Chimpanzees don't look or act like us even though we share about 99% of our DNA.
Also, human shares about 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees, making them our closest living relatives, says computational biologist Janet Kelso of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
So what makes us human different from the other spices on this planet?
I personally think one of the main things what defines us from the others are the ability of quality communication skills and the ability to share the information. Human is the only species which has created own language and words.
That allow us to pass on our history next generation. So, we can learn most of the mistakes and achievements which our ancestor have created and reached till today.
Same in teaching ballet.
All the ballet text books have assembled and explained what ballet is by words with a bit of pictures. It makes sense as words are our main way of communication. All the promises and contracts are created based on our language.
However, As Ballet is a part of visual arts how useful the words are in Ballet?
What Ballet makes very different from the other forms of dance is the existence of strict rules. These rules defines ballet from the other types of dance.
For example, positions, movement of turning out of the legs and postilions, etc...these are very strict and, this is very very important, without following these rules, Ballet can not be recognised as ballet or not allow to be what it is.
And, the best and easiest way to teach and explain the rules is by words. Like most of Games on the markets contains instructions to explain the rule.
No rule, NO game. Or some times change the rules to change the game like Rugby originally played as foot ball. Modern dance originally come from a classical dance.
My concern as a practitioner and as a teacher is most of ballet teachers rely on words when they teach.
Most of the ballet teachers understand the important of the rules in Ballet, as the rules make what Ballet is.
Therefore, most of the teachers are trying imprinting the rules of ballet to the students since young.
However, a lot of problems have often occur in these processes.
The main problem comes from the fact most of the teachers misunderstand what teaching is; they think teaching ballet is teaching the rules of ballet.
And, also a lot of students suffer physically and psychologically by teachers misdirection and misleading. Which come from the lack of understanding in ballet as a subject.
So, where the root of these problems comes from? I thoughts about this for long time. Therefore, I observed lots of teachers, also being in class as a practitioner.
And, I came down to a conclusion; most of the teachers misunderstand that they think they can make students understand what they are trying to tell them by just using words with a bit of demonstration; problem in communication.
Through my observation, discussions with the teachers and also experiencing as being a practitioner, I say it is wrong to think we can make students understand that easily.
However, as I mentioned earlier on, words are the best way to communicate with the others and the best way to pass the information.
Then, why is this happening? Aren't we supposed be learning from our ancestors great achievement and mistakes? The information has passed on to next generations, then why are we still making mistakes?
The fact is, by using words we are passing and receiving certain information. However, there are a big blind spot in the process; we are not actually learning any thing, we are just receiving the information. It is simple but very easy to confuse between these two.
We all know having war is not the best solution from our history. But it is still happening in all over the world. Why is that? It is simply because we only learn from our own mistakes and experience. Not from the information which we have given.
From my experience including observations and all, I have noticed that these misunderstandings happen often to the people who has lack of experience or lack of understanding of knowledge. And, somehow these people blindly believe that they are absolutely right.
These teachers causes the problem; damage the students mentally and physically as they use students for their self indulgence or to make them feel good of them selves, with out relising.
It is easy for teachers to criticize the students, but hard to speak back or question to the teachers, as ballet class automatically creates the atmosphere which hard for students to question about what teachers say.
Also,when teachers find hard to teach the students, it is easy for teachers to give up and say "these are bad, talent less students, therefor, it is not my fault that they are not learning from me!". Instead of thinking of different ways of teaching or trying to see the problems from different angle.
There are only so much we can pass on by using words, even when it used correctly. So when I use the words to describe in ballet class, I always try to use the words to lead to the direction which they can use their own imagination.
Words are only a tool to lead us to the right direction. Not the answer. Because I know the fact in ballet, the answers are the same but shapes differently as we are all individuals, and they can not be described by the words.
Quotes from Science now
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dna+human+monkeys+similar&rlz=1C1CHMO_enGB544GB544&oq=DNA+human+monkey&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.10549j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
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