Art is a living science and the artist is the creator of beauty.
Children are born artists. They think quickly and have lively personalities. Therefore, their works reflect their thoughts which make people moved.
How to keep children's curiosity and creativity, and how to improve their techniques to express their thoughts are problems for every artistic teacher.
Hereby, ASJ would like to introduce two music and dance teachers. They help to improve the perception, imagination, and thinking ability of ASJ students so students themselves can establish correct aesthetic value.
Please follow their steps and join the music and dance classes of ASJ!
Vivienne Liu
The University of Southampton MMus (UK)
Chinese Senior Teacher Certificate (music)
National Art Teacher Grading Test Examiner
6 years of IB music teaching experience
I have been good at dancing and singing since I was a child with a strong desire to perform. Because of my mother’s unfulfilled childhood musical dream, at the age of five, I became part of the “Millions of piano children in China”. At first, I hate practicing piano. Later, I gradually decided that music is my lifelong ideal.
In my more than 20 years of studying music, it is music that gives me strength. Now, I have been teaching in an international school for six years, hoping to pass on the power of music to every student.
This is how ASJ’s music class goes
The charm of music education lies in making students appreciate and understand beauty through courses, and providing a stage for students to show themselves. In ASJ’s music class, I encourage students to sing, play and dance instinctively. In this process, students will not bear the mental burden of being disciplined or feeling embarrassed because they can't master something, so they will all get different degrees of satisfaction.
This natural form can also promote students’ improvisation and encourage their creativity to sprout. The germination of students’ creativity is stimulated, and they are in the best state of learning various musical skills and improving their ability.
Through Orff instruments, singing, rhythm, games, etc., I make primary school students unconsciously accept the training of comprehensive musical ability such as pitch, rhythm, listening and distinguishing, coordination and unification. During the group interaction, I will require each student to arrange the music programs of the group in different ways in accordance with their own specialties.
In the middle school class, I mostly appreciate and analyze music through music words and video materials, so that students can learn more professional music knowledge.
During the cooperative inquiry, I will encourage each group of students to actively discuss, boldly compose their own music, try the fusion of different musical instruments, and encourage them to show their music to the audience completely. I hope that students will learn not only music knowledge, but also the cultural connotation behind music, and I hope that students can identify with various cultures in their studies.
▲Ms Vivienne held the music class outside the classroom
The power of music-
unity, innovation, confidence and courage
In class, after several group performances, I found that introverted students became active and could show themselves confidently. They are no longer afraid of embarrassment when performing alone, and they are no longer worried about making mistakes in their performances, because group members would support one another during rehearsal, and every presentation has the intimate cooperation of group members.
▲Ms Vivienne and her students
After class, I set up the ASJ Choir and led the members to perform bravely on various stages. ASJ Choir has been established for a short time, the members have a large age span, and students have different mother tongues, however, they overcame the difficulties and had the enthusiasm for singing.
The ASJ Choir witnessed every important moment of ASJ: the debut of ASJ at the unveiling ceremony, stepping on the grand stage of Jinan University’s centennial celebration, the performance at the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and the XIII Paralympic Winter Games, and the CCTV “Live Greater Bay Area” recording. Every progress of the children will make me feel gratifies. They are no longer afraid of repeating vocal exercises or the hard work of high-density rehearsals.
They learn to persist and become more confident and brave. I have heard words like those: “Teacher, let's practice again; Teacher, we will do better on the stage.”
Music is life, that’s why our hearts have beats. Music makes our life complete. How can a passionate heart not love life?
The experience of practicing piano for many years has made me tough, steadfast and keep a peaceful state of mind. I also hope that my students, in the process of learning music, will have a more stable mood. Those who are full of positive energy will not have bad luck.
I like to listen to children express their feelings in a flood of words every time they learn a new piece of music, and I like to listen to them share what they have seen and heard after returning to school every holiday. I am also willing to tell them my interesting stories in combination with music.
In the new school year of 2022, I will form the ASJ MYP Choir, aiming to lead more children to the stage and show their youth and enthusiasm.
Eva Chen
Bachelor Degree in Dancology at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
China Dancer Association Registered Teacher
Junior High School Teacher Qualification
Level II Primary School Teacher
10-year experience in teaching young children Chinese dancing
Skilled in carrying out the dancing activities by insights children's psychological characteristics
Dance is the basic way of life and the highest state of emotion expression.
I have learned Chinese dance since childhood, and I am proficient in Chinese classical dance and Chinese folk dance with rich experience in stage performance.
I have been engaged in the teaching of Chinese dance for more than ten years, with sufficient teaching experience in different grades. I also focus on students' understanding and artistic feeling ability of dance works when conducting dance training and teaching dance knowledge, so that presenting a unique dance class.
This is how ASJ’s dance class goes
As the first school for children of Hong Kong and Macao in China, ASJ attracts me with its vitality and creativity, which makes me full of expectations for the future. Facing the new generation of students from Hong Kong and Macao, I will integrate more Chinese cultural elements into my teaching, so that they can understand Chinese culture and history, cultivate their feelings of homeland, and enhance their sense of national identity.
In last October, the MYP students have presented two patriotic dances, "China in the Light" and "No Boundary", as congratulatory gifts to the motherland, thus expressing their infinite love and best wishes for the motherland.
In daily teaching, we will refer to the Chinese Dancers Association grade examination materials and integrate teaching characteristics into education. For example, for children in kindergarten and early primary school, we will use cheerful and catchy music with dance rhythm, so that they can learn to use different parts of the body for dance movements in different directions, also we encourage them to complete the movements creatively.
I always feel that even different children can show different cuteness in the same dance movement, since every child is unique. Therefore, in the class of lower grade children, they would sing and dance joyfully, also some would even enjoy dancing with their eyes closed, saying, "Ms XX, look at me, I can dance with my eyes closed." at that moment, I felt that I was the happiest dance teacher.
For MYP students, I will lead them to understand the cultural characteristics of different nationalities, the style and characteristics of dance movements and the reasons behind these characteristics in class. In addition, I will also take them to experience the rhythm of different ethnic dances, learn dance movements and appreciate the excellent repertoire, so as to feel the colorful charm of Chinese ethnic and folk dances, understand the broad and profound Chinese culture of 5,000 years and appreciate the power of the Chinese national spirit.
Students at different ages would always start from the interest of training, then gradually learn related knowledge, and understand the culture behind. I hope they can discover and enjoy the beauty of dance art through my class, so as to develop unique body language.
▲Ms Eva is the director of many school shows
For the acquisition of dance learning techniques, I would suggest that avoiding the pursuit of speed, since the basic skills of dance is to the process of accumulation, which is progressive improvement. Besides, we must use our own heart to experience the feeling of action, and learn to think, repeatedly experience the teacher's requirements for each action instead of blindly practice. Hence you also need to think and pondering, then seek advice from the teacher is encountering any difficulties.
Finally, we should pay attention to facial expression and body language, facial expression is always running through in the dance process, which is the artistic image of the whole dance. Only by integrating yourself into the emotion of music can we achieve both appearance and spirit since your face can imply the whole soul of the dance.
I will continue to learn and improve the dance skills of different kinds of dance at home and abroad, then integrate more brilliant course contents into teaching activities, so that students can have a local base and an international perspective, thus laying a solid foundation for their future artistic learning.
Meanwhile, I will get to know each student deeply, find out their strengths and weaknesses, guide them in an appropriate way, let them feel the "highlight moment" of being appreciated, allowing everyone fall in love with dance, and expressing themselves confidently with body language.
▲Ms Eva performed with intern teachers and her students
Dancers are messengers of beauty and ascetics who practice both inside and outside, ; the sowers who shed sweat and tears for an instant bloom; the practitioners who run through difficulties and pains but still move forward and the servers who are willing to act the green leaf with the accumulation of wealth.
In the future, I will continue to lead students to interpret the most beautiful moving and romantic stories in the world via dancing.
