What are some teaching tips for a new dance teacher like myself?

Answer 1

Be patient. You may know the moves very well. but the students are just learning them. Put yourself in their shoes.

Answer 2

I have a degree in education and also teach dance. My guess is that you are probably a natural at dance. The first thing you should keep in mind is that many people are not. In fact, many people are not at all musically inclined, and cannot even pick out the beat in a song or follow along with the rhythm. I don't know what sort of a mix of people you are expecting in your classes, but if it ends up being a mix of all levels and ages of people (which is likely), you will be challenged to keep a balance in the class between teaching those who have no natural dance ability or experience all the way to those who have natural ability and a lot of experience. Spend too much time on very simple basics and your more experienced and/or talented dancers will get bored. Go too fast or cover steps that are too complex and your beginners will get frustrated. Aim somewhere for the middle, then set aside time to work with people individually or in small groups. Enlist people who already know the dance or who quickly "get it" to help others. Ask for feedback from your students in a general way, such as "Would you like me to go over that step again?" Be very aware not to embarass anyone who is not getting it. Some people have worked up a lot of courage just to come to the class. Never say to anyone specific, in front of the class, "You don't seem to be getting that. Let me show you again." Give genuine praise often to the class. Remind them that it is natural to make a lot of mistakes, and be sure to tell them that you make mistakes dancing from time to time, even though you are the teacher! Remind them that dancing should be fun. Laugh and joke a lot. Laugh at yourself when you blow it - let them know! After each class, ask yourself what you could do better, and do it next time. Monitor your classes, and decide if you need to split classes into beginner, intermediate, advanced so you don't lose anyone to boredom or frustration (as I talked about earlier). Make your teaching interactive. Ask students what they want to learn, review, etc. Let them know you appreciate them. I have a ton of ideas but this just covers some of the basics. Teaching should be a flexible, ongoing, interactive process. And remember, a teacher never quits being a student, either. P.S. - buy a t-shirt like mine that says "Dance Like No One is Watching". That is my mantra!

Answer 3

You must be in control of your students. Don't let them walk all over you and don't try to be their friend. You are their teacher. I don't know how old the students you are teaching, but I teach a lot of little ones and the most important thing to remember is be organized. Have all your music out already, so you don't have to search for that one song. Plan out your classes with extra exercises in case you have extra time. Have fun and your students will have fun too!

Answer 4

i'm 15 and ha ve been doing dance since i was three so i've had my share of da nce teachers! as someone said above me be patient #1 thing!
heres some more:
* show the dancers how to do the stuff! i had a tap teacher once who would tell us the step,let us listen to it on a tap, and read it out of the book, then expect us to do it immediatly it didn't work no one knew what they were doing and it ended up taking half of the class time to do one thing. then once someone got it they SHOWED everyone else how to do it and everyone could and the remebered it too!

* make ballet fun! use ballet music but maybe not the super classical stuff sooo boring!

* be nice don't be grumpy

* BE ORGANIZED!

hope i helped good luck!

Answer 5

Be sure to turn around frequently so that people can see what you're doing from "their" point of view (not backwards.)

And try to give people alternatives to really tricky steps if they just can't get it--the point is to have fun, and some people will just never get tricky steps, or need a little extra time. Work out something they can do with their feet when they can't get the steps just right.

Try to make even the total spazzes feel included--it might take some people a while to get the moves, and you don't want them to get frustrated in the process.

Answer 6

Let your students have fun and let loose but dont let them get out of hand...after all, dancing is fun but sometimes structured!