Review of Freedom in Dance - a training course.
By Connie Hurd - (with Mark Hurd)
Course Facts:
Freedom in Dance is a National Open College Network course accredited for 27 units at level three. The course aims to train and prepare dance professionals to lead dance safely with older people. It is a part-time program, running for one Friday and Saturday a month over 7 months and is held annually by Lincolnshire Dance, based in Wellingore near Lincoln. The 2010 course had out of area participants from as far away as Mansfield, Manchester and even from Perth in Scotland.
Freedom in Dance brings in some of the nation's best dance professionals to teach units; it was initially designed by Diane Amans (acknowledged as a premier specialist in dance for the elderly) and Diane usually teaches several units of the course.
The participants come from all genres of dance; some have rarely mixed outside their genres and benefit greatly from widening their dance horizons in a warm and supportive atmosphere.
The cost of the course, which is in part sponsored by Lincolnshire County Council and the Arts Council, is £850, with the possibility of a reduced fee for those living in Lincolnshire. If you will be self funding talk to Lincolnshire Dance. There may be suggestions of sources for grants or sponsorship (though you need to be realistic in these harsh economic times) or a payment plan may be an option. Bear in mind that if you come from outside the area you may also have to consider the cost of transportation, accommodation and meals.
An interview with Connie Hurd (2010 course participant).
Why, as an Egyptian dance teacher, did you feel the need to take part in Freedom in Dance?
My first inkling of need for further training came when I led dance movement in a care home, where only 10 of the 30 people gathered together for a dance session, were able to stand, even with the use of a walker. Although I was able to lead them in some head, shoulder, arm and hand movements, I realized then that I could benefit from specialised training in how to lead dance with older people. The Freedom in Dance course surpassed my expectations. I had enrolled in order to learn how to lead seated people in movement and to learn what movements they should or should not be doing, as regards their physical limitations. The course did teach me about the musculoskeletal system and what movements to avoid for particular age-related physical impairments, but also so much more. We learned how to help seated people strengthen muscles, increase balance, and enjoy the freedom of moving creatively. We learned from some of the top dance artists in the UK about how to lead dance for those seated and those who are fully mobile; how to use props to make the dance experience more enjoyable; how to build self-expression and creativity into the dance experience; and how to use a variety of music and dance styles when we lead dance. We learned from the teachers and from each other, as we were given dance teaching tasks to carry out with our colleagues. The 10-week teaching placement was immeasurably helpful as it gave me the opportunity to apply everything I was learning to my group of 8 older dancers. This group is carrying on and I continue to develop my skills as I work with this enthusiastic group of “dancers” aged 74-99. Best of all, we have developed a network between our Freedom in Dance participants and are not only keeping in touch with each other and sharing ideas, but plan to attend dance conferences together in order to spur each other on to better informed, more effective practice. I am no longer limited to teaching Egyptian dance, but have been taught and freed to lead older people in the exciting adventure of moving their bodies creatively to music, gaining strength and flexibility whilst lifting their spirits! A new adventure has begun for me and for those with whom I lead dance so that both they and I are experiencing a new freedom in dance.
How would you rate the course as “Value for money”?
I was self-funding and although I live and practice in Lincolnshire the course fee was a big consideration. We’re not rich and apart from my dance income and the occasional website my husband builds we only have pensions to live on. I took the wider view that this training was necessary if I was going to teach older people safely. As a retired person myself I’m well aware of the limitations of older bodies. I looked at the cost of other training I’ve taken within the Egyptian dance genre and, with my husband’s encouragement, decided that the cost was reasonable and justified. In retrospect I’d say that, yes, it was worth every penny.
So, did the course meet your needs and expectations?
Yes, and exceeded them.
How would you rate the experience of being the first belly dancer to participate in Freedom in Dance?
I was fortunate in that Keyna Paul, the director of Lincolnshire Dance and the course leader, has worked with belly dancers in other circumstances and is belly dance friendly. In fact, she was positively encouraging as she’s been trying to get Lincolnshire’s belly dancers involved with her organization and the wider dance world for some time. She recognizes that belly dance is a valuable genre of community dance so this was a good start. I have no idea what my colleagues on the course thought at first but they all accepted me and we soon formed a friendly and mutually supportive group. I learned a tremendous amount from them as well as from the teachers and have really expanded my dance horizons.
Can you give some examples of this wider dance experience?
I think that most of the dancers on the course came from the modern and contemporary genres with some street, jazz, ballet and ballroom experience. During practical sessions on the course I was involved in dancing the Charleston, as well as contemporary, jazz, street, and English folk dance. Because of my participation in the course I came to learn of a dance week at the Drill Hall in Lincoln and signed up. This involved me joining with a group of 40 amateur dancers (aged 8 to 80) from all over the county and beyond. We were led by a professional choreographer from Belgium in creating a site specific contemporary dance piece. We then performed this in front of the public on the Friday evening.
As a result of my new contacts I’ve also been a part of some Argentine Tango workshops and have been to the first UK conference on Dance and Dementia.
What other aspects of the course did you enjoy?
The lunch breaks! They were a wonderful experience in themselves because we all brought food to share rather than just bringing a pack-up. This was enhanced because we had a selection of vegetarians, omnivores and a coeliac on the course and it was good to see the way people catered for these different preferences and needs and the way the locals helped out those who were from far away.
There must have been some negative aspects of the course, can you name one?
The paperwork! Probably my only negative criticism of the course is that that the coursework aspect and how documentation should be made and evidence gathered, wasn’t made clear (or wasn’t emphasized enough) at the beginning. OK, we knew there was coursework and we knew that about 8 hours a week of coursework was expected but a number of us came to the end of the program and found that our paperwork didn’t allow us to jump through the hoops and provide the “evidence” the National Open College Network demanded for accreditation. We were able to overcome this but it entailed a lot of extra work, frustration and rewriting notes, et cetera to bring our portfolios into line with the bureaucratic requirements. This was brought up at the course postmortem; I think that assumptions had been made of our familiarity with this type of portfolio work and this will be corrected for future courses.
I should add that once this situation was brought to light Keyna was very helpful, provided excellent advice and guidance and extra time was allowed to submit the portfolios. The 2010 course was only the second course after accreditation had been granted and this was a “teething problem”.
Despite the paperwork problems, would you recommend the course to other belly dancers?
Yes. If you consider yourself to be a dance professional and work with older people or would like to explore this section of the dance “market”, this course will equip you to do so safely and will give you ideas and inspiration.
Probably more than half of the course was practical and involved dancing, both fully active styles and dance for the less able so I enjoyed it tremendously. Being able to lead people in wheelchairs who have VERY limited mobility in dance is something that really warms my heart.
Many Egyptian and Middle Eastern dance teachers (especially those who started later in life) struggle to make an income from their skills and (facing facts) will never make it big in the limited performance or workshops marketplace. This training will open a new sector of community dance to them and bring state targets for increasing health and fitness for an aging population to their attention … and will provide a qualification that may open doors to applying for state funding for specific projects.
I’m also seeing that many skills I’ve learned are transferable to the disability sector so there is another potential arrow for my dance quiver!
Can you give a one word summary of the course?
How about two? This is a rather hackneyed phrase but it’s the one that best describes my experience on Freedom in Dance:
Life changing!
Note: The 2011 Freedom in Dance course starts on Friday 18th February 2011.
See http://www.freedomindance.com or contact Lincolnshire Dance on 01522 811811 for more information.
Website editor's note:
This article and the advertisement at the top of the page for Freedom in Dance are here as a public service. Connie gained so much from attending this course that we wish to promote it to other belly dancers. No payments have been made nor are expected for this promotion work.
By Connie Hurd - (with Mark Hurd)
Course Facts:
Freedom in Dance is a National Open College Network course accredited for 27 units at level three. The course aims to train and prepare dance professionals to lead dance safely with older people. It is a part-time program, running for one Friday and Saturday a month over 7 months and is held annually by Lincolnshire Dance, based in Wellingore near Lincoln. The 2010 course had out of area participants from as far away as Mansfield, Manchester and even from Perth in Scotland.
Freedom in Dance brings in some of the nation's best dance professionals to teach units; it was initially designed by Diane Amans (acknowledged as a premier specialist in dance for the elderly) and Diane usually teaches several units of the course.
The participants come from all genres of dance; some have rarely mixed outside their genres and benefit greatly from widening their dance horizons in a warm and supportive atmosphere.
The cost of the course, which is in part sponsored by Lincolnshire County Council and the Arts Council, is £850, with the possibility of a reduced fee for those living in Lincolnshire. If you will be self funding talk to Lincolnshire Dance. There may be suggestions of sources for grants or sponsorship (though you need to be realistic in these harsh economic times) or a payment plan may be an option. Bear in mind that if you come from outside the area you may also have to consider the cost of transportation, accommodation and meals.
An interview with Connie Hurd (2010 course participant).
Why, as an Egyptian dance teacher, did you feel the need to take part in Freedom in Dance?
My first inkling of need for further training came when I led dance movement in a care home, where only 10 of the 30 people gathered together for a dance session, were able to stand, even with the use of a walker. Although I was able to lead them in some head, shoulder, arm and hand movements, I realized then that I could benefit from specialised training in how to lead dance with older people. The Freedom in Dance course surpassed my expectations. I had enrolled in order to learn how to lead seated people in movement and to learn what movements they should or should not be doing, as regards their physical limitations. The course did teach me about the musculoskeletal system and what movements to avoid for particular age-related physical impairments, but also so much more. We learned how to help seated people strengthen muscles, increase balance, and enjoy the freedom of moving creatively. We learned from some of the top dance artists in the UK about how to lead dance for those seated and those who are fully mobile; how to use props to make the dance experience more enjoyable; how to build self-expression and creativity into the dance experience; and how to use a variety of music and dance styles when we lead dance. We learned from the teachers and from each other, as we were given dance teaching tasks to carry out with our colleagues. The 10-week teaching placement was immeasurably helpful as it gave me the opportunity to apply everything I was learning to my group of 8 older dancers. This group is carrying on and I continue to develop my skills as I work with this enthusiastic group of “dancers” aged 74-99. Best of all, we have developed a network between our Freedom in Dance participants and are not only keeping in touch with each other and sharing ideas, but plan to attend dance conferences together in order to spur each other on to better informed, more effective practice. I am no longer limited to teaching Egyptian dance, but have been taught and freed to lead older people in the exciting adventure of moving their bodies creatively to music, gaining strength and flexibility whilst lifting their spirits! A new adventure has begun for me and for those with whom I lead dance so that both they and I are experiencing a new freedom in dance.
How would you rate the course as “Value for money”?
I was self-funding and although I live and practice in Lincolnshire the course fee was a big consideration. We’re not rich and apart from my dance income and the occasional website my husband builds we only have pensions to live on. I took the wider view that this training was necessary if I was going to teach older people safely. As a retired person myself I’m well aware of the limitations of older bodies. I looked at the cost of other training I’ve taken within the Egyptian dance genre and, with my husband’s encouragement, decided that the cost was reasonable and justified. In retrospect I’d say that, yes, it was worth every penny.
So, did the course meet your needs and expectations?
Yes, and exceeded them.
How would you rate the experience of being the first belly dancer to participate in Freedom in Dance?
I was fortunate in that Keyna Paul, the director of Lincolnshire Dance and the course leader, has worked with belly dancers in other circumstances and is belly dance friendly. In fact, she was positively encouraging as she’s been trying to get Lincolnshire’s belly dancers involved with her organization and the wider dance world for some time. She recognizes that belly dance is a valuable genre of community dance so this was a good start. I have no idea what my colleagues on the course thought at first but they all accepted me and we soon formed a friendly and mutually supportive group. I learned a tremendous amount from them as well as from the teachers and have really expanded my dance horizons.
Can you give some examples of this wider dance experience?
I think that most of the dancers on the course came from the modern and contemporary genres with some street, jazz, ballet and ballroom experience. During practical sessions on the course I was involved in dancing the Charleston, as well as contemporary, jazz, street, and English folk dance. Because of my participation in the course I came to learn of a dance week at the Drill Hall in Lincoln and signed up. This involved me joining with a group of 40 amateur dancers (aged 8 to 80) from all over the county and beyond. We were led by a professional choreographer from Belgium in creating a site specific contemporary dance piece. We then performed this in front of the public on the Friday evening.
As a result of my new contacts I’ve also been a part of some Argentine Tango workshops and have been to the first UK conference on Dance and Dementia.
What other aspects of the course did you enjoy?
The lunch breaks! They were a wonderful experience in themselves because we all brought food to share rather than just bringing a pack-up. This was enhanced because we had a selection of vegetarians, omnivores and a coeliac on the course and it was good to see the way people catered for these different preferences and needs and the way the locals helped out those who were from far away.
There must have been some negative aspects of the course, can you name one?
The paperwork! Probably my only negative criticism of the course is that that the coursework aspect and how documentation should be made and evidence gathered, wasn’t made clear (or wasn’t emphasized enough) at the beginning. OK, we knew there was coursework and we knew that about 8 hours a week of coursework was expected but a number of us came to the end of the program and found that our paperwork didn’t allow us to jump through the hoops and provide the “evidence” the National Open College Network demanded for accreditation. We were able to overcome this but it entailed a lot of extra work, frustration and rewriting notes, et cetera to bring our portfolios into line with the bureaucratic requirements. This was brought up at the course postmortem; I think that assumptions had been made of our familiarity with this type of portfolio work and this will be corrected for future courses.
I should add that once this situation was brought to light Keyna was very helpful, provided excellent advice and guidance and extra time was allowed to submit the portfolios. The 2010 course was only the second course after accreditation had been granted and this was a “teething problem”.
Despite the paperwork problems, would you recommend the course to other belly dancers?
Yes. If you consider yourself to be a dance professional and work with older people or would like to explore this section of the dance “market”, this course will equip you to do so safely and will give you ideas and inspiration.
Probably more than half of the course was practical and involved dancing, both fully active styles and dance for the less able so I enjoyed it tremendously. Being able to lead people in wheelchairs who have VERY limited mobility in dance is something that really warms my heart.
Many Egyptian and Middle Eastern dance teachers (especially those who started later in life) struggle to make an income from their skills and (facing facts) will never make it big in the limited performance or workshops marketplace. This training will open a new sector of community dance to them and bring state targets for increasing health and fitness for an aging population to their attention … and will provide a qualification that may open doors to applying for state funding for specific projects.
I’m also seeing that many skills I’ve learned are transferable to the disability sector so there is another potential arrow for my dance quiver!
Can you give a one word summary of the course?
How about two? This is a rather hackneyed phrase but it’s the one that best describes my experience on Freedom in Dance:
Life changing!
Note: The 2011 Freedom in Dance course starts on Friday 18th February 2011.
See http://www.freedomindance.com or contact Lincolnshire Dance on 01522 811811 for more information.
Website editor's note:
This article and the advertisement at the top of the page for Freedom in Dance are here as a public service. Connie gained so much from attending this course that we wish to promote it to other belly dancers. No payments have been made nor are expected for this promotion work.
