26 Februar 2023

Attention & Focus Training for Dance

interactive Face to Face Workshop with Clare Guss West M.A. / RAD RTS

In this practical face to face workshop,  participants will be introduced to evidenced-based attention and focus theories and have the unique opportunity, through guided peer exploration tasks, to further their understanding and skills in applying strategies directly to the learning and teaching of dance.

A brief review of research findings introduces some of the evidenced benefits of promoting a specific focus of attention to support physical performance outcomes such as: enhanced stamina, jump height and speed, improved balance and consistency and fluidity in the sequencing/phrasing of movement patterns.

Participants will experience these benefits themselves initially through simple balance, sustain and jump examples. Direct practice goes on to apply the principles to more complex movement skills such as posture, turn out and port de bras and qualities such as the sustain of adage and the explosive quality of allegro.

These attentional strategies apply across a wide range of teaching contexts from beginner to vocational dancers and for those with movement and learning challenges to enhance ease and speed of learning, retention and the capacity for multi-tasking, that allows additionally for improved musical listening and developing artistic expression.

Participants will take away new teaching tools, a fresh perspective and the confidence and knowledge base to begin to creatively implement the attention and focus strategies immediately in their own dance practice.

Learning Aims

The aims of this workshop are to:

• Examine how aspects of attention and focus theories can be applied to the learning and teaching of dance to support optimal performance.
• Develop awareness and practice skills in applying different types of focus to the learning and teaching of dance training.
• Reflect upon attention and focus styles of self and others.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the workshop, participants will:

• Be able to identify the different attentional focus approaches identified in motor control literature promoting either an internal (IFA) or an external focus of attention (EFA) and understand the associated physical, mental and cognitive benefits to learning and movement outcome for diverse learning groups.

• Have an awareness of the different categories of potential EFA available to use in teaching.

• Have an understanding of how an EFA might be effectively used to consolidate more complex movement skills such as posture, turn out, port de bras and balance and to support the desired qualities of secure and yet fluid adage and the speed and explosive power components of allegro.

• Have explored direct practice examples in the implementation of attentional focus strategies for application in their own dance teaching contexts.

Anmeldung

Zur Anmeldung senden Sie uns das ausgefüllte Anmeldeformular bitte als PDF bis zum 3. Februar 2023 an fortbildung@royalacademyofdance.de.

Anmeldeschluss ist der 3. Februar 2023.