At Footprints Dance Centre, we believe in teaching our dancers much more than JUST how to dance. Being a part of the Footprints Dance Centre community means taking the time to connect with one another to celebrate all of our similarities AND all of our differences. Each and every month, we use Wingman Week exercises as opportunities to open up discussion between our students. These discussions allow our dancers to be vulnerable with one another and create lasting connections and friendships with their peers.
This month, every class in our studio made “Us Lists”. Teachers in each class sat down with their students and explained that the dancers’ behavior in and around our studio, determines the type of dance year they will experience. Teachers then hosted round-table discussions in order to create some ground rules for their team/company regardless of whether they are in the studio, in the lobby, in the audience or backstage at a competition.
Each dancer was asked to contribute towards a list of collective values that the class shared. In this exercise, there were no “wrong answers”, only opportunities for growth and discussion. Teachers let the students know it is OK to speak out and disagree as this is a whole group collaboration. We asked our students questions like:
- What are the ideal behaviors we want to show?
What kind of dancers do you like to take class with? (Kind/welcoming/supportive or disrespectful/self-centered?)
What do those positive behaviors look/ sound like?
How do we show appreciation for our class success?
How do we show appreciation for individual success?
How do we show respect for other dancers, teachers and parents?
Name behaviors that are “us” in the studio
Name behaviors that are “us” in the lobby
Name behaviors that are “us” in the audience or backstage at recital
As always, our dancers showed nothing but love, respect and positivity with their answers. Together, each class made their Us Lists and signed their names to it to confirm their commitment. These Us Lists are now hanging proudly in our shoe room, so that upon entering the studio, every student and parent can see our promises and commitment to each other, and help us create an amazing dance studio experience for EVERYONE.
