Dance Teacher Pro Podcast

Summer is coming, so does it seem like you shouldn't be worried? It's okay. The transition into summer for dance teachers is more than just more sunshine. You are finishing up your season, want the best end of your for your students, and are entering a summer that is likely a different routine than the academic year. It is very reasonable to have some worry and anxiety this time of year, so in this episode I'll chat about it and remind ourselves (because I need the reminder, too) to keep it in check.

Have you prepared your students for recital - beyond the dance? In this episode we will go over 7 topics you can discuss with your students to get them ready for recital.  As teachers, we can take for granted all the things we know about what goes into performing. So take a moment and review some details, especially for your newbies. They will be more confident coming to recital and be more successful:) Enjoy your classes!

Now that your dance is done, do you need new ways to keep running it over and over? Need a new idea?  In this episode, I share my top 5 fun ways to have the students rehearse the dance. It is important to find ways to keep them rehearsing, but also keeping them engaged.  Take one or all of these ideas to make running your dances more fun for your students, and you!

FINAL CALL for recital choregraphy clean up! We are doing a 5 part series so that each week you will have a quick list to review your recital dances. And you won't need to do any huge changes, but you may find a simple tweak can have a big impact on your recital dance. Each episode will give you a framework to at your choreography through the lens of the dance elements of BODY, ACTION, SPACE, TIME and ENERGY. In this episode we will explore how the element of ENERGY appears in our dances. This is a bit more of a reminder to clarify and instruct on each section of your dance then a checklist per se, but it will be super helpful. This episode will encourage you to take a look at how you use ENERGY in your recital choreography, and find ways to do simple changes to make your dance AMAZING!

Want a fresh way of looking at your recital choreography? We are doing a 5 part series so that each week you will have a quick list to review your recital dances. And you won't need to do any huge changes, but you may find a simple tweak can have a big impact on your recital dance. Each episode will give you a framework to at your choreography through the lens of the dance elements of BODY, ACTION, SPACE, TIME and ENERGY. In this episode we will explore how the element of TIME appears in our dances. Your checklist will make sure you are using a variety of tempos, rhythms, starts and stops. This episode will encourage you to take a look at how you use TIME in your recital choreography, and find ways to do simple changes to make your dance AMAZING!

Does your recital dance REALLY utilize the space? What if a simple change could really add some dynamics to your recital dance? We are doing a 5 part series so that each week you will have a quick list to review your recital dances. And you won't need to do any huge changes, but you may find a simple tweak can have a big impact on your recital dance. Each episode will give you a framework to at your choreography through the lens of the dance elements of BODY, ACTION, SPACE, TIME and ENERGY. In this episode we will explore how the element of SPACE appears in our dances. Your checklist will make sure you are using all the space you can - up and down, front to back, left to right... and all the other ways, too! This episode will encourage you to take a look at how you use SPACE in your recital choreography, and find ways to do simple changes to make your dance AMAZING!

Wish someone could come in and watch your recital choreography and give you some suggestions? Well, I can't to to your class, but I can give you a checklist so you can do it for yourself:) We are doing a 5 part series so that each week you will have a quick list to review your recital dances. And you won't need to do any huge changes, but you may find a simple tweak can have a big impact on your recital dance. Each episode will give you a framework to at your choreography through the lens of the dance elements of BODY, ACTION, SPACE, TIME and ENERGY. In this episode we will explore how the element of ACTION appears in our dances. Your checklist will make sure you are using a variety movements and vocabulary (and not forgetting about stillness). This episode will encourage you to take a look at how you use ACTION in your recital choreography, and find ways to do simple changes to make your dance AMAZING!

Looking for a simple checklist to make sure your recital dance is the best it can be? Well, here you go! We are doing a 5 part series so that each week you will have a quick list to review your recital dances. And you won't need to do any huge changes, but you may find a simple tweak can have a big impact on your recital dance. Each episode will give you a framework to at your choreography through the lens of the dance elements of BODY, ACTION, SPACE, TIME and ENERGY. In this episode we will explore how the element of BODY appears in our dances. Your checklist will make sure you are using a variety of body parts, using body shapes that make sense for your dance, and reminding your students to include their facial expressions. This episode will encourage you to take a look at how you use BODY in your recital choreography, and find ways to do simple changes to make your dance AMAZING!  

I have observed many dance teachers in my career, and there is something that stands out as a direct correlation to how effective a teacher is in a class. If a dance teacher is both proactive and reactive when they're teaching, they have successful classes. Period.  If we assume that the teachers are connecting genuinely with their students, know how to dance, can break down some steps, and know how to structure their class; then this top level way of teaching is what separates the okay teachers from the amazing teachers. In today's episode, I'll explain what I mean by being proactive and reactive as a dance teacher. And more importantly, why it is important and how it can turn you into an even more amazing teacher. 

Got a student that struggles to find or stay on beat? It happens. In today's episode we will chat about what you can incorporate in your class to help those students develop their sense of beat. It takes intention and patience, but we can help our students embody the music and find rhythm. Today we talk about ideas for students who are older and struggling. We can do a whole other episode on how to encourage the beat with your preschooler classes. For today, just listen and grab an idea or two and slowly start to purposely address finding (and keeping) the beat in your classes. Enjoy!

I was recently asked, "How do you know how many dance classes you should teach so you don't overwork yourself?"  What a great question! Today has some advise and parameters to think about.  And I'm going to start off with some very unfortunate, but very real news about your teaching journey. But don't worry, it gets better! Let's ntalk about prep time; being honest with your body, mind, and schedule; and being kind to ourselves. You got this!

Are you looking for a few ways to help your students pick up your recital choreography a little bit cleaner? A little bit quicker? Today we are going to go over a couple of ways for you to do that.  You already do a lot of great things to help your students, but hopefully you can find a new tool to add. Whether it's how you are teaching, how you give them repeition, or how you are asking them questions, there are a few tips to make it easier for your students. Enjoy your classes!

Are you looking for some easy ways to spice up your classes to keep your students more engaged? In this episode, I'll share 9 ways you can keep your classes exciting that are easy! If you did one each of the nine weeks, that's over two months worth of keeping your dancer's on their toes. AND.... Here is the download even more ideas. So exciting!  Get the Download

You likely know that people learn different styles of learning, but you might be wondering how can you reach all of those different learning in your dance class? In today's episode, let's dive into what the different learning styles are and how you can bring them into our dance classes. You will get ideas to incorporate so you know you are doing your best to reach all your students.    For today's conversation, we are going to talk about the learning styles with the acronym VARK. Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic.  And for an added bonus, we will take a look at how your students likely lean toward being procedural or possibilities oriented when learning concepts.   

Hey there, Dance Teacher. Do you ever wonder, HOW DO I TEACH THIS STEP? Because there are so many different ways to approach that question, in todays episode we are going to ask a bunch of questions to help us find multiple ways to teach the step. And let's start off with just acknowledging there's a difference between "How do I teach this step?" And "What ways can I teach this step?"  Because when we think,"How do I teach this step?" It implies that there's one way to teach a step.  And that's simply not true. There are so many different ways to teach a step. So, let's think about these questions and find some new ways to explain our steps to our students.

Hey there dance teacher. So have you ever wondered, "Like I teach dance, but how are they actually learning it? Like what's going on there? And is there a method to that and what's happening?" Well, it turns out there are definitely methods to motor skill acquisition. And typically we talk about that in the sports world or in the human development world, but we tend not to talk about it too much in the dance world, which is a bit odd because that is exactly what we do. WE TEACH MOTOR SKILLS. In today's Podcast we review a model for motor skill acquisition from Fitts and Posner. And once you consider this model, you can think about how to improve your teaching right away!

One students joins one class, a student drops in another class. It can be so frustrating! Yet it is often just a reality we can't escape. In today's episode, I share 3 mindsets to adapt when our class rolls fluctuate. Also, I'll go over some ideas to consider to address your choreography when students add or drop last minute. You are not alone in this usually irritating situation, but a mindset and action gameplan can help. Enjoy your classes!

Where do you stand, dance teacher? Literally! Considering where we stand while we teach can help us gain student focus, give you a fresh look, and shake up your class. In today's short episode, you will get ideas to think about in your next class that's just about where you stand. 

Oh My Goodness, Dance Teacher! i just watched Ariana Grande's new music video and went back to watch a Paula Abdul music video, and I am pumped up! These ladies brought fresh to me how we can use inspiration from other artists to make our own work. Plus, they are both ON FIRE! Give this podcast a listen and watch the videos and let me know if you agree with me. 

Not really feeling good, but not sick enough to call in for a sub? Been there! In today's podcast, let's make our own sub plans for those days when we want a sub but still show up. I have 10 ideas to share with you, some that you can do on the fly, a few that need a bit of prep. Your future dance teacher self will thank you for having a game plan in place for your meh day. Enjoy your classes.

Recital dances don't choreograph themselves. Sometimes, choreography just flows out of us, but sometimes we need new ideas and inspiration. In today's episode, I share the places I go to in order to keep my recital choreography fresh (and I have been doing this for a while). You will know where to look to find new and creative ideas to include in your recital dances no matter what age, style, or level you teach. Enjoy your dance classes.

Recital Choreography season is upon us! In today's episode I share 5 parts of my process for creating successful recital choreography quickly. Listen to this before you start your choreography process because I promise it will help you save time, be creative, and make memorable recital dances. These ideas will also help remedy choreography block. Enjoy!

As a dance teacher, you are a caring and consistent person in your students' lives. And that may mean there will come a time (if it hasn't already) that a student will share personal information with you. There is a lot of nuance and gray area when it comes to boundaries between dance teachers and their students, and it can feel overwhelming. This can be tricky to navigate, but hopefully some of the advice in this episode will set you up with ideas on how you want to manage those situations. Best to you!

I have a little gift for you dance teachers! Here are some affirmations for you to remind yourself throughout your journey. While I go thorugh phases of using affirmations, I do think they are a powerful tool for our mindset and help us reach our potential. Enjoy the holiday season!

Ever wonder if your students will ever remember your dance? You're not alone! In this episode, I share 5 ideas on how to encourage choreography retention. There may be no silver bullet for every class on this, but if you use some of these ideas it can only get better:) Enjoy your class!

Looking for something new to talk to your students about? In today's episode I go over 7 spots on our bodies that can get forgotten about when we teach. You can apply one or all of these little areas as focus points in your upcoming classes. Or maybe talk about one each class over the next several weeks. Or maybe just listen and apply them to your dancing and see how it feels. I hope this episode inspires you to include new language in your teaching and help your students achieve even greater success.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I am thinking about basting a turkey - which reminds me of B.A.S.T.E. That's right, the dance concepts of Body, Action, Space, Time and Energy. It is not glamorous or showy, but it is creative and expansive. In today's episode, I give a brief overview of the concepts and a few ideas on how to incorporate them in your classes. I truly believe that being familiar with our foundational concepts of dance, we become better teachers who are able to enrich our students beyond dance vocabulary.

Ever wonder why sometimes you are saying the right things to gian some control of your dance class, but it's not working? But have you checked your tone? This little thing can make a huge difference in your effectiveness in classroom management. This is a hidden struggle that we can all encounter - I know I do. So in this episode I will go over 4 of the tone issues that I see most often, but we certainly aren't limited to these 4. Listen to this episode and see what it encourages you to discover about your tone when you teach. Enjoy!

Want your dancers to achieve something beyond the dance step? Today we will talk about how to add objectives in your dance class that are more than just the steps. Want to build resiliency? Increase their musicality? Create dance enthusiasts? This episode will inspire you to take a moment to add a section in your dance class lesson plans to go after something beyond the technique.  Enjoy!

When to give feedback? How much feedback? What type of feedback? In this episode I go over the foundations of giving your dance students feedback. This is great especially if you are onthe newer side to teaching and are still working on how to get into a feedback groove. It's worth the listen, because your students need your feedback. They really do.

What is the biggest band for your buck when it comes to teaching dance???  Cues! Yep, it's that simple. Let's go over all the kinds of cues and how they can help your students. Let's go beyond the classic "5,6,7,8!"

You want your dance students to like you, right? Of course! Let's take a moment to reflect on what makes students like us. In this episode I'll let you know what student affection is about and how caring about it too much can keep them from actually "liking" you. Regardless, I know you are worthy of their affection, for sure!

They can feel intimidating, but if we have a way to structure our approach and have a mindset for success, dance parent interactions can be a really good thing! In this episode, I give you a simple formula on what to say to a parent if you need to talk about how their child is behaving in class. I hope this gives you the foundation you need to feel confident the next time you talk with a parent. Cheers!

More engagement please??? As a dance teacher, you know that the topic of engagement can go on and on and on. How do we get our students to be more engaged? That's a million dollar question! In this episode I will let you know how to assess your engagement problems, some ideas to get more from your students, and some hope:)

Get nerves when parents are watching you teach class? Perfectly understandable, but you don't want to go into your classes with too much anxiety because parents are watching. Today I hope to give you a mindset and some tips on how to attack your class with confidence (although I can't promise all the butterflies in your stomach will be gone, but most of them).

Want something to make you more effective today? Utilizing intentional reflective questions is a huge win for you and your students. Listen to get a few great questions to add at the end of class to make you the best dance teacher ever! Enjoy.

What are you doing to make this year your best dance teaching year? I will share the 3 things I'm doing this year to make this my best year yet.  I hope you either take my ideas or get inspired to create your own ideas. Enjoy!

So many dances to come up with, but so little time? Let's talk about a few ways to take choreography and repurpose it over and over again to save you time, AND help your dancers. No need to stress about coming up with new dances any longer.

What do you do in a class? Warm-up, across the floor, combo, and....???? Here is a list of activities to add to your dance class lesson plan to fill up your classes with some richness. Sometimes we just need reminders of old ideas and little sparks of new ones to create great classes. Enjoy!

First day of school! First day of school! Yay! The first day of dance class is filled with anticipation and excitement. Here is a checklist of things to do to get off on the good foot. You got this!

New year, new you? Thinking about what to write down to get ready for a new season of dance? I got you! Here are 7 things to include in a lesson plan blueprint for your classes to get you organized for ready for your class. And the blueprint gives you a great way to reflect and adjust along the way as you teach your dancers. Enjoy!

Starting off a new session of classes and wondering the best ways to lay the groundwork for best year? Today we will review some quick tips for you to build the foundation for great classroom management.