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Where do you stand in the classroom


Guest Caro

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When doing centre work I find I have a particular place in the room I like to dance -specifically close to the right wall or downstage right corner. Other of my friends also have a 'spot', such as back, centre, stage left, front in the middle etc etc. Do you find you also have a favorite place or tend to dance in the same place every class? - And if so where and why?

Edited by Caro
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For me, it depends on the teacher. If I like him/her, I'll stand in the front a little to one side. If I don't, I stand in a back corner, but I hate being in the middle, especially during pirouettes--it's hard to spot with all those whirling bodies around me!

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Right up front. There's always plenty of available real estate up there, if you know what I mean! B)

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I'm like Hans: I avoid the middle. Find it easier to spot near a front corner; I also can see myself better in the mirrors. Also, if I found my teacher particularly picky during the barre part, I'll look for the opposite corner of the studio from where she usually stands during center work.

 

Dick

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In each of the different studios where I take class, there is a spot at the barre and a spot in the center that I own. Different spots in each studio. Completely irrational.

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It really depends on how busy the class is and who is giving the class.

 

I usually prefer to stand rather at the front (but maybe not the very first row) and one one side (usually left side, like in bed :offtopic: )

 

Question of habit I guess.

If I'm new to the class, I'll stand towards the back, but I always make sure I can see the teacher and can be seen.

 

And at other times, you don't have much choice. It's where there is a free spot (usually front of the room, centre!) :)

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I suppose I prefer to stand in the middle ... not too close to the front, not too far back. But if my teacher gets her way, I am front and center. As hesitant as I am to be a "role model" for the class and have people looking at my feet, I have to say that it does help me improve and makes me so much more consious of the combination!

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Wherever there's a lot of space. Often this is a front corner, but not always.

 

My teachers tend to have us switch lines regularly. I have noticed the same phenomenon as others: the "front" row is often halfway back, which makes the other rows very crowded unless somebody prods the front row forward.

 

Anyway, for me it's all about the space, so that I can minimize concerns about taking anybody else down with me if I fall or stumble (One day, the combination of humidity, marley floor, and new leather slippers caused me to get stuck to the floor during a slow pirouette and I just toppled over.)

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Is the tradition of men in the back row a failing one?...

 

I've also noticed that when teachers move lines up folks in the front usually walk back through the class instead of parting and moving up the side of the class room, it frusterates me, esp when you are on the side and you'd like to be in the middle, or vice versa.

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Ed, I "feel your pain." :) This is one of those simple things I wish more teachers would insist on in class. Too often there seems to be an assumption that common sense dictates such things, but the reality proves this theory wrong. Ditto for getting out of the way for the next group when moving across the diagonal.

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Guest piccolo

Barre: at the end of a barre, usually on the left side of the classroom.

 

Center: towards the front and on the left side. Right side from the teacher's point of view -- I figured out years ago that most people tend to look to their right when perusing a room so if you want to be seen at an audition or get corrections in a class, stand to the teacher's right side.

 

Although, standing on that side of the class felt normal to me long before I figured that out...

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piccolo,

Whoa. Now that you say it, the teacher's right side does get more corrections. That's so astute of you to make the connection there. That's very valuable information to remember. Thanks.

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Guest DancingBoi

Now that you mention it I do have a "spot" I enjoy most. For the past three weeks I've always stood at the same position at the barre and usually the same section when in the center(usually left or center upstage). But that really doesn't matter because the instructor aways makes us switch lines so I end up in the front no matter what! I have also noticed that when the instructor gives us a combination to do and then asks we go in groups of 3 or so that generally students go in the same group. I don't know if this is true of your classes but it is in mine. I guess it is a confindence issue, you find those people you feel comfortable dancing next to, ones around your ability and you start to "enjoy" dancing next to them.

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Guest MissInga

I try to rotate so as not to get too attached to one spot. For me, a new angle can help me catch problems areas I may have not seen elsewhere; it can really help. My daughter has a favorite "spot" and the teacher is sure to move her every once in a while..............

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