Working with YDance

Current vacancies and apprenticeships

YDance Graduate Programme

March– August 2023

Lead – Linzi McLagan / Anna Kenrick

Outcomes:

Graduate has more confidence.
Graduate has in depth knowledge of methodologies of educational dance practice in a range of settings
Graduate has developed their planning, organization and critical reflections skills

Activities:

Teaching opportunities – Each week the graduate will spend time with the YDance teaching team. The graduate will start shadowing the lead teaching artist and over the course of the program build up to leading parts or all of a session themselves. They will be given feedback and work with the teaching artists to develop and craft their skills. The projects they will work on are in schools, community centre and alternative education centres working with children aged 6-18. They cover the full spectrum of educational and community dance practice and will give the graduate multiple opportunities to develop their skills with different young people with varying ages, experience and abilities.
Training sessions and reading covering:

Pedagogy (the way or how you deliver): Open v Directed, Tutor vs Learner led, Social and Emotional Intelligence, Behaviour Management, Motivation, the Importance of Feedback Differentiation, Contextualisation
Learning styles: VARK (visual/audio/reading/kinaesthetic) and multiple intelligences
Methodologies: Laban Movement Analysis/Midway Model/Through and About Model

Teaching Styles and Approaches: Body Language / Language / communication (pitch, tone, energy)
Child Protection and Safeguarding:
Research and Theoretical Learning: Critical thinking skills – how do we challenge perceptions of dance? What evidence is there to support the advocacy of dance? How do we change the discussion? Creativity – convergent and divergent thinking
Curriculum for Excellence: Educational Language, Lesson Layout, Experiences and Outcomes, Benchmarks, Success Criteria, Curriculum Areas…is dance seen within in H&W or ExA?
Choreography with larger groups – devices, methods, manipulating movement

Critical reflection / discussion sessions with wider YDance teaching team will happen every 6-8 weeks. This will develop connections with the whole team and allow to
Bi weekly -mentor support meetings with YDances Head of Education to allow for personal development and growth. These sessions will focus on achieving goals set at the beginning of the programme.

Other:

The focus of the programme will be defined by the person who joins us. The outcomes are clear but flexible depending on changing goals / needs and experience of the graduate.
There will be opportunities to connect with the whole YDance team by attending staff meetings to keep up to date with what the whole organization is doing and if they cant attend they will be sent the minutes to allow them to keep up to date with new projects, news and opportunities.
As YDance is a large organization with marketing, funding, administration, education and artistic teams the graduate can request to spend time with a range of staff to develop their understanding of the running of an arts organization to benefit their development as a whole.

Timeline:

Applications open Jan 16th

Applications close Feb 9th

Interviews 23rd / 24th Feb

Start March 13th 2023

2.5 days per week for 24 weeks until August 31st