Tips and Tricks for Teaching Syllabus to Your Younger Dancers

By Allison Kurtz Volkers

"...but Miss Allie, we did plies laaast week!"

As teachers, we all recognize the value of repetition, particularly in our exam-tracked classes. This value can sometimes elude our younger students as they work toward memorizing their Cecchetti syllabus. With a little imagination, however, a good teacher can teach plies week after week and still keep things exciting, fresh and new!

Try new metaphors! In any dance class, a creative metaphor can be the key to deeper understanding of a concept or exercise. During echappe releve, imagine you are on a lawn sprinkler turning on and off (for that up and out feeling). For port de bras, paint pretend pictures on the palms of your hands and show them to the audience as you carry your arms (to keep pinkies down). You can also extend the metaphor: Blow up bubbles during plies, polish the floor during tendus, and dry it off with a swift push during degages.
Sing, sing, sing! As teachers, we've all talk-sung through exercises to emphasize musicality. Take it one step further and teach the song to your students. Singing can help reinforce patterns and qualities, depending on the lyrics you select ("side of the knee, un-fold and streeeeetch…")
Pop Quiz! Want your students to learn their vocabulary? Have pop quizzes in class, then let your children grade each other's papers with fun colored markers and stickers.
Choreograph! Build up to Grade IV by making time for choreography in the earlier grades. Have groups create little dances using basic steps, then have them perform for each other and identify which steps have been chosen.
Make it a Game! We play all kinds of games in Cecchetti class! Examples include: Theory Bee (like a spelling bee with theory questions), Cecchetti Olympics (students divide into made up countries and compete in different syllabus-based events), and Teacher Time (let students take turns teaching different exercises to each other.)

Remember, just because there is a set syllabus to teach does not mean there are not myriad ways to approach it. Your classes can be as varied, interesting, and fun for you and your students as your creativity will allow.