How Group Efforts Can Spur Creativity
As a dance teacher, you’re always hoping to create new and exciting choreography. Yet so many teachers fail to take advantage of a built-in resource to spark the creative process: brainstorming with your fellow faculty members. I am always surprised to hear that this method is not used more often. Why go it alone when you can work with like-minded individuals who, for the most part, are eager to share? We are, after all, teachers and that is what teachers do.
Brainstorming is a wonderful way to exchange ideas, talk about music, share methods and plow through any creative block you may be experiencing. After these sessions you—and all the teachers who participate—will come away with a fresh burst of energy, not to mention fresh ideas and thought processes. All you really need to do is coordinate a time when everyone can get together, and you’ll soon find, as we do, that the benefits for everyone are so useful that whenever we plan one of these sessions most of our teachers really look forward to being a part of it and have no problem making the time. They all know that when a group of creative minds come together, something wonderful takes place.
Getting The Group Process Going
Make a plan and stick to it. Of course, first things first—always check with your studio owner or the person in charge to make sure they have no objections and to nail down possible times that you could use the studio undisturbed. Then write out a simple sign-up sheet with the headline:
Be a part of our Choreographic Brainstorming Session.
Explain in your description under the headline that the session can include movement, discussion with handouts and any other way the group would like to communicate. The idea is that you are getting and giving feedback. Everyone should be ready and eager to give guidance. Next on the sign-up sheet, ask everyone to list a day and time from the choices you were given to help you fix the date. Have numbered lines for each teacher to leave their name and date preference. Once a session is set, try not change it or you will risk everyone losing interest before you even get started.
Come prepared.
All participants need to have all of their needs figured out before they get to the session. For example, if you want input for your beginner tap class recital, then come prepared with some thoughts that can get the group going—even if you’re not particularly thrilled with your own ideas, it does provide a starting point. It is also a good idea for everyone to exchange information about individual needs before the session, so that all participants can give some thought to the various of the group in advance.
Decide that there are no BAD ideas.
When we hold one of these sessions, anything goes. All information and ideas are welcome and embraced with open arms. It’s important to approach the session with this philosophy because if anyone feels like they are being judged harshly, then the other people in the group may be reluctant to participate for fear of rejection. And the whole creative process will implode. Keep in mind, too, that the first ideas may not go anywhere—as a group you might have to go through a mental warm-up before you get on a creative roll, so to speak. It should be made clear that not everything discussed will be used, but that all suggestions are valuable. Even if you are not crazy about an idea, write it down: It may spark another idea in you for your number. Weird things like that happen—sometimes when you least expect it, something will touch off your creativity. And that is what these sessions are all about. It’s not about getting an answer spoon-fed to you. It’s about how having all this creative energy in one place at one time generates more ideas for the group.
Consider collaborating on a piece.
This is a helpful way to get a piece done. If you have an idea but can’t seem to get it off the ground, it may be that you need a partner to help you through the process. One word of caution: You will both need to have trust, respect and no diva notions for this to work. If either person is inflexible in their vision, that will be an issue. But if you do have a solid relationship with another teacher, it is a terrific way to create something really special. Not only do Angela and I work this way, we have also worked together with our faculty many times and had a blast doing it!
Set individual time limits.
During these sessions no one person should hog the floor for his or her needs. I recommend you use a round table format. You can place chairs in a circle in the studio, leaving a good size space in the middle so if someone wants to get up and demonstrate, they can. Set a specific amount of time and use a stop watch that will signal when each person’s time is up. (Of course, have a little flexibility—you don’t want to squash an idea as it’s being developed.
Don’t forget to laugh.
These sessions can and must be fun! Laughing will only bring more ideas and energy out of the session. Any story, topic or issue that can be made light of will only enhance the results of these sessions. I know for sure that when we get together and people are laughing and having a good time, great ideas are about to hatch!
