A reflection on the different approaches to a dance class between girls and boys

Over the weekend, I was invited to observe some classes given by a guest teacher at the studio who specializes in teaching ballet to boys. During the teachers meet, we chatted about the attitudes between boys and girls in class and how their approaches are so different and why is this?

I reflected back on my classes that I had taught during the week and how I could identify with what we had discussed and I observed with more detail than I normally would on their actions during class.

The girls do tend to be more competitive with each other, let’s face it, there are a lot more of them than the boys and therefore have a bigger battle to fight. They are much harder on themselves emotionally to achieve the correct technique of the movements and learn the sequences/combinations quickly.

 With the boys, however, they are definitely the more ‘chilled’ students in the class. They are still competitive but they support each other too. They also, don’t seem to get frustrated quite so quickly if they don’t get something straight away but that can be very frustrating for the teacher or choreographer.  

The ultimate goal in dance, is to have them work together so perhaps these different approaches, will allow solid partnerships to develop and enable them to flourish into something seamless and beautiful. 

It was so interesting to observe and reflect on someone else’s teaching methods to draw comparison but at the same time note the different approach to teaching boys from a male teacher’s point of view and how in a short space of time a strong foundational class structure can be the key to success!