Guest petiteanise Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 One of my half crazed teachers kind of scared the bejeezus out of me. I know I should be able to do pique turns en pointe by now but for some reason I can only do three before I mess up and tonight my teacher grabbed me by the arm and said "you WILL do piques across that floor before next week" He's not a mean teacher but the way he said it really freaked me out...do you think maybe he was just having a bad day and inadvertedly took it out on me? Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 (Polishes monocle, waxes bald head, adjusts SS insignia, peers intently at student) Vee haff VAYS off making you do die piqués across der floor.... Not a method I'm fond of using, but sometimes it works. Link to comment
sapphirenite Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 my teacher was talking about taking a leaf out of the ancient Chinese's book and using a whip on us when we don't point our feet sufficiently (unfortunately for me, i was in the wrong line when God was giving out "nicely pointed feet", so that line was directly pointed at me) Link to comment
Guest tdancer Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 i had a teacher that was from china and she used to scream at us all the time. it didn't make for a very warm teacher student relationship but the class's were really good and the screaming worked. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 And if she screamed in Chinese, all the better. After all, "Three-eyed ox-demon, spawn of mud and slime, clobber-footed idiot, tendu!" is entirely unintelligible to most of us that way, except for that last. Link to comment
sapphirenite Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 hmm....i'm not too sure how to translate "clobber-footed" in Chinese. incidentally, what does 'clobber' mean? but that's an idea, if i ever teach in a non-Chinese speaking country, that is Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 My Oxford English Dictionary shows "clobber" as an archaic term for "wooden mallet". Link to comment
coffee Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 my teacher hits our butts with a yard stick if we stick them out when we land a jump. And if we are holding on to the barre too much he hits the barre really hard right next to your hand. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 There's a right and a wrong way to use a stick in class. In fact, there are lots of wrong ways. What's been described here are two of them. One is "assault and battery" and the other is "simple assault" or "menacing" depending on how your local laws are written. Using a cane as a truncheon is Not a Good Idea. Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted November 7, 2003 Administrators Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 My early training was with an older Russian man who always used a stick! He pounded it and threatened a lot, but I don't remember him ever actually hitting anyone with it. I did see him chase one student down the street when she ran out of class one day and he was madly waving that stick. He did have quite a temper, but he usually took it out on his lovely wife, who was his pianist. (She eventually left him. ) He also pounded out the music with that stick to the point of pounding holes in the floor around his chair! He was quite a character, though, and I adored him. Link to comment
coffee Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 oh gosh...that post sounded worse than it was meant to. oops! Let me clarify. He doesn't hit our butts hard with it. He just taps them. He has never done anything to hurt us! Its just a way to remind us! Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 OK, that's a bit better. The stick acts as a stand-in for a hand, and in this age that is so quick to identify child abuse, it's a good rule for teachers who use one to be very judicious in its use. Link to comment
Guest Daniella64 Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 I once had a russian teacher who also used a stick and he hit me in the elbow with it b/c it was drooping during an excruciating combination of ronde de jambe en l'air, i left that studio, and it was only my first class (russian technique was not something i was used to). Back at my home studio we had a new teacher who quite reminds me of yours, he yelled at me b/c my chenne (sp?) turns on pointe where too far apart, this is something i am constantly trying to work on, and he called a chicken and made me do them alone in the middle of class until he said it was good enough. Needless to say i quit the class. I am not one for such intimidating correction, it actually gets me flustered, distracts my attention and causes me to mess up . There are some girls who love him and find that his harsh corrections bring out the best in them, i guess its all what works for you, and how much confidence you have. Anyway, i would maybe try working on the pique turns as hard as you can, try practicing the preparation at home, usually getting up on a strong pointed supporting foot and landing square help keep you in control, but on pointe it just takes practice. i have one teacher who can be hard on me and say things like "you are going to get this" and it used to bother me, but i found it makes me work hard and now i love when she encourages me, try to look at it as positive. everyone has trouble with something, the teacher wants to help you and sees your potential. If you need pointers and you dont think this teacher can give them, ask another teacher or fellow classmate who may be good at them. Sometimes another persons advice makes all the differance! use what the teacher said to give yourself a goal to get pique turns on pointe, you can do anything you set your mid to! good luck!! Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Even though I've made a joke about my Erich von Stroheim impressions in class (he was a 30s and 40s actor who always played menacing bad guys), I don't think I would recommend that teachers use intimidation. It often works against the student, and is an obstacle to actual learning. There are ways of being strict, and even give hard corrections without becoming scary to a student. I used to be that when I was first starting out teaching, but I found out that it's a Bad Idea. I was probably trying to make up for my own insecurities. Link to comment
Guest IrishKitri Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 Haha, Mr. Johnson, your first reply is great!!! My teacher is a very calm and patient one. But she is very good for surprises. I was and still am incredibly scared of pirouettes en pointe because I struggle with a little sickling problem and fear to ruin my ankles when I fall off my toes. Right, so one day she was just standing there and watching my try and try and try and suddenly when I was just getting on relevé (demipointe) she made a ridiculously loud "HA!" - which shocked me so much that I forgot about my fear and pulled off a clean double en pointe. So, yeah, ballet teachers have some pretty mean but very effective tricks! Link to comment
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