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CLASSES

Director:
Martin Percival, ADCRG

Instructor:
Tara Reid

Beginner
Novice / Prizewinner

Championship
Technique Class
Ceili or Figures
Champion Performance Class

Class Structure
Moving up
Dress Code
Class Conduct
Getting the most out of a class

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

Beginner Classes are for children with little or no previous experience in Irish Dance. This class will provide the basic steps for a number of dances (Reel, Slip Jig, Light Jig, Single Jig, Heavy Jig, Hornpipe and Traditional Set Dances) which ultimately may be danced competitively as a beginner. Children will develop self-discipline, confidence and poise while exercising and learning the  beautiful art form of Irish dance. This class will help build a foundation for muscle development, coordination, rhythm, and basic music and dance skills. Children any age from 5 to 18 are welcome.

Novice / Prizewinner classes are designed for children who have mastered Beginner I skills, and are dancing in the Beginner II to Novice/Prize Winner level at competitions. At this level, competition is highly encouraged. This class expands upon the scope of artistic expression as steps become more complex.  Irish dance technique and poise are stressed.  In this class, dancers are required to master more intricate steps, as well increase the intensity of their workouts. 
 

Championship This class is a combined championship class, preliminary and open.  The focus of this class is to provide students with the material and ability to attain high placement in championship competitions.  It aims to finesse, expand and fine-tune performance skills to the level where students can compete nationally and internationally.

Technique Class breaks down the dances and focuses on refining and perfecting specific steps. These steps are the core foundation of everything done in Irish Dance.

Ceili Classes (team-dancing) are offered for competitive and non-competitive students and involve students dancing in groups of 2,3,4,6,8, and 16 dancers.

Champion Performance Class will prepare dancers to perform at events throughout the community. They will learn a variety of choreographed dances in soft shoe, hard shoe and Ceili. The dances include a merging of both traditional and modern Irish Dance elements.

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF CLASSES Classes usually begin with warm-up exercises or drills to hone basic skills. From there, they will progress to steps catered for and suitable to the level of instruction being given. Students are highly encouraged to develop a stretching routine and to stretch continuously throughout class time.

WHEN TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT CLASS Generally, the instructors or Director will tell you when it is time for you to move to another class. Once a beginner has mastered the four soft shoe dances and has begun to learn the hard shoe dances – it is probably time for them to move to the next level by either taking an additional beginner class a week or moving to the Novice / Prizewinner class. Novice / Prizewinner dancers who are flourishing will be invited by the Director to attend either a championship class or a championship prep class. This should be considered a great honor as championship classes represent the pinnacle of learning in this school. 

DRESS CODE It is important that your knees are visible for class. Students must dress in shorts, T-Shirt, socks and dance shoes (once they have been purchased) – you may dance in bare feet until you obtain a pair of shoes. In colder weather, shorts can be worn underneath sweats that can be removed once the dancer is warmed up. Hair should be pulled back out of the face.

CLASS CONDUCT Let your teacher do the teaching – this means avoid finding fault with each other, which can be distracting. It’s not how many steps you know – it’s how you execute them. Learning too many steps too soon results in bad habits and frustration at not executing them properly – be patient. Please have respect for the other dancers in the group. Remember – we can learn just as much by seeing as by doing. Chewing gum is not permitted in class at any time. Please do not touch the mirrors.

An important part of learning is being able to teach what you know. From time to time, the instructors may ask the student to teach something to other students. This is an important aspect of a students dance education and should be viewed accordingly.

Questions: In order to respect valuable class time it is asked that you do not interrupt class with questions about your student. Please contact Martin Percival ADCRG, Director via e-mail at the following address – martinpercival@msn.com

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF CLASSES

Dance students naturally want to get the most they can from their lessons, but often lack a clear understanding of how to do so. In fact, any student’s progress depends mostly upon how they approach their lessons. Fast, complete and efficient progress will result only from a logical and structured approach to learning.

1. Correct Frame of Mind – The student-teacher relationship is one of both physical and mental participation. Knowledge can only be gained through focused attention and a willingness to learn. Students should take care to apply themselves to the task at hand, and to do their best to perform the new elements according to their instructor’s direction.
    

2. Concentration and Focus – Sometimes students, in a desire to “do everything right”, will focus on one facet of dancing while their instructor is attempting to work on another. The experienced instructor will not expect their students to correctly perform all of their old skills while learning something new. The student should direct their attention only to the topic chosen by the instructor, and the instructor will later amalgamate the new knowledge with the old.
    

3. Allow the Instructor to Teach – The student is wasting their Instructor’s skills if they do not allow the instructor to exercise their own judgment and abilities. Many students and parents, who would not dream of telling their Doctor what medicine to prescribe or their mechanic how to repair their car, will not hesitate to tell the instructor which part of child’s dancing needs the most attention, and how they should be taught. Instead, the instructor should be given reign to teach as they see fit, so long as they are working to the best of their abilities to meet the student’s goals.
    

4. Practice – Practice is probably the most under-rated aspect of a student’s learning. Those students who apply themselves to their practice invariably show more consistent progress than those who do not. The human mind can consciously demand only so much of the body at one time. The body must be able to function independently of concentration – in other words, good dancing skills must be habitual. Habits can only be formed through repetition. Correct performance needs to be practiced AT LEAST 50% of the time, since the body will “remember” those actions, which it has performed most often.

5.   Regularity – Regularity also has a bearing on progress, since too much time between lessons breaks the continuity of the learning progress and allows the student to forget too much of any lessons instruction.  This forces the instructor to unnecessarily repeat topics and slow the rest of the class down.

6.   Variety – Instructors – Just as a single sculpture may be described in different ways by observers with different points of view, so may dancing.  Elements of dancing may be approached in many different ways, and this can develop a more complete and thorough understanding. However, one instructor should be chosen to be the a main guide to a student’s progress, serving as a “manager” for that student’s overall learning.

Enroll today!