In October of
1993, Ms. Joan Tennille introduced what she called “Canine
Freestyle” to the world as a new discipline in the Sport of Dogs.
Ms. Tennille’s four original choreographed Canine Freestyle
presentations were performed at The Cycle Classic in Memphis,
Tennessee. Each team’s presentation highlighted the unique and
joyful relationship between that dog and person with artistically
expressed movement illustrating mutual delight in working and
training together. The demo group included three teams having
earned OTCH titles and one novice team. Each presentation was
choreographed and focused on the dog's best attributes. The music
for teams was individually selected to focus on each dog's unique
temperament and movement behaviors when presenting before
spectators. These concepts, as conceived by Ms. Tennille in 1993,
are still the guiding tenets of today’s Canine Freestyle
Federation training, classes, and presentations at sanctioned
Titling Events around the country.
For those
original Canine Freestyle presentations, Ms. Tennille designed an
open space with no barricade of any kind; it was specified to be
40' x 50’, the ideal space for performance partners to move in and
through, a three-dimensional arena for teams to be able to clarify
the objective of this exciting new discipline. Team movement
designs were created to focus on a behavior or quality relative to
the reference positions of heel and front. Ms. Tennille's skill as
a choreographer showcased each team's training strengths with
honor and respect by illustrating their oneness as working
partners, by showcasing the expression of mutual trust between dog
and human, and by enhancing the willingness of each of the pair of
presenters to respond equally to one another in an artistic and
creative way. From the day of that first set of presentations in
Memphis, enthusiasts in the Sport of Dogs recognized that
something entirely new had been created. Ms. Tennille had brought
into being a unique discipline which could engage the spectators
in a powerful and emotional way; she had designed a venue which
would both demand and celebrate a true and creative partnership
between a dog and human team. The successes of those first two
days of demonstrations were followed by seminars in the United
States, Canada, and England along with many more requests for
demonstrations.
In 1997, Ms.
Tennille developed a training method for the sport of Canine
Freestyle incorporating three invaluable training skills, skills
which are conceptually based, lending much depth and breadth to
the sport. In her training design, which is used in today’s Canine
Freestyle Federation classes, teams train technically in movement.
Performance training in Ms. Tennille’s method focuses on artistry
to express behaviors and qualities; teams train to communicate
objectives and purpose to spectators; creative skills are honed to
combine with music as each team crafts its own personal test
(presentation). Under this training design, teams are empowered to
grow in the performance skill of artistic expression as the human
and canine partners progress creatively. The ability to maintain
spectator interest improves as teams train in performance and
choreography; Ms. Tennille had created a recipe for success.
In 1995, Ms.
Tennille co-founded the Canine Freestyle Federation as the
international organization to support and guide the new
competitive event for dog and handler teams. Through the
Federation Ms. Tennille continues to teach and share this
remarkable discipline in the Sport of Dogs. As the first President
of the Federation, she developed a training program and judging
protocols; she also designed standards of training for Federation
judges and methods for judges to maintain their skills in this new
discipline. Through Ms. Tennille’s work, a Canine Freestyle
Federation Guild program was established to promote Canine
Freestyle on local and regional levels as a training and
competitive discipline. She initiated The Learning Center which is
the Federation's online teaching program. Joan Tennille’s
ingenuity, dedication, and vision are exemplified in the Canine
Freestyle Federation of 2013. Ms. Tennille continues to be
actively involved in the discipline.
