McCree Theatre Adult Dance Class

For the past three months, starting December 2nd, I have been teaching a musical theater dance class at the Flint School of the Performing Arts to some adult actors from the McCree Theatre. Initially I was nervous about this experience because I had only just started to teach children. I had this idea that adults would judge me more on my ability to teach because I was so much younger than most of them and I didn't have confidence in myself as a teacher yet. The first day of class we did some activities just to break the ice. All of the students being apart of the same theatre group already knew each other so it was nice for me to get to know them creatively.

Before beginning this process I really had no idea how to teach them musical theatre because that is not something Im trained in. What helped me is knowing that they trusted in me and my knowledge of dance and willing to try anything I put forth to them in the dance space. I was really there to teach them some basic dance steps that they could incorporate into their shows, but this process also put me in a place of understanding of what a community needs; it's not always about the execution of complex dance steps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bHSOW3jrME

Ice Breaker (the name learning game)- you stand in a circle and each person puts a short gesture to their name. As you go around the circle you add and re-do each person's movement creating a dance. Each individual's gesture then turns into a mnemonic device for that person's name.