GEORGE NEWS - Over the weekend of 22 and 23 July candidate dance teachers from all over South Africa gathered at the George Sports Club for the first Open Distance Learning (ODL) Dance Teachers examination.
The candidate teachers, who had worked tirelessly for almost 18 months with dance technician Randall Raubenheimer, might not have had the opportunity to take the examination if it hadn't been for Raubenheimer's ingenuity and hard work.
With the official examining body being the United Kingdom Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dance (UKA), it is a very expensive process to attain a dance teacher's qualification in South Africa as candidates either have to travel to the UK or bring examiners from the UK to South Africa.
Raubenheimer took initiative about a year ago and started the ODL project, which facilitates the examination through streaming video clips of the students doing their steps to the UK-based examiners for assessment. This ODL model provides an access point to all to attain a degree in dance and DanceSport and will now be used worldwide.
At this examination 11 candidates from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and the Northern Cape were assessed in the genres of Ballroom and Latin dance.
Candidates had to prepare a comprehensive portfolio with evidence of their teaching ability, health and safety aspects in a studio and school environment, first aid and lesson plans. Candidates had to perform ten dances in the presence of local assessors, with the recordings being streamed to the UK examiners.
Raubenheimer and fellow dance technicians Catherine Gibbons and Christopher Bulpitt were the local assessors. The qualified teachers of dance can now be employed by government or private schools or private dance studios, or open and teach in their own studios.
Their road is also paved for them to become world class adjudicators assessing and grading dancers at competition level.
The very first group that obtained their Dance Teacher's Qualification through Open Distance Learning. Rowan Strydom, Julvirn Laws, Christopher Rafael, Allister Alexander, Donovan Forbes, Michelle Fortuin, Nikki Losper, Valencia Kannemeyer, Kay-Lee Brinkhuys, Robyn Alexander, Candice Rafael and Randall Raubenheimer, facilitator and project coordinator.
DanceSport South Africa General Secretary, Lily Ford, commended Raubenheimer for his initiative and perseverance in realising his idea. DanceSport South Africa and Randall's Dance Studio are grateful to businesses and individuals who came on board to realise the ODL project.
The Redberry Strawberry Farm, King Fisher Restaurant, Berrytree Cottage, the Purple Pig Inn, Riaan Belelie Accounting and Tax Service and François Ferreira were the main sponsors of the project.
ARTICLE: BRÜMILDA SWARTBOOI, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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