«Teachers for SwanZ» a year after the start

Let’s get to know some

of those who are behind the curtain!

22:21:34,12/23/2021

Since December 1, 2020, when it started, the Teachers for SwanZ project has kept you up to date with each new step, with each new achievement of the path to the results it has proposed. We remind you that it is a project co-financed by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, Key Action 2 – Cooperation for innovation and good practices, strategic partnerships for vocational education and training, initiated and coordinated by the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest, implemented in partnership with the National School of Arts Prof. Vesselin Stoyanov from Ruse (Bulgaria), Attitude Studios – Ballet with Laura from Vienna (Austria) and the Hellenic Union of Romania.

Τhe project has turned one year old!

 Now, when the project has turned one year old and we are approaching the winter holidays, the «Teachers for SwanZ» team of the Choreography High School  «Floria Capsali»  wants to send to all partners from Austria, Bulgaria and Romania, to their colleagues from the Romanian high schools in the field, to the supporters and friends of this initiative who are in the country or on other meridians, wishes for success and inspiration in everything they propose, with the conviction that, by uniting our thoughts and efforts, we can support the path of today’s students to the great stages of the world in the coming years, we can carry forward with distinction and dedication the tradition of ballet and dance schools in our region.

 Happy holidays and a New Year 2022 with dance, good cheer, and optimism!

Questionnaire for the people of project

 Are you curious to know those who are behind the curtain, those who are working on this project despite the difficulties we have all encountered due to the pandemic? We asked some of them to briefly tell us what they think, how they appreciate the collaboration and the activities carried out so far, asking them the following questions:

1. What was your personal image about «Teachersfor SwanZ» at the project start and what is your image now, after a year of implementation?
2. Please share with us a few words about how the project has evolved and continues to evolve despite the vicissitudes of the pandemic situation, or any other personal considerations relevant in this project.
3. What moment related to this project comes first to your mind after a year of implementation?
4. What activity of the project did you like most?

Diana Zăvălaș

 Let’s begin with Diana Zăvălaș, the project manager, ballet pianist at the Choreography High School Floria Capsali from Bucharest:

A

A: The year 2021 was rich and full of activities for the project co-financed by Erasmus+ Teachers for SwanZ, currently supported by four “ambassadors”, celebrities from the world of dance – Alkis Raftis, president of the International Dance Council – UNESCO, Gigi Căciuleanu, choreographer of Romanian origin and one of the greatest masters of world contemporary dance, Liudmila Konovalova, prima ballerina of the Vienna State Ballet, Austria, and Vessela Vassileva, prima ballerina and artistic director of the Ruse State Opera, Bulgaria.

B

B: Briefly, since March, the team has been working intensively on the development of the two educational materials that will be freely available to dance teachers, students and the public interested. The students and teachers at the partner dance schools met in the virtual environment for the online dance classes presented by each partner to the other schools. They also participated in a series of workshops coordinated by the choreographer Valentina de Piante Niculae, university lecturer at U.N.A.T.C. Teachers participated in the online environment in training sessions on soft skills and in an intensive workshop focused on the Dalcroze method.

C

C:Most of all, I think to the challenges that dance teachers have to face in the reality of social distancing and moving school in online. The way in which a child assimilates the information received in the dance class is not comparable to a lesson in the online environment, but when face-to-face lessons are not possible, the educational system must adapt to this new reality, investing in technology and training in its use. Together with the teachers involved in the project, we discuss the situations we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic, and we are looking for solutions to replace the lack of direct contact in the classroom.

D

D:I also enjoyed the online lessons offered by each partner, but also the fact that I was able to offer the teachers and students from the «Floria Capsali»  Choreography High School involved in the project new experiences, to which they do not usually have access and which will help them in their continuous professional training. The lessons will be published soon on the Learning Platform of the «Teachers for SwanZ»| project.

Laura Cristinoiu

Laura Cristinoiu, artistic director of Attitude Ballet Studios in Vienna, Austria, told us:

A

A: I was very excited and motivated to work on all the aspects of the «Teachers for SwanZ» project. There were a lot of new things to learn. The most challenging was the team’s management and bringing all our ideas in one place. After the first year, we managed to put together our work on the Training of Trainers Dance Manual and the Mini-Guide of Movement for «non-dance teachers». I am happy and confident that we are doing good work and very excited that soon our manuals will be out there for teachers and children to read.

Β

Β: The pandemic didn’t make things easy for us. All our meetings were held online. I hope we will meet in person in the second year of our project. It would have been wonderful to teach the other children from Romania and Bulgaria in person. I am sure the classes would have had a different dynamic than Zoom.

Still, we can look at this online method that was basically created due to the pandemic as a new opportunity. We didn’t lose time, and we have our project going further thanks to the online tools that didn’t exist before. I am more than sure that if this kind of project had been started ten years ago, the whole online approach wouldn’t have been possible under the pandemic, so that the project wouldn’t succeed.

C

C: It was an extraordinary moment in my first zoom class, when more than 80 students and teachers from all the involved countries gathered to be part of it. We were mainly at the beginning of the project. This outcome gave me confidence and a lot of excitement for everything that came after.

D

D: I very much enjoy writing for the Training of Trainers Dance Manual. As ballet teachers, we are not used to putting our classes, methods, and teaching skills in writing. This was a challenge and a win-win situation. By writing my articles, I got the chance to better organize my teaching approach, and I have new and better conclusions for my classes. On the other side, I hope many teachers and students will well receive these articles. I know we are not reinventing ballet teaching. Still, we are always trying to improve and have a better approach when guiding our students.

 Simona Paraschivu

Simona Paraschivu, contemporary dance teacher at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School from Bucharest:

A

A: When the project started, I didn’t have many expectations because I was not familiar with the Erasmus+ projects. After implementing the project, I realized that you could accumulate a lot of new information from the teachers and students. The project offers a new perspective in approaching the dance class and the theoretical classes.

B

B: The project had multiple online and physical activities that were based on improving the relationship between student and teacher, also an innovative approach to dance classes. We had communication workshops that broke down language barriers and helped us to expand the universe of pedagogical knowledge.

C

C: The moment when we shared country-specific jokes at the communication workshop remained imprinted in my mind. A fun way to get closer to each other.

D

D: All the workshops had their interesting moments, and they were full of useful information but the workshops and also the dance presentations were interesting and presented revealing ways of approaching the class.

Maria Dukanova

Maria Dukanova, the principal of the National School of Arts Prof. Vesselin Stoyanov from Ruse, Bulgaria, manager of the Bulgarian team, sent us her answers:

A

A: On the one hand, the project intrigued me as it focuses on teachers’ professionalism, and it includes an ambitious plan of the activities. On the other hand, I had my personal worries concerning the implementation, the selection and involvement of the right participants, to meet the goals and the activities. Today, I feel confident that the project will achieve the indicators for its successful implementation and will have a positive effect onto the direct and indirect beneficiaries. The project is developing in stability and meets the nowadays challenges with its flexibility.

B

B: Due to the pandemics the project is developing online mostly. Technologies have entered actively in our activities, and they have added a new focus to the professional aspect of development. The virtual environment has become the main field of training activities, discussions, exchange of good practices and project tasks analyses in the national and international teams. The active implementation of technologies in the context of professional training of dancers, communication with the Z generation and the training sessions on intercultural dialogue have added value to the Teachers for SwanZ project and have become a starting point of analysis of the perspective of such an educational model.

C

C: Online classes with the participation of students and teachers from the partner organizations are immensely exciting to me, as they are an opportunity for sharing and co-experiencing of the art of dance despite the geographical distances.

D

D: The most interesting to me are the common teachers’ activities which aim to create the project outputs – the two guidebooks. It is impressing how teachers of different subjects share their knowledge, skills and professional competences and contribute to create common intellectual outputs.

Denitsa Ancheva

Denitsa Ancheva, PhD, senior teacher of classical dance at the same school, told us:

A

A: For me personally, this project is extremely beneficial for all participants – teachers, students, dancers, and non-dancers. I look forward to the meetings with colleagues from the other countries. We have already a vision for our guests’ program in our city. Unfortunately, given the global situation, these events took place does not live, but online. I think we managed to cope with the virtual training, lessons, and meetings. The Internet space and the technologies helped us to achieve what was set in the project program. There were interesting interviews, useful lessons, and we managed to design the future manual. I expect more positive emotions, new knowledge, interesting events, and possible meetings with participants from other countries, if the situation allows.

B

B: I believe that, despite the complex situation worldwide, the project is developing according to a pre-set plan. The topics set out in the handbook are discussed and shaped. The online classes held so far have been carried out without any problems, with the participation of students and teacher.

C

C: A big challenge for me was to present my online lesson, where some of my students participated. For the first time it happened to me to teach and be monitored by colleagues and their students through the Internet. The face-to-face connection is missing, there is a language barrier, but dance is what unites us, and we managed to cope.

D

D:   I like most the creation of the handbook, which has a really great variety of topics related to the art of dance.

Raluca Mălăeru

Raluca Mălăeru, classical dance teacher, the Floria Capsali Choreography High School from Bucharest:

A

A: At first, I thought that in the «Teachers for SwanZ» project, we, the teachers involved, will have some courses and mentors to guide us how, through a correct teaching of the elements of classical dance, our students can progress. Now, after a year in which I participated in all the meetings with the teachers involved in the project, I understood that I must do my best and that I must put together all the knowledge I have acquired so far and pass them on to the next generation of teachers.

B

Β: Apart from the fact that it was not possible to organize physical meetings with the other schools involved in the project, but only through the Zoom application, the proposed tasks were largely achieved. Of course, we would all like to meet physically.

C

C: A moment dear to me in the «Teachers for SwanZ» project was the day I met the teachers of the other schools involved. It was a great day, even though we only met online, those prepared games and the atmosphere were wonderful.

D

D: I liked the open hours presented by each school involved.

 Stanislava Spasova

 Now, let’s see the opinion of Stanislava Spasova, classical dance teacher at Ruse school:

A

A: At the beginning of the project, I had no exact idea what it would be, what are its essence and my tasks related to it. Now I know what needs to happen, what my tasks are, what I need to do. It is very interesting for me to participate in this project, to learn new things, to develop, to get to know the colleagues we work with.

B

B: I am happy that the meetings are regular, we keep in touch and discuss what and how should happen. Although work is difficult in this pandemic situation, we managed to do several online lessons together, in which the children actively participated.

C

C: The first thing I remember are the meetings. The first dating meetings were interesting and engaging, everyone fits in with their answers, and I think we started getting to know each other little by little.

D

D: I like all the activities. Maybe writing the articles was something I didn’t expect, it was a challenge for me. I hope that the situation will return to normal soon and that we will make the planned meetings face-to-face.

 Yanitza Simeonova Dobreva

Let’s meet now Yanitza Simeonova Dobreva, Bulgarian dance teacher at the National School of Arts «Prof. Vesselin Stoyanov». She said:

Α

Α: My opinion is that this project is a great opportunity to enrich our knowledge and experience so far. There is always something new to learn, especially in the dynamic times in which we live.

Β

Β: Our technology has advanced enough to be able to meet online when we can’t meet together. I think the project is moving and evolving over time, despite the whole situation, thanks to our joint work.

C

C: I was personally impressed by the moment when I wrote about the manual topics. It was very interesting for me.

D

D: What do I like most? The exchange of experience in conducting online rehearsals.

 Angela Bratsou

 The team manager representing the Hellenic Union of Romania, Angela Bratsou, stressed in her answer the importance of the Erasmus+ projects:

A

A: For us, this project was an interesting one from the beginning. We knew that Erasmus+ is the European Union’s flagship program that invests in education, training, youth, and sport. It’s much more than a funding program. Erasmus+ has become for our young generations an open gateway to Europe and to the world.

B

B: During this year, that passed very quickly, with many zoom meetings, we found that it is the strongest possible antidote to isolationism, paving the way for a Europe that is no longer a distant reality, but one that becomes a slice of life through the unique Erasmus+ experience. I think that this program gave us an unparalleled chance to broaden our vision of the world, to acquire essential transversal skills, to experience modern approaches for the continuous professional development of dance and “non-dance” teachers and trainers. Our students, who are between 13 and 16 years old, belong to the Z generation, love dance and ballet and have a «second life» in the virtual social space, fueled by technology.

C

C: The project is innovative, it opens the door to a challenging discussion in the education systems – how to teach the Z generation children, who lose interest in classroom education and have a low attention, tending to disconnect very easily from the «real world» due to the use of many technologies. Also, education systems focus more on «arts in education» – the use of the arts as a tool to learn other fields of study – and less on «arts education», where art is a separate discipline itself, which requires a deeper understanding and preparation to be exercised as a profession.

D

D: The Hellenic Union of Romania (UER) is very interested to participate in this project because it was and still is a great occasion for us to learn more techniques in different types of dances and to acquire new experiences in dance. We think that by creating a manual for the teachers’ training and a website, the «Virtual Dance Laboratory», will increase the teacher’s professional level and their ability to develop and participate more creatively in their classes

Τhe zoom meetings

Although we did not manage to see each other face to face, at the zoom meetings we had the opportunity to know each other, to find out how dance lessons are conducted in other fields than the traditional Greek one, not only in Romania but also in the other two participating countries. We also found out what our common points are, the first being of course the love for dancing. We had to put our inventiveness and creativity to work and fight the pandemic, which I think is a plus.

The participation of young dancers

There are two moments that I consider important up to now. The first is related to the preparation of articles for dance and «non-dance» textbooks. The participation of our young dancers and instructors was enthusiastic. They wrote whole pages of texts, which we then shortened, to fit into what we had decided. We were impressed by their cooperation, of course using the phone, what’s up and Facebook messenger. The second moment was that of preparing and conducting the UER open dance class. The joy on their faces when they met face-to-face, the joy of dancing together as before the pandemic, we certainly will not be able to forget.

We consider that all the moments were memorable, all of them were unique and we liked them. Because so far, we have talked only about dance and textbooks, we now remember with pleasure the training module on Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue.

 Codrin Rotaru-Diaconescu

Codrin Rotaru-Diaconescu, dance instructor of the Hellenic Union of Romania, living in Brasov, notes that «in the beginning, the image about the project was very blurry, he did not know what to expect exactly. The idea was soon explained and after starting to meet online, in the zoom activities, the lines of the project started to become more visible and more and more captivating for all the dance teachers»

Β            

Β: Even though the meetings where online, the project started to become interesting, as soon as we picked up the articles we wanted to write. Every time I started a new article for the manual for the dance teachers, I tried to answer the questions that I could have as a new dance teacher and tried to expose my experience. We are now starting the second part of the project related to the Dance Virtual Lab, a platform that will be very interesting and innovative for the next generations.

C

C: When I think about this project, the moment that comes first in my mind is the one when we met in person to sustain the online class organized by the Hellenic Union.

D

D: The activity that I liked the most was the training module about Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue.

  Andreea Ana Maria Vîrtopeanu

Another young and talented dance instructor from the Hellenic Union of Romania, Andreea Ana Maria Vîrtopeanu, living in Ploiesti, told us:

A

A: I was really excited about this project when I first found out about it. The opportunity of getting to know all the people involved and how dance is practiced in other countries was what caught my attention the most. Now, after one year of being part of it, I can say that it didn’t disappoint me. I am happy with how we managed to work together despite the Pandemic, and I am looking forward to what is to come.

B

B: It was hard to organize dance classes online, not being able to be there and see everyone face to face. All in all, we managed to get through a whole year of online dance classes and meetings about the dance manual, which I think is going to turn out amazing. I think we learned a lot, and as the Pandemic went on, we managed to do our tasks and dance together, even if it was online.

C

C: The open dance class that we did is the first thing that comes to my mind. It was amazing for us to be able to reunite again. The Hellenic Union of Romania is spread all around the country, and this allowed us to meet again with a few of our colleagues. We all got together in Ploieşti and tried our best to bring out the beauty in the traditional Greek dances. Given the circumstances that we had to adapt to, it was a challenge, but we enjoyed every moment of it.

D

D: I enjoyed everything, but what really caught my interest was the opportunity to participate in the writing process of the dance training of trainer’s manual. It is something I’ve never done before, and it was a chance to share my experience with other dance instructors and learn from them as well. We shared thoughts, memories, and knowledge that stuck with me and made me really appreciate the opportunity I’ve been given.

And now, let’s meet some of the participating students.

 Alena Gerdzhikova

 Alena Gerdzhikova, 9th grade, from the National School of Arts «Prof. Vesselin Stoyanov», Ruse:

«Before the project started, I knew little about the artistic achievements of other students at my age and what they are learning and doing at their schools. Now, a year after, I have learned more about my peers abroad and things that I will need in the future.

Well, when we are in a pandemic, things happen online, and everyone is home so that we can all be safe. But regardless these unusual circumstances, our work and meetings are still fun and interesting.

I liked everything but maybe my favorite moment was when we weren’t in restrictions due to the pandemic yet and everyone in my class was together watching the ballet that our peers were doing in their schools».

 Iva Petrova

Iva Petrova – student at the same school:

Α

 Α: I feel like I didn’t know the different dances except classical dance. And now, after the end of the first year of the project, I feel that I have learned more about the different cultures and dances.

Β

Β: The project is thought out very well, and despite the pandemic situation it helps us, the dancers, to grow professionally in our art.

C

C: The first thing that comes to my mind is the online open character dance class, because I really like this type of dance and the guest teachers from the Romanian school taught us very well. It was great and I felt happy long after it.

D

D: The whole project is amazing, but I like most the practical part of it, when we dance and meet kids from different countries, even if not face-to-face but online.

 Smeu Daria

Smeu Daria, 11th grade, from the Hellenic Union of Romania:

A

A: When my dance teacher asked me if I wanted to take part of this project, I said yes even if I did not understand very clearly what my role will be, but after attending the open classes I understood that I will learn different types of dances and I will improve in this domain.

B

B: Every time that I participated in the open classes sustained by the Bulgarian, Austrian or the Hellenic Union I learned new things about the type of the dance presented. It was very difficult to do at home the dances presented, but at least I could see the presentation online. I believe that if the meetings would be face to face, the impact on learning would be greater.

C

C: When I think about this project, the moment that comes first in my mind is the one when I attended the online class from the Hellenic Union.

D

D: The activity that I liked the most was when I could dance with my colleagues to record a video dance class for the project.

 Ruxandra Gabriela Stanciu

Ruxandra Gabriela Stanciu, 8th Grade, from the Hellenic Union of Romania:

A

 A: At first, I thought it was a great initiative that will connect lots of dance styles and dancers as well. After one year, I think that it did not just that, but also helped us get to know each other and our passions.

B

B: I don’t think that the evolution of the project was very affected by the Pandemic. It stopped us from meeting face to face and dancing together. We met online. It would have been more exciting for us if we danced side by side.

C

C: The dance class that we filmed together one month ago was my favorite moment. We had a great time dancing together and sharing the dances that we like the most.

D

D: My favorite activity was the open dance class that we did last spring. We met with our friends from other cities, and we all shared and learned from each other.

 Theodora Baciu

 Theodora Baciu, 10th grade, 16 years old, the Choreography High School Floria Capsali:

A

A: When the project started, I didn’t know what to expect because it is the first project of this type for me.  After 1 year of discover what an Erasmus project look like, I realized that this project brings a lot of amazing opportunities to work and learn from amazing teachers. From this year I also realized that this project is a way of learning, both for teachers and the students, new ways of approaching a dance class.

B

B: The project had a lot of online and physical activities that helped me understand that it doesn’t matter what part of the world we are in or what language we speak, because at the end of the day dancing is the only thing that holds us together.

C

C: The first thing that it comes to mind when i think about this project, it is back when we had open classes for the other countries and the students from there worked with us at the same time.

D

D: In my opinion, all the activities of this year had moments that I will never forget, but if I had to choose one, I think I would choose the one in which I had the opportunity to work with Valentina de Piante in a contemporary dance workshop.

  Clara Oniceag

 Clara Oniceag, 7th grade, 13 years old, the Choreography High School Floria Capsali:

A

A: At first, I didn’t know what this project meant. It was something new that appeared to me kind of hard to happen, but it did, and it was awesome. Now I’m waiting with excitement for new activities. It is very clear to me that every person was very involved in the project. Therefore, it grew up that beautifully.

B

B: I really liked that despite the pandemic we had lots of online workshops. I met nice teachers from whom I had lots of things to learn, and I cannot wait to work with them again. I think it is interesting to see how you can learn from other people but also, how you can show them interesting things.

C

C: When I think about this project, it first comes to my mind the moment when we had our first change of experiences, and I was nervous. As time passed, I could see that the teacher was very nice, and I was having a great time and a lot of technique to learn. Another moment would be when I first signed up for it. I remember that I was very happy.

D

D: I liked all the activities, but especially the last one. It was a live workshop with Valentina de Piante and I have never learned the things she has taught me. I met her as a teacher, dancer, choreographer, but also her personality that I loved. I learned how to move my body properly, how my body should feel every day, how to be present in it and how to go from little too much, from slow to fast etc. I’m really into contemporary dance, so I went there with opened heart, and I loved the atmosphere there. Thank you! Like I said before, all the activities were amazing though.

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