure if they are in the same grade or not. He’s a ballet dancer, but I can’t even get Julian to find out where he dances. Kids are so weird. You’d think he’d want to know.