5 Giving feedback
In order to develop and improve dance skills, students should also be involved in evaluating one another's, and their own, work.
Performing for one another in class as part of an evaluation and feedback process can be beneficial to both the students and teacher.
When done on a regular basis, students can become less self-conscious about performing in front of others; this is important in terms of building confidence in young performers.
Feedback is an important part of the improvement process because it can provide statements and questions that enable the students to see their own work with an outside eye.
Once engaged in the evaluation and feedback process, students will be developing skills in observing, listening and applying comments to their work – in the same way that they do in the choreographic process.
Feedback can come from the teacher or fellow students – and through the use of a video camera.
Giving written feedback can be done in a variety of ways, ranging from using a simple blank piece of paper to a more complex pro forma. It all depends on what you want to focus on at that point in time.
Activity 5
Click ‘view document’ below to download your own printable blank performance skills feedback sheet.
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Use this document as a starting point to design your own feedback sheet, addressing the elements of performance skills for a particular group you are working with.
Click 'view document' below to read Giving helpful feedback: performance
To see a completed example performance skills feedback sheet of the kind you could use with your students, click ‘view document’ below.