Welcome to Words To Dance By: Advanced Insights Into Dance Technique and Teaching. It is a blog by me, Leica Hardy, about the art of dance, the art of teaching dance and the art of learning to dance.
I’ve been a full-time dance instructor for the majority of my life. I’m a firm beliver that mistakes, experiments and thinking outside the box expand our knowledge just as much as the latest pedagogy course, in fact possibly they teach us more. Every student who enters my studio presents a wholely unique set of problems that I have to solve, which in the end teach me more and more about dance. Helping them succeed has often made me question the wisdom of a number of traditional corrections, and has steered me towards unconventional approaches to pedagogical problem solving.
The decision to start a blog has been on my ‘To Do” list for a very long time. Like all of my creative projects I let the idea simmer on the back burner of my mind until it comes to a full rolling boil. It’s only then that I feel ready to set it in motion. All good blogs, or anything creatively done well, will have a point of view and a vision. They drive the creation forward and give it purpose. So, the first daunting task was to articulate what was at the heart of my blog and in doing so I also realized that I would be defining myself as a dancer, instructor and choreographer for the world to see.
The next task was actually more daunting. “What was the topic of my first post? What was the primary topic that would open the door into a dance studio of stimulating and pertinent discussions?” And then I stumbled upon a discussion on the concept of form and function. Voila, the topic hit me in one of those ah-hah moments. So here goes…What is technique – form or function?
In Part One of this topic I briefly discuss the purpose of technique and the laws of nature.
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About the Author
Leica Hardy is a nationally respected master dance teacher with over 45 years of experience, known for her inspiring instruction and dedication to excellence in classical ballet and contemporary dance. An Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts and co-author of the Society of Classical Ballet’s 14-level syllabus, she has mentored students who have gone on to study and perform with leading dance institutions and companies across North America. See Leica’s full bio here.
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All content on this blog are original copyrighted material, unless otherwise stated. Content on Words To Dance By may not be reproduced in any form without written permission by the author. We welcome the use of links to the original posts on this site. Correctly cited and attributed quotes or short excerpts are welcomed and appreciated.
