Almost four weeks into remote classes, it is practically common knowledge that the way we learn has drastically changed. Countless departments across Conn’s campus that rely on access to materials and spaces that only campuses can provide are now left figuring out how to conduct experiments, perform student theses, and do field research. One such department is the dance department, whose many movement-based classes require interactions and physical contact between many people all within the confined spaces of the studios —certainly not the six-feet-apart rule that we have come to adopt in the time of COVID-19.
Once campus was going to be closed and classes moved online, the dance department was very concerned with how they were going to conduct classes. The solution for one teacher, Ellie Goudie-Averill, Conn’s ballet instructor, was to record herself teaching a ballet class and upload the video to Moodle for her students to watch and follow. She then asks her students to reflect on the classes they take through online journals.
Sara Abbazia ‘20 describes her experience with these remote dance classes, stating that “considering the circumstances” the online classes have been “pretty good.” She is currently taking ballet with professor Goudie-Averill this semester. “I really like doing [Professor Goudie-Averill’s] recordings…I like to pretend that she’s in the room and I’m like ‘Thank you, [Professor], that was great!” Abbazia mentions how she also includes her mother, who used to be a dance teacher herself, in these video classes. She views the online instruction as an opportunity to spend time with her family along with taking movement classes.
One of the most important parts about being physically present in a dance class is that when learning techniques, a teacher has to be able to get up close to their student’s body to examine the details of the feet and arms. Overall, they help physically guide their students in achieving stronger techniques. But when a teacher is not there and a student is dancing alone in their living room, that can’t be the case. “I feel like I’m hyper-focused…I’m trying to self-monitor and make sure that everything is placed correctly,” Abbazia says.
Abbazia also points out the difficulties regarding space. “[When I lift my leg to the side], I’m always like, ‘Is this right? Am I just putting my leg so that I won’t hit stuff in my area or am I in a proper position?’” Goudie-Averill thus far has been able to create accommodating repertoires for her online classes. Her exercises can be done in compromised spaces, but she still encourages her students to take up as much of the space as they can. The same might not be said, however, for other dance classes that Conn offers— postmodern technique classes feature large, sweeping movements and floor work, while classes such as West African dance require a lot of fast-paced, energetic movements around the room.
During this pandemic, the dance community has become closer than ever (albeit virtually!). The art form has always called for experimentation and encourages breaking norms and boundaries set in place by precedents, and these times have offered immense opportunities to do just that. Professor Goudie-Averill has joined her dance community peers on Zoom to teach ballet and contemporary classes via Freeskewl. Freeskewl was founded by dancers Sofia Engelman and Em Papineau as “an experimental, donation-based platform for dance artists to practice online teaching.” Its online platform and donation-based functionality allow for people of all socioeconomic classes with access to the internet to attend and experiment with movement. Professor Goudie-Averill has promoted some of her Freeskewl classes to her students, thus allowing them to see friendly and familiar faces and move in unison once more.
