As some of you may already know, So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) is one of my favorite TV shows. It is basically American Idol for dancers. This show features talented people who excel in a variety of dance genres including hip-hop, lyrical, jazz, and ballroom. And no, I am not a fan of Dancing with the Stars. As Andrew Wallenstein puts it in his NPR piece, Why 'Dance' is Hotter than Idol, "watching Dancing with the Stars is like watching a Ferrari pulling around a golf cart".SYTYCD features strong dancers in their own area of expertise and pushes them to step out of their comfort zones into different genres of dance. Some of these dancers have been trained by dance teachers and others have never taken a dance class. We watch these people struggle as they go from being an expert to being a novice. The ones who succeed are learners at heart and truly love dance. They push themselves and don't give up. And, if they don't make it to the top 20 this year, many go home and get more training and come back again and again. They attribute their "failure" to their strategy and not to their ability. This is a message that I have blogged about in the past, so I'm sorry if y'all are tired of it. But I believe so strongly in a growth mindset that I just have to keep coming back to it.
We as educators can learn so much from watching these dancers grow and push themselves and work hard to overcome their weaknesses. As experienced teachers we are used to being good at what we do. When we come to a challenge, like using new technologies in the classroom, it can feel very uncomfortable. We don't like to look "dumb" in front of our students. Stepping out of your comfort zone while others are watching makes it that much harder to do. These dancers inspire me to keep working, not give up and continue to try different strategies when things don't go the way I had hoped.
Oh yeah, and the dancing is amazing to watch.
6 comments:
Oh yeah, I watched the other night, and wow I had similar thoughts about educators and the need to step out of the comfort zone. Discomfort and pain equals growth, pure and simple.
I am also a big fan of SYTYCD. Seeing those kids give it their all is amazing. I am always impressed by what they can do. It is good for all of us to push oursevles and learn new things. I love your thoughts about comparing the show to teaching.
Now I totally don't feel so shallow for watching it for the third season. My 8-year old son, who has watched it each season with me, has favorites and tries to breakdance as we watch it together. I completely agree with the analogy. I always root for the underdog and get excited to see them frustrated in the practice video montage and then excelling on stage. As a teacher I long for those moments when my students "get it". I have always been a lifelong learner. I am eager to learn new things (except math... c'mon now we all have our limits!). I may even use this idea in a teacher training session when talking to them about this very frustration they have with new ideas and technology. I can see showing one of the segments where you see the dancer get out of his/her comfort zone then excel on stage. The lesson here is also that they don't give up! By the way, how mad were you when the street dancer/contortionist gave up just because he could not get the choreography... now there is another lesson in itself. Ok, enough gushing. I have go to back and watch last night's episode again to pick my favs in the top 20. Thanks for this post. I got it on your twitter feed. Awesome. Did I notice you are going to be at Creating Modern Knowledge? Hopefully I will see you there.
Since we are on dancing, maybe you would like to check out this George Sampson boy from Britain's Got Talent.
This boy's never say die attitude is simply amazing.
http://tucksoon.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/inspiring-george-sampson/
I completely agree with all the comments and your post. It's a great show.
My college choral director used to say that you aren't learning anything new if you aren't struggling. I tell that to my chorus kids at least 2 a year.
My daughter just graduated with a Bachelors in Modern and Ballet form University of Missouri Conservatory of Music & Dance. You make some excellent points about education and dance. She is dyslexic and I know for sure that dance it want "got her through". She graduated college with a 4.0 and is going to Italy to Dance for the Month of July and then to New York. The degree will take her far in something she is passionate about. I think our schools should be teaching some level of dance, it gives kids discipline, work ethic and a whole list of other useful life skills. I suspect you have watched it, but make sure you take a look at Dr. Ken Robinson "Are Schools Killing Creativity." You can find it through TedTalks http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66
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