Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Drama...already?

Teaching and learning, learning and teaching. The worst part is when someone teaches something they were taught by someone else and completely destroys it. Most of the time, it's the basic move that is taught throughout generations. If someone enjoys teaching, they'll always remember grace, posture, flow, and character. For any dance, culture, and/or style, it's the presentation that matters most. For example, we have a couple doing a ballroom dance, say...tango. They're doing steps, which is the easy part, but what about how they're portraying such a dance to an audience. Everyone knows that learning a dance means performing it somewhere. Crowds seem to become bored with routine or, as I would call it, blahism.

My point is directed to teachers, choreographers, artists who want their particular story to be told. Like plagiarism, movements are recycled everyday by enthusiastic eyes. One grasps a movement, uses it, tweaks it as their own. Is this appropriate? Would one dance instructor call it stealing? Maybe. But I see it as, use what I've taught/performed, just don't disgrace the move(s).

I've taught, been taught, and mostly like will be teaching in my later years. I enjoy the Pilipino artistic dance genre. All I ask is to learn it to the extent of what's taught, then if finding your own style of teaching is your cup of tea, then do so. Just don't screw it up.

Why is it hard to teach college students? Lol.