Zig zag?

[DYinn Maciel]

"Best Dancer" is a slippery thing. Best technique? Best memory for the choreography? Best interaction with the audience? Best costume? Most reliable? (one of my "best" dancers was a nightmare only turning up to half the practices until I made her sign a contract that unless she showed she'd be not allowed to perform).

The front-center dancers always has these abilities. Most of them. If, as an example, a very good dancer with beautiful techinque, presence in stage and more elements on her side, didn't know the coreography, my teacher places her in the middle-back or side- front, so she can see the parts she doesn't know.

 

[Aniseteph]

I want to know how this works, because, someday I want to become a teacher. She generally puts the best dancer of the group/level in the front-center, but sometimes she decides she's not doing that. That's where my question was born, I didn't have any idea why she would do that.

I'm not a teacher either, but leaving aside artistic/ aesthetic reasons that have already been mentioned...

It's a balance. If everyone else is really shaky and needs a strong dancer centre front for that number, it's probably best to put her there.

On the other hand:
- it's not good for the others to get into the habit of following.
- it's nice to give others the opportunity to be centre front even if they are not the best. For hobbyists in student performances, IMO as long as they are comfortable being there and are not going to be a disaster and/or put everyone else off, I think everyone who has paid their money and put in the rehearsal time should have a chance at the front.
- it's not good for the teacher or the pupil if it looks like there's any favouritism going on.

 

[DYinn Maciel]

One of the thing I agree with her, is that everyone fights and deserves her place. If you've been attending to her class and trying to do the technique as well as possible, if you've been in another shows and demonstrate that you have done everything she recommended so you can look good, then you deserve that place.

 

[Shanazel]

All other things being equal I arrange dancers by height so that the line the group forms is smooth and nonintusive.