A peak into our dance classes at Future Gems…
Wondering what goes on in a Future Gems Dance class? MAGIC, that’s what! ✨
In all seriousness though, there is wide variety of content within our programs and beautiful seeds of lessons planted along the way, that you might not always be aware of. When you come to one of our classes, the overall structure remains the same of what you might see as typical to a dance class…. Warm up, drama & improvisation, step progressions down the room and new combos to add to the routine. This is common to most dance schools as it is the most logical way of structuring a class.
But not all studios will conduct their lessons in the same way – in fact, the overall teaching style and program can differ dramatically from studio to studio. That is certainly the case with Future Gems; where we like to do things a little bit differently.
First of all, we are a values based studio. That means that within every single class, we are infusing our core values into the conversations we have with the kids, how we teach the steps and the overall lessons we want the children to be gaining when they attend classes with us. We start every class having a heartfelt conversation with the students – whether they are 2 or 15 – it doesn’t matter. We want to know how they are, how their day has been and set the intentions of what we plan to achieve in that lesson. From this very first interaction, we are teaching the children respect, how to have conversation and allowing them to feel included as a part of the class (which *hint hint* is our first core value.)
From there, every warm up is done in a circle, so that we can engage with every single child and make each of them feel special. We have conversation with them, we make them feel important and no matter what, we will ensure we praise every child at least once within the lesson (but we sure like to sprinkle love many times throughout) Our warm up and stretching time is a chance for even the shyest kids to start to come out of their shells and we will gently encourage each child depending on what their personality needs.
We welcome discussion and sharing of ideas. We teach even the youngest children to wait their turn to speak, to not talk over other children and to be okay if they are not always chosen to present an idea. In our step progressions, we have carefully structured our age levels and programs so that the foundations are built first and then layers are added to keep it exciting and new. This also allows growth and improvement for our dancers. In every aspect of the class, we encourage supportive team work, we encourage children to believe in themselves and we empower them to love what they are doing and to dream of the possibilities they can achieve.
Sometimes, it might be that we need to use more props as they might have had a big day at school and a colourful, vibrant learning space will make it more achievable for them to conquer new steps within the curriculum. Sometimes, there might be teachable moments, where we need to devote more time to helping the children understand important life lessons. Sometimes, children may be down and having a bad day and that is totally okay. We will support them in whatever way they need.
If that means we focus more on gentler steps that don’t involve too much energy, then we will do that. If it means, that we incorporate a dance game to help teach them a move while they are upset, then we will do that. Just like at school and to be honest, life in general, children also have moments of ebbs and flows and in these moments, we find the greatest teacher/student connections and trust are made.
When they join our dance family, they are learning more than just the steps. There is a whole lot more than just the 30-45 minutes of fun you might see from the doorway. We are building inclusive & kind children. We are supporting team work and friendships. We are allowing their confidence to flourish at it’s own pace. We are opening our arms to you and welcoming you to a greater community and family. And finally, we are empowering the next generation to do things that they love and to do it with passion. No matter what, they can achieve any dreams that their heart desires.
We are excited to be enrolling for the new year. Please get in touch if you are interested in getting started and we’d love to have a chat and see if we are the right fit for you! Email dance@futuregems.com.au for more info 🤩💃🏼🌈🌟
