Events 2024
Welcome to our events schedule for 2024! From now, all bookings for these events can be made through TryBooking.com. Links are on the events.
Barre and Beyond – Session 3
Sunday, 21 July 2024
9.30 – 11.00 am
De-coding Corrections (via Zoom)
$25 for members , $35 for non-members
11.30 am – 1.00 pm (in person)
“Reflections on Repertoire” – using the choreography of the past to enhance the choreography of the present”
$40 for both sessions for members, $60 for non-members
“De-Coding Corrections”
Presenter: Scott Putman (on Zoom)
“Reflections on Repertoire – using the choreography of the past to enhance the choreography of the present”
Presenter: Helene Gowers
“De-coding Corrections”
Scott Putman is an exceptional teacher and choreographer, based in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a Department Chair and Associate Professor for the Dance and Choreography Department at Virginia Commonwealth University, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Amaranth Contemporary Dance, as well as the creator and Master Teacher for the seminal Elemental Body Alignment System©. Scott has taught in the US, China, Italy, Romania, Canada and here in Australia. He was a regular member of the Faculty at Sun King Adult Dance Camps.
De-coding Corrections is a sensorial exploration into the most traditional and/or popular corrections that teachers share with their students. The workshop will take participants through the challenges teachers and students face with understanding the physical sensation of a correction and how to holistically integrate the body for fulfilling and implementing corrections given. Suitable for teachers of any genre of dance.
“Reflections on Repertoire – using the choreography of the past to enhance the choreography of the present”
Helene Gowers is a prominent and highly respected WA teacher, who is Chair of the WA Classical Ballet Teachers’ Association Inc. She has been the Artistic Director of the WA Junior Ballet Company, Serenade Ballet Company, Bunbury Academy of Dance, guest teacher at West End Academy of Dance, the State Gymnastic team at the University of WA, Sports Department and guest teacher for the Summer Dance programmes.
Miss Gowers is the State and ‘Lucie’ Representative to the National Council of Cecchetti Ballet Australia Inc., and runs her own ballet school in a number of locations. Her choreography is included in the National Cecchetti Syllabus.
In this interactive workshop, Helene will explore how we can utilise the classical repertoire for improving the musicality, technical facility and age suitability of both historical and original choreography. Participants will be invited to collectively workshop a piece during the session, and examine examples of choreography for different age groups and technique levels.
Barre and Beyond – Session 4
Sunday 8 September 2024
10.00 am – 12.00 pm
12.30 pm – 2.30 pm
“Improving Phone Photography for Social Media Marketing”
Presenters: Clinton Bradbury and Claire Voss
“Social Media Marketing”
Presenter: Jasmine Glint, Glint Marketing
Improving Phone Photography for Social Media Marketing
Clinton Bradbury is an award-winning photographer, who has worked with many dance groups and studios, including as the Production Photographer for WA Ballet. Claire Voss is a former professional ballerina with WA Ballet and other overseas companies, who has worked closely with Clinton on many shoots, coaching the dancers to help obtain the best possible images. Together, they will show you how you can improve your phone photography for social media and other marketing. Suitable for teachers in any dance genre.
Social Media Marketing
Presented by Jasmine Glint of Glint Marketing, this session will explore the dos and donts of social media marketing, what works and what doesn’t, and how to develop a marketing plan for your studio. Suitable for teachers in any dance genre.
Previous Events for 2024
Sunday 24 March 2024
10:30 am- 12:00 pm
“Welcome Home Morning Tea and Informal Meet and Greet with David McAllister”
Come and join us for this amazing opportunity to welcome David McAllister (Former Artistic Director of Australian Ballet and currently Guest Artistic Director of WA Ballet), back to Perth. This is a wonderful social event to come and network with other members of the WACBTA and join us for a Q&A with David McAllister.
The Radiant Dance Teacher Workshop Tour
Sunday 21 April 2024
Book for the morning session, or the afternoon session, or BOTH!
8.30 am – 12.45 pm
1.15pm – 5.30 pm
Presenter: Mariah-Jane Thies aka “The Radiant Dance Teacher” – an inspiring Canadian teacher, international presenter and author
8.30 am – 10.30 am & 10.45 am – 12.45 pm
“Understanding the Dual Nature of your Feet: Foundation and Propulsion”
1.15pm – 3.15 pm
“Creating Effective Imagery”
3.30 pm – 5.30 pm
“Upper Body Placement and Port de Bras Secrets”
For more information about Mariah-Jane, and a possible third workshop, click here
“Understanding the Dual Nature of your Feet: Foundation and Propulsion”
Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying:
“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”
As dance teachers, I’m sure we can all agree that there is little that compares to a gorgeously pointed foot on the end of a stretched leg, and the focus on the art element of a well trained foot is something that our dancers easily buy into and strive for themselves.
But what of the engineering? The design of the foot allows it to both serve as a place of support and foundation for us, as well as a strong lever to be used for propulsion, whether to releve high or leap with elevation.
Do you truly understand how this magic transformation happens in a mere millisecond; between foundation and propulsion? Is it really just pointing your foot or it is more complex than that? Are the toes pointing or being used as part of the propulsion?
Are you allowing your dancers to pronate the foot in order to utilize the power of supination?
This 4 hour workshop will help dance teachers to work with students to develop full mobility of the foot so that the amazing spiral action that transforms the foot from foundation to propulsion gets to take place fully and naturally. The miracle that is the foot only functions well if the arch is developed fully. So, with that in mind, this workshop will also address the neurological triggering of the development of the arch of the foot, to transform both flat feet and high arches.
1 x 4 hour workshop
Upper Body Placement and Port de Bras Secrets
The artist is most fully observed through the use of ports de bras. The exquisite nature of subtle and expressive use of the arms is a sight to behold. However, the ease and fluidity that is desired can only happen if the upper body is aligned and open to allow for full function. So, often the cuing to try and open up the shoulder girdle has unintended consequences of strain, pinching of the shoulder blades and holding of the breath, thereby limiting the freedom of the entire upper body.
This workshop will introduce you to some strategies and insights that will forever change how you teach ports de bras by allowing for ideal alignment and placement in the upper body with the resultant ease of creating harmonious coordination and fluidity while moving. The connection of the individual fingers to the function of the shoulder girdle will be explored as will the concepts of 3D movement, rotation and trace form.
Creating Effective Imagery
While it is indeed common practice for dance teachers to use imagery while teaching, there remains two big questions. Are the images truly effective for the majority if not all of the students, especially if used long term? What strategies can a teacher use to ensure that the well of their own creativity never runs dry? And, another often forgotten question: How are we engaging the students to co-create with the teachers?
This workshop will guide teachers to tools that will keep them tapped into the well of creativity, along with the tools for assessment to know if the image sparking up is useful functionally and artistically and safe both in the short term and long term. Co-creation strategies with students will also be shared as it involving the students not only ensures engagement but can become another source of filling the well of creativity.
2 x 2-hour workshops
Barre and Beyond – Session 2
Sunday 19 May 2024
Registration 9.15 am
Session 1 – 9.30 am – 11.00 am
Session 2 – 11.15 am – 12.45 pm
Finish 1.00 pm
“Ballet for Every Body” – Presenter: Denise Nunn
“Safe Stretching” – Presenter: Ellen Paterniti, Perth Dance Physiotherapy
Venue: Youth Ballet WA, 74-76 Goodwood Parade, Burswood
Ballet for Every Body
Not every student has the perfect ballet body. In this session, Denise will explore how teachers can assist students to overcome physical challenges in their own bodies by understanding the science behind the movement, and how it works regardless of body type. She will demonstrate how focusing on the correct transitions in and out of arabesque helps the student to create excellent classical lines.
Safe Stretching
Ellen is an experienced physiotherapist specialising in the care and rehabilitation of dancers. She will consider safe stretching techniques, the risks of overstretching, how to control for hypermobility and looking for spinal mobility issues including scoliosis.
Many dance teachers and health professionals are struggling with the amount of extreme overstretching they see in classes, especially those online. Everyday we see images of stretches that we know are unsafe but we also see students who are doing these are performing at a high level and winning competitions. We all know our students want to improve their flexibility. So how do we safely teach our students to stretch and understand their own bodies as well as having a basic understanding of the anatomy and risk of injury. Ellen’s presentation will integrate the latest research on stretching, and how to achieve mobility safely with control, using a variety of techniques.
Barre and Beyond – Special Luca Masala Package
21, 22 and 25 May 2024
Presenter: Luca Marsala, Director of the Academie Princesse Grace in Monaco
Watch a class (various sessions available) 22-23 May
Attend the gala 25 May 2024
2 special video productions
WACBTA has collaborated with @raisethebarre_dancefestival and are so proud to provide this incredible opportunity for our WACBTA teacher members. This package includes observing one class of either Classical or Contemporary workshops at Graduate College and attending a Gala Performance Gala Performance to be held at the Kingsway Theatre on Saturday 25th May.
This prestigious opportunity has extremely limited availability, with only 6 spots per class on Wednesday 22nd May and Thursday 23 May Classical with esteemed Luca Masala, Director of the Academie Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo OR Julieta Maartinez Contemporay Teacher. BOOK one class only.
2 Video Physio presentations on Hip Anatomy and Injury prevention and Spine and Scoliosis will be included as online resources with this package.
Elemental Body Alignment System Teacher Certifications
Please note that the EBAS Teacher Certifications have been postponed for 2024 and will be re-visited in 2025.
Level 1
1 – 5 July 2024
Monday through Friday – 5 full days for $750 (Earlybird price)
Level 2
8-11 July 2024
Monday through Thursday – 4 full days for $600 (Earlybird price)
Both courses are 9.30am – 4.30 pm (Lunch from 12.30-1.30).
Scholarships are available!!
WACBTA has a number of partial scholarships available for teachers who wish to do the teacher training but have financial constraints. WACBTA will fund up to 50% of the cost of the course. Apply here now! It will be first in, best dressed, so don’t delay!
We are now taking bookings from teachers, dancers and other parties interested in attending the EBAS Level 1 and /or Level2 Teacher Certification courses, taught by Scott Putman in the July school holidays. These courses are not limited to dance teachers or students only, but would be of benefit to anyone interested in improving and enhancing functional movement in their students, clients or patients.
Created in the USA by dance professor and Master Teacher Scott Putman, the Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS) is a unique programme, never offered anywhere else in Australia! It consists of a series of floor-based exercises designed for structural integrity and supported range of motion. Through anchoring and initiating movements via the pelvis, the body discovers its ability to efficiently articulate movement through experiential anatomy. It is designed to prepare your body for working safely and efficiently, to improve range of movement, placement, rotation and extensions, and to create space within the body, freeing the joints and spine. Click here to learn more about EBAS and Scott.
The work deepens the student’s understanding of where movement comes from, how to align the body and to build a physical consciousness of open pathways of energy for movement. The system helps the learner to override the central nervous system, creating new neuromuscular firings, supporting a greater understanding of sensorial technique.
Do you have questions about EBAS? Email Robyn Cooper at wacbtaperth@gmail.com or call her on 0417 170 969. Payments plans are available if required.