Interaction, Engagement and Isolation in Student-Teacher-Musician Relationship

If the musician is not present, in a class used to having a musician, there is a void - especially in terms of interaction and engagement with the music - suddenly the class has no one to respond to, no one who will care whether they respond to them, and especially they will not be responded to as dancers by the musician. One is responding to the musical structure and qualities (recorded) rather than connecting with the source, it is a lonely engagement with self and hearing rather than an atmosphere of interactive engagement.
The relationship with a recording is different: in this case the CD was unknown by the teacher and dictated the class inasmuch as the teacher had to devise exercises to fit the chosen musical structure. The exercise then was a self-engaged cognitive act by the teacher rather than team engagement.


What happens:
The teacher devises something with the music on his own (isolation), then tells the class (interaction), who pick it up (engagement) and then perform it to what they hear (isolation) - the teacher looking on (can be isolation), then feedback (interaction) and feedback implementation (engagement).
As opposed to the teacher giving a setting to the class, having worked it out beforehand (interaction) then the class engaging with it, then the musician playing his music and the class marking it - engagement by musician and dancers - then the students performing it to the musician playing (interaction). Goal: eliminating the isolated moments in class.
As an aside, teachers often clarify their setting while interacting with the group through demonstration so engagement (learning it) and interaction are happening straight away or are more interspersed with the isolated act of devising, or still have the class practice (engage) while checking notes to be ready to go on with interaction smoothly without an isolation break. Isolation happens when the teacher thinks settings over and others are waiting.

By having to manage the music, and by having to adapt to the limitations of the recordings and time, the teacher could not respond to the moment, to the students' needs, especially as time was being lost through CD maniplation. Responding to the moment and to students' emerging needs seems to be crucial. More to be thought about that.