Insightful BMN Sessions with the Silver Swans: A Remarkable Experience – by James Groom

In April 2024, I had the pleasure of collaborating with the Silver Swans at the RAD, providing them with an engaging introduction to BMN. These sessions were conducted in a hybrid format, allowing participants both in the studio and online to join. Enthusiastic attendees tuned in from various locations, including as far away as New Zealand!

Recently, I’ve been teaching BMN to trainee dance teachers enrolled in programmes with the Faculty of Education (FoE). Teaching the Silver Swans, however, offered a contrasting and unique experience. Most of the participants hadn’t studied dance for quite some time, making dance-specific vocabulary challenging for them. This was particularly evident when addressing balletic terminology such as the 1st or 2nd positions of the arms, positions of the feet, and balletic lines like arabesque. Despite the initial difficulty in understanding the basic placement of signs on the stave, their enthusiasm remained undeterred. Those familiar with the positions managed to read more complex sequences involving both arms and feet, while some focused on just reading the arms, occasionally out of the ballet context with straight limbs.

I was amazed at how swiftly they grasped the general theory of BMN. As an educator, I firmly believe in everyone’s ability to learn something new, but their rapid understanding exceeded my expectations. Within an hour, we covered a vast amount of theory, including basic signs for the arms and feet, closing signs, movement lines, direction and turn signs, and even some locomotive signs. This content typically spans several weeks in our BI courses. To my surprise, with these speedy learners, I soon found myself out of content to teach! We revisited the initial slides, examining an excerpt from a score and applying our BMN knowledge to interpret it.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this exercise was the participants’ engagement. I encouraged them to share their observations and inquire about anything they wished to explore further. They quickly noted the score’s resemblance to music, with its stave and bar lines. What particularly captivated everyone was the formation reflection sign shaped like a cross with two lines. When I explained its meaning, they were all amazed by how much detail could be conveyed in such a small sign. This ability to embed so much information in a tiny symbol continues to astonish me as well.

Overall, teaching the Silver Swans was an incredibly enjoyable and enriching experience. It challenged my skills as an educator and highlighted the universal applicability of BMN. This experience not only tested my teaching abilities but also highlighted the boundless potential of BMN to bridge gaps and bring diverse learners together.