7 Tips to improve as a dance teacher
Being a dance teacher is much more than teach how to dance.
The fact that you are a talented dancer doesn’t mean that you are a skilled teacher. As well the opposite, if you have amazing teaching skills doesn’t mean that you are an amazing dancer.
Being a dance teacher can be compared to so many other professions where you need constant upgrade.
You can be very talented naturally, but if you don’t work on your skills evolution you will stay behind comparing to the market competition.
The most important is to find your differentiation position on the market.
What is the THING you have/offer on your services that will make it different from the others?
Here you have 7 tips to improve as a dance teacher:
1- Define your mission. Why you want to teach, what is your purpose? In everything in life if we have a mission bigger than our individual needs, there is a higher chance of reaching success
2- Define your niche. Who is your customer? Range of ages, geographic area, men/women/both, interest of your customer (wants to become a professional dancer, have the dance as a B side on his/her life, dance is a weekly hobby to relax …)
3- Improve your communication. Less is more. One of the best methods at the ALC methodology is the clear communication for easy understanding by the students. Break down the technics in a progressive way for an easy and progressive understanding
4- Be flexible and adapt fast. How can you explain the same concept in many different ways? Something that may be obvious for you, can be very complex to other person. As a good teaching skill, you should have different ways of explaining the same concept in a way that your students will have from you a faster adaptation and not the opposite, expecting that the students need to be able to understand everything what you say.
5- Keep learning. Movement is transformation, if you stop learning you will stay behind. Self criticize your methods, trying to find ways to improve them. Attend other teachers lessons, search for teaching programs, record yourself in video while teaching and analyse it after.
6- Focus on the results. Like Einstein said, it is a sign of insanity if you want different results and you keep doing the same. Defining goals and dates to reach that goals will allow you to plan a strategy to get there.
7- Find those that reach the results that you want to reach and learn from them. There are people that sell results never reached by them… To find people to learn from them, you must look the results they have. If they made it, there is a high probability that they can teach you how to get there.
Learn the Rules | Master the Rules | Break the Rules
A lot of people hide, behind the excuse “I don´t have talent for that”. My dear friend, that is the BEST EXCUSE to procrastinate! Those that believe on that are safe, because “not having talent” will be the thing that allow them to feel ok to don’t move, to hide under the shadow, keeping the complainning cycle, but… he/she cannot do nothing as he/she “don’t have talent enough”
NOW
Hard work is something that will cut the excuses possibility, because if you don’t do, it is because you don’t want! There is the place that it hurts! When you realize that you are THE ONLY one that can have the decision of DOING or not!
Let us know on the comments what is your perspective. In what side of the bridge you are?
ALC Since 2005 Living to Dance & Share
Kisses & Hugs Paula & Ricardo ALC
See you soon!