Tomorrow I'll start teaching a 15 year old Japanese ballerina German!
The young lady in question is preparing for a ballet exam that will be conducted in German. If she passes, she will be able to go to Germany to study ballet full time.
I met her and her mother for an interview last week, and as is often the case with teenage ballet dancers, they come across much more mature and focused than the typical specimen of their age group. I also got the impression that she is familiar with basic German even though I was assured that she was a complete beginner!
She needs to understand ballet class instructions in German as well as more general language that she is likely to need at a German ballet school.
As you might guess, I am not an expert either in the practice or in the theory of ballet, but on the plus side, my daughter went to ballet classes and performed in several recitals from the age of six until she was eighteen. It so happened that a 15 or 16 year old ballerina at her ballet school went to Germany to attend a ballet school and is now a professional ballerina. So that gives me a feeling of familiarity with the scenario that I find myself involved in.
I have created a new section on my German language study blog especially for Japanese ballerinas. Next, I created the first lesson and printed off the material for tomorrow's class.
However, having met the student, I am not convinced that there is enough material for the 50 minute session, so I'm going to create a list of useful phrases for ballerinas who study ballet in Germany and post it on the blog.
Here's the link to the first lesson:
https://german.siterubix.com/deutsch-fur-ballettschulerinnen-1-eine-neue-schulerin-stellt-sich-vor/
If all goes well, this could be a nice little niche market!
Wünsch mir Glück! (Wish me luck!)
Cheers!
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus