I'm terrified of my dance teacher!! What would you do?? She's a really good techer but really mean. HELP!!

Question

My dance teacher is a really good teacher and we win lots of awards, but i'm terrified of her. She screams when someone messes up and yells and stomps her feet. She even throws shoes at ppl when we rehearse. HELP

YEah, i know. I can't quit becuz i've been dancing there for almost all my life. She never threw a shoe at me but she threw a lot at my friends. Ya'll don't understand, i see her 5 days a week and once, a girl that danced at my studio quit and my teacher got really mad and made the girls mom cry. So.... my mom doesn't want 2 switch teachers. I just can't look at her at a different point of view. Cause she doesn't have 1.

Answer 1

Some people are difficult, but you still have to work with them. If you look at it - yelling and stomping is just noise. It can't harm you. Our natural reaction is to be scared because when we were cavemen in a forest a lot of noise usually preceded a physical attack. Thus we learned to react to it with fear. But with humans it's different: they yell when they feel powerless to change things. If she's yelling it's almost like crying in frustration. She won't attack you. She's just trying to very hard to teach you. She probably won't change. It is sure noisy, but she's trying to convey something useful. As for shoe throwing - most likely, she'll miss.
I can share my "mental filter" with you. I developed it from working with impossibly difficult partners who yell at the drop of a hat. Only listen to the contents, not to the form. Don't take the yelling part personally. People are different, not always in a good way, and they express themselves differently. For you, maybe, a slight raise in the tone of voice is already a sign of dissatisfaction. For her, the same thing is expressed with a lot more intensity. Just remember, yelling is just a lot of noise, noise can't harm you.

Answer 2

i think you should try private lessons with a different teacher or maybe you should attend another studio. i know how you feel. my last teacher made me real nervous and it came to a point where i had to find another solution. i wasn't going anywhere. then i started attending this other studio and i have started pointe. during class, take deep breaths and remain calm. talk to your mom about trying a new system and if she says no to any suggestion, then try your hardest, every one messes up in their life time as a dancer, she needs to understand that. you can't be perfect. remain calm during your classes and then when you come home scream really loud into your pillow. i hope i helped in some way, and i hope you find a solution. good luck, and the best of wishes.

Answer 3

If you are terrified of her, you're not going to learn very much because your going to be focused on being terrified.
Even though she has a lot to offer...it seems like it wont help you.
There are plenty of good dance teachers around so go look at some new teachers that you will really be able to focus in class with.
:)

Answer 4

It is a rather frustrating thing to be a teacher, especially when you come across students who have lots of potential and yet wasting their lives away. I know she might be mean but i doubt that she intended to be in the first place. Maybe she just needs to feel a bit more appreciated. If you do not like the way she treats you, try staying back and telling her how you feel. If you do not wish to confront her, then buy her an appreciation card or write her a letter explaining how you feel. you will see that she is not such a monster after all. I have some students that i know believe that i hate them but honestly i love them to death. I am just at a loss as to how to reach them and it gets so frustrating that i do find myself shouting at them. I know it is not the best thing to do but I really hate that they cannot see what i see in them. they are really smart but they allow their friends and others to make them believe otherwise. all the best

Answer 5

I'm no dancer but your teacher sounds exactly like my driving instructor, who acted really childish at times but was a great instructor on the whole. If i was you, i would stand up to her and explain that her behavior is inappropriate. Its expected that teachers will get annoyed at times and each student should expect constructive criticism but throwing shoes at you is really not on. Explain your concerns, tell her to stop acting childish (in a polite way) or consider moving to a different studio.

Answer 6

No teacher should ever throw things at her students. The rest is just temperament, and either you can take it or you can't. If you can't, then you should have a heart-to-heart discussion with your parents and see about switching dance teachers. But your parents should absolutely be told about the shoe-throwing, because that's not acceptable, and it borders on abuse.

Answer 7

I have two solutions, just try your best and practice or try a different studio. It may mean that you will have to take a lot of classes at other places but finding the right one will be a very good idea!

Answer 8

Change your point of view. You obviously respect her, mentioning her awards. Try to view her as a big scary goblin, that is trying to whip you into shape. Yes, she's scary, with her green skin and sharp little teeth. Yes, she spits when she's swearing at all the other dancers. But she's there to make you perfect! Every time she throws a spear at you, it's really just a gift of encouragement. Say, "Thank you, Ma'am!" And mean it! Just don't smile, or else it straight to the cook pots with you.

Answer 9

Do everything you can to make her like you practice hard and ask questions as needed to make your routines special and use proper dance classroom etique don't cross your arms, ware a watch into class point out that class is over or ask do a certain warm up or routine. be polite and calm if it continues ask another dance teacher to talk to her about her behavior.

Answer 10

She is not mean. She seeks perfection from both herself, and her students. Dance can be very technical, and requires precision. You need to be able to hit all the moves and steps exactly, once you can achieve that, you move to the next level, and add soul, interpretation, character.

She is not mean, she just expects 100%