Self-Checking

A student commented recently that he was a little annoyed with the self-checking exercises we do in classes. "Can't you just tell us if we're doing it wrong?"

Yes, I can. And I do, definitely.

But I also like to teach students how to self-identify when they're doing something right or wrong, I like to give students the tools to continue to improve their dancing on their own.

So we do self-checking exercises. We ask the leaders "when you're doing the lindy basic, does the follower kind of lurch at you with great speed? you're pulling too hard." or "When you lead a tuck turn, how far does the follower go? If she doesn't go too far, there are two possibilities. Either you're not leading strongly enough, or she's got bad frame. To check that, keep an eye on the follower's arm and body. Does it all move together, or is her arm moving independently of her body?"

This makes it possible for students to go home and solve their own dancing problems. Otherwise, students have to wait until the next class to figure things out, or perhaps they just never do figure it out. Sometimes, they may not even know that they are doing something wrong.

I try to keep our students independent, and not reliant upon us. Self-checking exercises are just one of the ways I accomplish this.