Our assistants are most definitely some of the most hardworking, dedicated bunch of teenagers I know. All of our assistants volunteer their time each week to help take that little munchkin to the bathroom, to be an extra spot for that student just learning how to recover from her bridge and to keep our instructors’ heads from falling off! They truly are the secret heroes of the studio.
These dancers will learn many valuable skills in their time as assistants. From learning how to manage a classroom, how to prepare a class, how to hold the attention of a roomful of unruly three year olds, how to deal with difficult situations (I want the pink scarf!!!) and how to do it all with a smile on your face. These are some life skills that our assistants gain that they can take with them through their years outside of the studio.
Becoming an assistant at Footprints is no easy task. All of our returning senior dancers aged 13+ are invited at their time of registration to become an assistant. Interested dancers then fill out a formal application for review. This application asks the dancers why they want to become an assistant, why they might make a great assistant and any necessary skills or education they may have that is beneficial to the position. Once reviewed and approved by our team, the dancers are then invited to an orientation with Miss Lainy.
During orientation, our soon-to-be-assistants are given insight into how a dance class is run as well as the expectations and responsibilities for their assistant position. Dance class etiquette is covered as well as how-to-read-your-teacher’s-mind-101. How to build a relationship with your dancers from the littlest munchkins to the “I’m too cool” Juniors and what does it really mean to be an assistant are topics that are really explored during this initial meeting.
Once our dancers complete their orientation training, it’s into the studio they go!
As the season progresses our assistants will touch base with their mentor teacher as well as continue to have formal meetings with Miss Lainy. The most exciting part for our assistants comes in the spring when they are given insight and training to teach their very own class!
The class preparation work takes place about three weeks before the actual class is taught. Our assistants create a lesson plan that is submitted to their mentor teacher. The mentor teacher then reviews and gives suggestions for the lesson plan. The assistant then revises the lesson plan for resubmission. This process may take multiple exchanges or could be done in one exchange. The excitement then builds till it is their time to take on the class.
During the assistant’s teaching class the mentor teacher takes notes on the assistants voice, tone, posture, confidence, ability to break down concepts, as well as many other skills. This feedback will be given to the assistant to help them further succeed their assisting and teaching career.
Of course, the best reward for our assistants is seeing the product of their hard work up on that stage at recital. Seeing that shy little munchkin who barely could walk in the door of the studio at the beginning of the studio who is now strutting her stuff on stage is always the best part of any assistants’ (or teachers’) year!
All of our assistants work so hard and are so committed to seeing their dancers succeed. Watching an assistant’s face light up when their student masters a new concept or finally nails that bridge fall is truly exciting. Our assistant program is truly one of very best representations of what we mean when we say we instruct with the integrity and respect of whole dance education. These dancers are not only receiving great technical training but are also learning and developing life skills that will help them to become better citizens of the world.
