LBHS Dance adjusts to COVID-19
As everyone knows, the current circumstances of our world have forced us to learn from home. COVID-19 has changed our world as we know it, and many have had their hearts broken by special plans being canceled towards the end of the year. All of our amazing LBHS staff have been helping students through this pandemic. From the volunteer lunch staff to the teachers themselves, everyone is coming together while being apart. One teacher Brush and Palette, would like to take a moment to recognize Mrs. Estee Fratzke.
For those of you who don’t know her, Mrs. Fratzke is the dance teacher at Laguna Beach High School. She teaches dance I-IV and the dance company. If you are in the dance program, then you know that we all had a pretty tough situation to deal with since going on lockdown, including the loss of our Spring Dance Concert. But despite the hurt we have been experiencing, Mrs. Fratzke, alongside co-teacher Miss Auti Kamal, has done an excellent job helping us stay fit and stay dancing!
Mrs. Fratzke acknowledges that although dance is best explored and learned in person, it can also be celebrated in current times while we are apart.
“Teaching through distance learning has been challenging for dance because everything we do is collaborative and involves using our bodies to create routines together. I’ve had to think outside the box for how I can keep dancers engaged from afar,” said Fratzke. “I was able to host some live master classes with guest teachers in the beginning and then recently, we have shifted to working on our final projects. I’m really excited for a project Dance 4 & Company are working on together that involves movement and media. I am learning how to be creative with what we have during this time, and I’m excited to find new ways of delivering the curriculum to make dance fun, even though we can’t be together.”
Additionally, Mrs. Fratzke has had to meet the challenges of rearranging her entire teaching calendar, which already had each day determined and sequenced for optimal learning and growth, and keep in mind, she has done all this with a newborn!
Both Mrs. Fratzke and Miss Auti have hosted dance meetings on Zoom to teach choreography, have made worksheets for dancers, and have uploaded videos to Google Drive to inspire their students. Both instructors have stressed the importance of using dance and other healthy measures to maintain a positive attitude throughout these uncertain times.
As Dance and other arts and sports lost key physical access to the student learners, we would like to acknowledge Mrs. Fratzke, Miss Auti, and all LBHS educators who are getting creative and finding the silver linings despite the obvious disappointments of our current system.
Overall, we are all thankful for Mrs. Fratzke to be our dance coach as well as a great mentor for life in general! We can’t wait to see you again Mrs. Fratzke, and meet baby Calvin!