Am I a failure?

Question:Hi, I teach asian dance in schools mainly primary schools, its a fun and good way to exercise to the upbeat music.
Recently I was offered the chance of teaching at a secondary school, which is also a performing arts school I have done 2 sessions there but it's not going as well as I would have liked.
I am not a trained dancer and have never choreographed routines etc....they are expecting me to teach a routine to students and they have to perform to and part of the marks go towards their GCSE marks. I have definately bitten off more than I can chew.
I know its not going well and the agency I work for want to speak to me later today about it....I am dreading the call...should I calm down and just see what happens? or am I right to be upset before being given the bad news.
Dance is a very important part of my life and its a part of who I am...thats why this is affecting me this way.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hi, I teach asian dance in schools mainly primary schools, its a fun and good way to exercise to the upbeat music.
Recently I was offered the chance of teaching at a secondary school, which is also a performing arts school I have done 2 sessions there but it's not going as well as I would have liked.
I am not a trained dancer and have never choreographed routines etc....they are expecting me to teach a routine to students and they have to perform to and part of the marks go towards their GCSE marks. I have definately bitten off more than I can chew.
I know its not going well and the agency I work for want to speak to me later today about it....I am dreading the call...should I calm down and just see what happens? or am I right to be upset before being given the bad news.
Dance is a very important part of my life and its a part of who I am...thats why this is affecting me this way.

You are very talented, but still growing in a crucial requirement of this job. You have had only two sessions and still have time to You would not be a good employee if you were not concerned with the quality of your work. Calm down, listen to what the agency has to say, and do the best you can whether you get a warning or if they reassign you. Remember, dancing is a form of art, so there is no right and wrong way to choreograph a dance. You will succeed when you pick a song and choreograph steps that peak when the music peaks, has rapid movement like quick short steps when there are short notes, and can smoothly transition to the next set of choreography. Do your homework. Play the music in your home and do the steps as you think of them. Don't wait and spring it on the kids making them do all your variations. When you are having trouble deciding on a move, try not to second guess yourself simply for a lack of confidence. So when you just cannot decide, simply pick something and move on. That can be one of the few changes you consider when you see the kids doing the steps. It would be perfectly acceptable to make changes during the production. One more thing is to make sure you are not overwhelming your students. Make sure your students know the basics before they try your choreographed dance. You might want to teach each step in the order of the whole choreographed dance, but don't let them practice it together until they generally have the hang of the individual steps.

of corse not! just stay strong!

you're only a failure if you think you are
wait and see what is said
we all bite off more than we can chew sometimes
don't panic, take a deep breath
good luck

So? What do you want us to do about it? Here's a crying towel, Call me when it fills up.

Your question only can be answered by the serenity prayer:

God, give me the courage to change the things I can
Accept the things I can't and the wisdom to know the difference.

At this point, it's a wait-and-see game, so the only to do is relax. By the time they have that discussion with you, their mind will already be made up.

Stick it out

Youre doing the best you can that I ve no doubt so see what happens
\have some belief in yourself im sure you knwo what youre doing

You wouldnt have been offered the chance of teaching at a secondary school if you were not good. Calm down and just see what happens..

Keep dancing and stay strong! you wont get no where in life if you give up!

Take a deep breath an chill out worring is totally point less .. Believe in **** when **** happens .. An even if the meet doesnt go well just chalk it up to experience if you love your dancing you will finf another way of doing it..

Hate to be cruel, but maybe you should have put together a few routines together. Specialist schools would have been looking for you to have a ciriculum to your class, and not just a mish mash of random dances to random songs/music.

Maybe when you get the call you should tell them the truth and explain that you are willing to put some structure in to the classes from now on

no , youre not a failure!

Keep your head up. It's the challenges in life that keep us strong. Either way you will end up a winner. If you fail this time, you will have learned enough to better your teaching style next time around. If they do have bad news for ya. Be honest, tell them your in over your head and you need a little help to get this done to there liking and i'm sure if they want a good routine they will provide some help for ya.

Every body fails.

You'll fail over and over.

If you don't give up, eventually something will click, and you'll succeed.

Look up choreography on the net. Look at books. Attend a class and ask the instructor for pointers. Other dancers have made the transition to choreographers before...

Yes, it is stressful to be in a position where you do not feel qualified. Yes it can be stressful and embarassing to have the agency point out your performance. But nobody is infinitely qualified at everything. If you have bitten off more than you can chew, tell the agency, and have them get someone else in there to choreograph routines. You will be happier, the students will get their GCSE marks, and the agency will have work for a choreagrapher.

Dont worry, i mean whats the worst that can happen.

No your not a failure, go and have fun ! stick with it and you will do fine !

untrained dancers should not teach dance you can seriously do more harm than good
they never should have offered you the job and honestly i'm shocked they did

no you are not a failure you are an idiot
either stop teaching dance and find something to do that you actually know how to do or go back to school and get trained in the type of dance you want to teach

Look at some asian dances on YouTube.
Write down the moves (make up your own way of doing this).
Read up on Asian dance, so you know why the moves go the way they do, and tell the kids during the lesson.
Let your love of dance shine through.
Encourage the kids. Tell them when they are doing well, and praise every tiny improvement - especially in the ones who are struggling.
Teach 'musicality' - get them to dance on the beat. If they are really bad, start with clapping.
You can do it.
Yes.

here's a nice easy one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mGRcl8H4...

The bottom line is that you love to dance. NOBODY can take that away from you. It's alright to be a bit nervous, but try to stay and present calm. Try to get another chance. And when you do choreograph, just listen to the music by yourself, then just get up and let your body do all the work. That helps me when I'm stuck.

No matter what happens, you can always dance. Just keep your head up. You never know, things could turn out better than you think! Good luck and best wishes.

If dance matters to you this much, then it is in your blood. I attend secondry school, and some of my class mates do give the teachers a hard time. Just teach what you know, as its what you are, and that is special enough. Earn their respect. Ask their regular teacher exactly what they need in this dance to get good grades, and try and get your head down to work something out. And if it still doesnt work out, they are only kids, so just move on. Chin up...