Thread: problem with left and right

This thread was started on one of the teacher groups, but is a very interesting subject so i've decided to broach the subject here on the more public forum.

Students who seem to have a problem knowing their left from their right, etc.

I have a very simple remedy for this. You use "marker" movements to remind the body which way it is to turn next. A tap of the foot on the floor with whichever side you are next wanting to move to. A movement of the arm or hand to remind yourself which way to go next. Also, being aware of weight distribution....if the weight is say, on the right foot, you cannot turn right easily. So make sure students are aware of this...that their weight is on the correct leg before the transition. Often, it's this very simple error that creates confusion.

I like the idea of "marker" movements.

When I taught aerobics I always used visual cueing as well as verbal.
I always taught facing the class so I had to say go left when I was going right, and as a result I am now thoroughly confused myself!
The marker movements sounds like a good idea, is that for the students to do or just the teacher?
If it is the students they will probably get just as muddled up over whether to mark to the right or left, lol.

Originally Posted by firefly5

When I taught aerobics I always used visual cueing as well as verbal.
I always taught facing the class so I had to say go left when I was going right, and as a result I am now thoroughly confused myself!

..l;, Me, too!! When someone asks me for directions, I usually have to "make an L with my hands" to remember which way is Left. ..l;,

Originally Posted by firefly5

When I taught aerobics I always used visual cueing as well as verbal.
I always taught facing the class so I had to say go left when I was going right, and as a result I am now thoroughly confused myself!
The marker movements sounds like a good idea, is that for the students to do or just the teacher?
If it is the students they will probably get just as muddled up over whether to mark to the right or left, lol.

No, your missing the point. The marker is for the dancer, whoever he or she is. I use markers all the time, it improves tempo within the dance. Michael Jackson uses vocal 'markers' when he sings. All those little high yips? Those are markers. The same thing applies to dance. It's something I've always done.

Trouble is, you still have to make the marker with the appropriate foot. Weight is the best marker IMO - if your weight's on your right, you pretty much have to step on your left, be it to tap as a mark or as a proper step.

I have terrible trouble with left and right. Some of my students will actually ask me which "right" I mean, because I am notorious for saying "right" when I mean "left". I know which way I'm going, I know which is which, I just call them the wrong name. (I do this with people all the time as well. I know exactly who they are and the wrong name comes out.)

I was in a dance class years ago with a teacher who never used "left" and "right" because (she once told us) she always got them confused. Instead, we'd be dancing, and she'd say, "Now, to the windows! to the windows!" or, the other way, "To Natalia! To Natalia!" because she had a poster of Natalia Makarova on that wall.

I've been married to a dyslexic for 26 years, so I've learned a lot about how to help someone cue left/right.

For one of my dyslexic students, it was helpful to tie a scarf around her right upper arm in class/rehearsal. She was then able to associate "right" with "scarf" and left with "the other side".

When I'm leading drills in class, I'll often use my hands to put to which hip is the working one, or which direction to travel, etc. in addition to calling out the words right/left. I lead drills with my back to my students, with all of us facing the mirror.

, we'd be dancing, and she'd say, "Now, to the windows! to the windows!" or, the other way, "To Natalia! To Natalia!" because she had a poster of Natalia Makarova on that wall.

Hee! I have that for horizontal figure eights. It goes (this is a forward 8 starting to back left): to the couch, to the canes (or the drum), to the door, to the owl (or the stereo). Ironically we obviously subconsciously set up the new studio almost exactly the same as the old one, because the same move used to be: to the cushions (seating area), to the canes, to the hot water cylinder (or the couch - right next to the door), to the stereo (the owl used to be up on a rafter). Crazy.

I know if I'm dancing in a particular place I use spots on the wall, corners, rafters, all kinds of things as markers. I'm a terrible drifter on stage, I have difficulty with tidy floor patterns and returning to my mark.

Shira, I usually drill to the mirror too, I like it much better. Interestingly, I was an *extremely* shy teen and my first job out of school was as an apprentice hairdresser, so I got very used to talking to people through mirrors. I actually feel more confident that way, though I'm better at just facing groups now. Often with hand and arm work I face them instead to start with. I have no logical idea why - maybe because it would be easier for them to see?

But then you get people with dyspraxia who get totally confused when you say "raise your right arm" and their mirror image is clearly raising its left arm, who hate mirrors for this reason! Personally I can't imagine being that aware of the difference between left and right! Lucky me.

Wedding ring is on your left hand. . .

Sorry, that is how I was partially able to correct this. But, if I give you directions, they will be very detailed because there will be one left which is supposed to be a right. When you dont' see the giant donut, you'll know you're going the wrong way!

{{{HUGS}}}

i teach a few with learning disabilities.we have stage curtains on the left of the studio, sound equipment on right.
ill say, "turn to the curtain" or "turn to the stereo".

I am beyond bad with directions. I even had a long term student put up left and right signs on the mirrors and back wall as a joke. I kept putting them up for a few weeks in hopes it would help. Nope. I would look directly at the sign and say the exact opposite....lol.
Some people who have directional learning issues I've found do just fine if I point in the direction I want them to travel. I think that comes from some people being visual over verbal learners. I also use to the wall, to the door, to the back, to the mirror, type of verbal clues to directions as well as the pointing which way to go.

Dyspraxia....girlies.... dyslexia is the written word learning difficulty
Us dyspraxic types (yes that's me, using my wedding ring as a guide to which is left ..better not get divorced!) is what cruel folks call clumsy!..g.:

Originally Posted by *Shira*

I've been married to a dyslexic for 26 years, so I've learned a lot about how to help someone cue left/right.

For one of my dyslexic students, it was helpful to tie a scarf around her right upper arm in class/rehearsal. She was then able to associate "right" with "scarf" and left with "the other side".

When I'm leading drills in class, I'll often use my hands to put to which hip is the working one, or which direction to travel, etc. in addition to calling out the words right/left. I lead drills with my back to my students, with all of us facing the mirror.

Dyspraxia - that's one of my belly dance issues to be sure - and watching in the mirror makes it 5x worse! ,f::

I was giving someone directions yesterday IRL, saying "Make a left at the light" as my arm is waiving them to the right, which was indeed the direction they needed to go.

For dance, I have to concentrate doubly hard to follow any kind of directional comments from a teacher. I prefer "to Natalia" or "to the windows" as well - I need something to relate the direction to.

My students know that i often use the wrong words, so most of the time they folow my moves instead of my voice. Instead of 'left' and right' I use 'this side' and 'the other side'.

If I try to name a bodypart I often can't come up with the right name. So instead of 'pull your elbow to the back' I come up with hand, arm, shoulder but not the word for elbow. In which case I have to elaborate into 'lift your arm, turn your arm forward so your hands open towards the ground, then drag your arms to the back'. By that time they already followed my moves.

ah well, I got used to people sniggering about my creative solutions when I can't find the right words. They all know what I mean by watching me trough the mirror or facing them.

Mekyria, are you me?

Do you sometimes point at your left foot if you can't remember wether it's left or right AND the only word you can come up with is leg?

I could be you, we have the same taste in costumes too

Originally Posted by mekyria

My students know that i often use the wrong words, so most of the time they folow my moves instead of my voice. Instead of 'left' and right' I use 'this side' and 'the other side'.

If I try to name a bodypart I often can't come up with the right name. So instead of 'pull your elbow to the back' I come up with hand, arm, shoulder but not the word for elbow. In which case I have to elaborate into 'lift your arm, turn your arm forward so your hands open towards the ground, then drag your arms to the back'. By that time they already followed my moves.

ah well, I got used to people sniggering about my creative solutions when I can't find the right words. They all know what I mean by watching me trough the mirror or facing them.

ROTFL! Yes, I do exactly this. Sometimes I have to point at the body part and ask the class - 'what is this called?'. They think it's hilarious, I always thought I was going senile, but now it seems there is a BD teacher syndrome...
D

yeah - me too - I just have to say - do as I do not what I say - - I used to blame it on just being the beginning of the week classes but now I can say I have a syndrome!

Hello - I can't tell left from right either and say "to the window", "to the door". I think of it as a good thing though, as it doesn't matter to me whether I do a move forwards, backward, left foot leading, right foot leading. Mirror it, mirror it backwards. It's all OK. Those who have good left right bearings find all this harder.

Oh, I used to have that problem myself so badly - I knew what I wanted to say but a completely different word would come out. I used to call myself the George Bush of Croydon...

And then.....I went on HRT and the problem vanished!! I think it's not so much a BD teacher thing as a girl thing, 'cause I still get it every month for a few days leading up to my period.

Some women get clumsy, some can't remember the name for that thing on the end of your arm - oh yes, it's a hand. But whatever, I reckon it's all down to hormones (um in which case what's the excuse for George Bush, or British Deputy PM John Prescott )

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Trouble is, you still have to make the marker with the appropriate foot. Weight is the best marker IMO - if your weight's on your right, you pretty much have to step on your left, be it to tap as a mark or as a proper step.

Not with spins and turns. the marker movement is made with the arm.

ah, it's all hormones!

Here are a couple of things that helped me as a student in class. I switched my "spot" in the class. It was hard at first because I was used to thinking "turn in" for left and "turn out" for right. So can you quess which side of the studio I stood at? When I started positioning myself on the other side of the room it became more difficult but I adjusted.

Also drumming and playing castenets helped immensely because I was working both sides of the body in distinctly different ways. I think this just helps to rewire the brain a bit.

But it is still almost impossible for me to learn a combo or a choreography when the instructor is mirroring the class. I have to see it written down in my head--right left right left. One instructional video I have drives me nuts because the dancer faces the camera and doesn't reverse her verbal directions. So when she says right I see left.

Souzan

Originally Posted by Souzan

Here are a couple of things that helped me as a student in class. I switched my "spot" in the class. It was hard at first because I was used to thinking "turn in" for left and "turn out" for right. So can you quess which side of the studio I stood at? When I started positioning myself on the other side of the room it became more difficult but I adjusted.

Also drumming and playing castenets helped immensely because I was working both sides of the body in distinctly different ways. I think this just helps to rewire the brain a bit.

But it is still almost impossible for me to learn a combo or a choreography when the instructor is mirroring the class. I have to see it written down in my head--right left right left. One instructional video I have drives me nuts because the dancer faces the camera and doesn't reverse her verbal directions. So when she says right I see left.

Souzan

Gosh, you must get on really well in the 'conventional' world having such a firm grip on these things. I work part time in an office, where EVERYONE thinks in these terms, and life is easier for them...

Originally Posted by mekyria

Do you sometimes point at your left foot if you can't remember wether it's left or right AND the only word you can come up with is leg?

This post is eerily familiar. Spooky! :bat:

Although I don't have problems with left and right, I, too, sometimes can't come up with the term "shoulder blade"/insert-body-part-here to save my life!

Deborah