Teacher not explaining combinations

[spinbug]

Last nights class was particularly frustrating for me but has been building for a while. The teacher at my new studio gives very abbreviated directions for her combinations without any real demonstrations of the steps. I've recently moved over to this studio, which studies RAD, from a Cecchetti based system and the terminology has me stumped at times. I suspect that the other students who have been there for a while or who take her class several times a week already know the combinations because they've learned them previously. I only take class at that studio one day a week so I'm at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, it's difficult to hear in our studio and she is very softspoken, even if I ask her to repeat herself. Well, last night I decided to just try and wing it without asking for clarification at every turn because I've begun to feel a little conspicuous. But, what a disaster! I was more conspicuous fumbling around and getting the steps all wrong. The barre exercises weren't so bad, at least they go in a predictable order, but the center exercises were embarassing.

 

I've tried telling her I have trouble hearing her and she knows that I'm new to RAD but the problem is persisting. She is an excellent teacher and very good at seeing what I need to work on, something I don't get at the other studio I attend so I don't want to change studios.

 

I guess this is just a rant. Not quite sure what I need to do other than just tough it out and hope I catch on. If I can live with the embarassment I guess it will teach me humility in the process. I hate feeling like a buffoon!

[Skittl1321]

Sorry you had a tough time. I'm sure after you've been there for awhile things will get better. I know you feel silly asking questions, but as long as they are appropriate and well timed, you should. You are paying to be taught! It's good to try to figure it out on your own, but sometimes you just have to ask. I always feel silly because I take class with kids so we raise our hands to ask questions (in adult classes you can just ask when there is a pause), but once I got used to it again, I learned that that it sometimes just has to be done.

 

I remember when I first switched studios the teachers would usually tell you the combination, but often, grande allegro especially, they would just mark parts of the combination. Because I hadn't learned the teachers style I would often have to raise my hand and say, "What is the move that goes where you kind of shuffled your foot to the side." And then the answer was something like saut de basque, which I would have never figured out from their marking, but now I know that's how they mark it.

 

Now I'm rambling...

[cassy]

Spinbug, you may feel like a buffoon but i am sure you do not look like one

 

Its particularly fustrating when you half know the combination or there is one part you might be unsure about. Sometimes i have difficulty with centre work as im the only begginner and all the other studens have done years of training so therefore know most the exercises by heart and dont even have to think about the basics

 

At times i just want to say '' please could you show once more'' but i feel stupid and that its simple and that im holding everyone else up. I know my teacher would be fine with it, just cant pluck up the courage and sometimes nod my head when we are asked if we get it

[TemptressToo]

I sort of have the same trouble with our substitute teacher. One of my classmates has had her before and can handle what she gives. The problem is, I'm used to Ms. Lister's more structure barre...whereas the sub sort of just wings it and rarely clarifies what to do with your arms.

 

Anyway, the only nice thing is that the last time I had the sub was six months ago. She had some very positive comments to say about the development in my dancing. She mentioned my technique, overall strength, straightness and strength in my back and the precision with which I'm working. She said she could tell I've been working very hard and have come a surprisingly long way from the dancer in June.

 

That made me smile and was encouraging...I just wish her barre was more structured.

[jimpickles]

Spinbug, can I suggest you take a proper time after the class to tell your teacher politely, clearly and firmly what you have told us. You say you've told her that you have problems hearing her, but this may not have been clear enough for her (did you just slip it in as an aside?). As someone who teaches (in another area) I welcome interjections (within reason) from the students in class - it shows that they are in contact with what I am doing. It also tends to provoke a stronger interation with the other students as well which is another reason why teachers welcome it. So you shouldnt feel reticent about asking when you think it is justified (and as was pointed out, you while you are a paying member of the class you expect proper treatment).

 

The other less pleasant aspect is that the teacher may be trying to "include" people in her favourite group, and exlude others. I suppose that this is an unconscious way of trying to aim for quality, but it is inexcusable. An expert teacher should be able to teach many levels at once.

 

Jim.

Edited December 9, 2005 by jimpickles

[spinbug]

Thanks for your kind replies. Cassy, you're a sweetheart!

 

Jimpickles-I have, in fact, spoken with her directly after class to explain my difficulties, but I imagine that her habit of speaking and teaching is familiar to her and hard for her to adjust and I should be patient. Maybe she has forgotten. As for her favorite students, she corrects us all equally and doesn't seem to show partiality other than her teaching style is easier for certain students who catch on faster than me-a relative beginner. I've been dancing for a relatively short amount of time but have advanced rather quickly. The downside to moving up quickly like that is that my brain can't seem to catch up with the body! I don't have the memory for combinations like a teenager dancing since she was four. My "formative" years have passed and everything is learned through sheer will power and intense repetition. ( Actually, my memory is probably not all that bad, but not nearly as good as I would like compared to the dancers I study with).

 

Also, I'm already in the highest group. I imagine maybe she's trying to "break me in" kind of like a mild form of hazing? Hazing is not quite the right word. Testing my grit? I don't know. She knows I haven't been doing this very long and yet she appears confident in my position at the highest barre, she's moved me to it several times, so I can guess that she is wanting me to earn my right to be there perhaps by intentionally not spelling things out for me. I guess I could be guessing on and on. My imagination can come up with all sorts of things. Anyways...

 

Humility and patience wages on against other oppositional attitudes within my psyche...

[jimpickles]

So I guess she just likes (or is in the habit of) doing it this way. Pity its less effective than it could be.

 

Jim.

[Redbookish]

This is interesting, spinbug, as I've just started to do the Advanced class at my studio regularly, and one of the "advanced" things about it is that we rarely mark in detail, and the teacher spends a lot less time breaking down combinations in detail, step by step. I gather this is following company class practice. I can usually handle this at the barre, as this teacher tends to set a fairly slow, clean barre, and centre practice in adage and pirouettes are also fairly OK. But Wednesday evening in grande allegro I just couldn't get things - especially the really simple connecting steps like chassé coupé temps leve all travelling backwards!

 

But, being philosophical about it - (mantra "It really doesn't matter") - on reflection, I think I'm starting (veeeery s-l-o-w-l-y) to learn a useful skill of just trying to pick up steps & combinations quickly. It's something I'm not good at, so these are important lessons for me beyond learning actual technique. And what I try to do is at least make the shape of the step and more importantly, the shape and rhythm of the combination and the way the steps connect. I figure that eventually, by doing many more of these advanced classes, I'll start to get better at picking up steps quickly. I just have to endure a lot of (self-inflicted) shame on the way. Luckily, I have teachers who are endlessly tactful & helpful.

[missvjc420]

That's the thing with advanced ballet classes- it's mostly steps you know, in new combinations and faster tempos! In my most advanced class, we don't even hear the music before we start, we get counts and steps. It works though- but most of us are truly advanced. When you're trying to move up a level, your teacher should help you adjust, even if it means changing her style a bit for a bit. However, it is the responsibility of the advancing student to step up to the plate once shown how things work in that particular class. If it's a step you've never done, you should definitely ask for a breakdown, and go in the last group, so you can see the combination full out. If it helps, ask to view it from the audience's point of view. There's always a period of adjustment, and that nagging feeling of nothing going well usually happens, but it ends well for the most part. It's a character bulding experience. Hang in there.

[Swanilda]

I teach (and have taught previously) many adults-- so here's my thoughts. I doubt your teacher is trying to "haze" you or "break you in". Most likely, she sees you as someone who simply has trouble getting combinations down, a very common problem for adults. It's not really the sort of thing you correct....ie "Now, you didn't get that combination! What was wrong? ect" Obviously she knows you know you messed up, and there is little to be gained by calling attention to the fact. How exactly is she giving her exercises? For instance, as a working professional, I choose, for several reasons, never to demonstrate full out. I do a combination of marking and speaking. I too, have a very soft voice, but no one has ever commented they have not been able to hear me (though it helps that generally I am in a small room). As long as she is giving the exercise clearly and consistantly and in meter, there shouldn't be a problem at an advanced/ or intermediate level. The exception, of course, is when the step itself is new....could you describe a bit more of how exactly she presents things?

[jane s]

Hi Spinbug,

 

Sounds to me like some of the problem is terminology, i.e. changing from Cecchetti to RAD. If you don't know which step she is asking for, or if the position is slightly different from the way you have been taught, of course it is going to confuse you.

 

Can you ask any of the other students (or the teacher if you are able to speak to her) to clarify maybe one or two of these every class until you have them all down?

 

As the others have said above, at that level you are meant to know all the individual steps & positions and just put them together in different orders, so obviously if you don't know what one or more of those is in a combination you are going to have trouble.

 

For me it is usually the arms that cause problems, but last week the teacher used a step I didn't know so I asked her to explain it, which she did (much to the relief of several others who were too embarrased to ask! :-))

 

Jane

[cassy]

Spinbug, i noticed the point Redbookish made about combinations rarely being marked in detail due to the level of the class e.t.c.

Sometimes i have the same difficulty although mainly due to me being a beginner and i often wondered why nothing has been said to me about not picking up the combinations (some are ok, others i can follow with the others although they are not memorized and sometimes i get the gist but the result is far from perfect!)

Thinking about several things, i guess we have to learn how to pick up quickly and teachers cant keep stopping for one person. Also you can learn alot from the others - that could also be a problem if they are not correct

So doing it this way we have to think and figure out for ourselfs and i suppose with time we learn how to do so.

Then again, depending on the method/teaching style or the reasons behind the method, this may not help at all?

Maybe some of the other teachers could make a suggestion as to how they would like their own students to handle this situation?

 

Also one more thing i noticed of my own experience, when i first started ballet of course lots of mistakes were made. The corrections were very simple and not often. Then the more i progressed the more corrections i got. I think teachers must make some allowance for mistakes when a student is new or changing class/levels. Like an adjustment period?

[lampwick]

I'm not the quickest learner either. It can be embarrasing, especially at a certain level.

 

I was told to do an in-depth "study" of the basic body positions on my own. Learn them with an absolute clarity and practice going from one to the other with some tendus or low developpees. Was told that this would help me be able to pick up choreography faster (meant to help other "issues" as well)...maybe this applies.

[Laschwen]

You are not alone! I have trouble hearing in class too; especially if the class is in the larger studio. I do have a bit of hearing loss in one ear so I do strain to hear sometimes anyway. I have not mentioned that to the teacher.

It was the worst when I first joined the class last spring because we were in the large studio most of the time and my main teacher has a heavy accent. I had to rely on watching someone who appeared to know what she was doing most of the time. I am pretty good at following a person nearby and anticipating a bit so as not to appear behind in all the steps.

I understand most of what he says these days but there are plenty of things I miss because of a different terminology or just things I haven't seen before.

I do ask questions in class but I try to keep them limited. I don't want to be the disruptive one.....

I was totally lost when we had a sub that spoke and marked a little but never did full demos. I was even surprised when watching the first group do a combo a few times: Oh! That is what she was talking about....

Hang in there.

I wish for more breakdowns too.

 

Laschwen

[spinbug]

I teach (and have taught previously) many adults-- so here's my thoughts. I doubt your teacher is trying to "haze" you or "break you in". Most likely, she sees you as someone who simply has trouble getting combinations down, a very common problem for adults. It's not really the sort of thing you correct....ie "Now, you didn't get that combination! What was wrong? ect"  Obviously she knows you know you messed up, and there is little to be gained by calling attention to the fact. How exactly is she giving her exercises? For instance, as a working professional, I choose, for several reasons, never to demonstrate full out. I do a combination of marking and speaking. I too, have a very soft voice, but no one has ever commented they have not been able to hear me (though it helps that generally I am in a small room).  As long as she is giving the exercise clearly and consistantly and in meter, there shouldn't be a problem at an advanced/ or intermediate level. The exception, of course, is when the step itself is new....could you describe a bit more of how exactly she presents things?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Swanilda, usually she names the steps in succession very quickly but rarely marks the steps. Sometimes she just says to do the tendue exercise from last week. Well, that could have been last Monday, when I only take class on Wed. She certainly does not dance full out and I wouldn't expect her to. However, being cecchetti trained, the terminology is a little different and marking the steps would help me a great deal. So far, the steps aren't all that new to me, except for a few "variations" of a familiar step. As it is, one of the other advanced girls spends a great deal of effort "translating" for us while the teacher is telling the other levels what their particular combination is. ( I wonder if she gets paid for that? ) As for the meter, no. She tells us how many to do and then starts the music. Come to think of it, I don't think she counts out as we are doing the steps, either, which is really okay with me because I like to learn to listen to the music. But, since I like to move fast, I sometimes do it double time on accident.

 

All in all she seems like a very observant teacher, as far as technique is concerned. She just seems to skip steps in other areas, though.

 

Thanks for all of your concern. I WILL figure this out, or drive myself nuts trying to. I don't want to sound like a whiner, somehow I will figure some solutions out. In time I'm confident it will be better.

 

Also, hazing was definitely not the best term I used earlier. I knew it wasn't quite right but it was the first to come to mind. I don't think she's trying to intentionally make it hard for me.