Dance Instructor Development: 8 Teaching Methods You Can Try at Your Dance Studio

Introduction

Your teaching staff is the backbone of your dance studio! As the owner, one of your main concerns is making sure you – and your instructors - are providing high-quality teaching to all of your students. This requires not only experience amongst your teachers, but also key pedagogical skills and an openness to continue learning amongst them.

In this guide, we’ll discuss eight approaches you can take with your staff to help hone their teaching skills and take them to the next level.

We’ll cover topics such as lesson planning, teaching techniques for different generations, communication skills for feedback and praise, and how to assist your staff with ongoing professional development. By sharing these teaching methods with your staff and putting them into action, you will ensure that your studio will thrive.

So, let’s put on our dancing shoes and get into the swing of things!

Coaching for the Ages: Generation-Appropriate Approaches

We all know the meme-worthy caricatures of millennials, gen z and baby boomers...

But have you ever considered using what we know about the different generations to help enhance the way you and your instructors coach at your dance studio?

Reviewing with staff how differences between generations affect the way individuals learn is a crucial step as it can affect how dancers engage, retain and apply new movements. In addition, exploring how emerging generations learn might just give them a unique edge that really brings the experience dancers have at your studio to the next level. Keep in mind:

Generation Z (born between 1997 & 2010) has an affinity for social media and technology, a desire for authenticity and inclusivity, and they prefer collaborative and interactive learning experiences.

Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) also has a proficiency with technology and social media, but they are known to crave instant gratification, are results-driven and prefer personalized learning experiences.

Something for Everyone: In-Class Engagement

As an experienced teacher as well as dance studio owner, you know that keeping dance students engaged during classes can be challenging. Whether they are young children, teenagers, or even fun-loving adults, here are some unique tips to help keep your dance students engaged during classes and for the whole session:

Get creative: Bring in unexpected props for dance students to experiment with to add a fun unpredictable element.
Encourage healthy competition: Host dance battles or show-and-tell sessions to inspire and encourage students to display their skills.
Go viral: Try teaching TikTok trends during warm up and then post them online (with parent permission for minors) to see what happens!
Use the screen to your advantage: Take videos of yourself to show your class movements at different angles or record your students on their phones so they can review their own work and practice individually.
Get the students involved: Let them choose or vote on the routine’s music or suggest some choreography, this gives the entire class ownership of the results.

Progressive Teaching: First Steps to Recitals

Another approach to teaching dance that you can share with your instructors is to plan lessons and teaching techniques as building blocks towards dance competitions or end of year show.

At the beginning, you can encourage your instructors to focus on helping students build foundational skills, such as posture and technique, while gradually increasing the difficulty level. As the recital approaches, instructors can incorporate more complexity into the routines as well as teach tricks to improve performance quality, stage presence, and expression.

The progressive teaching approach benefits the students at your dance studio by:

Helping them feel challenged but not overwhelmed
Allowing students who are new to dance catch up on basic skills
Building their confidence by creating small & achievable goals

By the time recitals and competition season comes around each individual dancer at your dance studio will have the confidence to shine and give an exceptional performance.

A+ Anatomy: Teaching Body Awareness

Teaching body awareness in dance is essential because it helps dancers develop a deeper understanding of their bodies and how they move. By making sure your dance instructors are teaching body awareness as part of their curriculum, dancers at your studio will learn to recognize and control their movements, which will help them enhance their technique and performance quality. It also helps prevent injury by teaching dancers how to move in a safe way.

Body scan: Have students lie down and bring their attention to each part of their body, starting from their toes to the crown of their head.
Mirror work: Ask students to stand in front of a mirror and observe their body posture and alignment.
Isolation exercises: Encourage students to focus on moving one body part at a time, such as the arms, legs, or hips.
Improvisation: Allow students to explore their bodies through spontaneous movement, encouraging them to listen to their inner sensations.
Partner work: Have students work in pairs to practice mirroring each other's movements.

The Great Balancing Act: Managing Feedback & Praise

As a dance studio owner, it’s always good to go over how you want your staff to give feedback and reinforce the importance of encouraging praise. In addition, constructive feedback helps students improve their technique and form, while praise builds their confidence and motivation. Here are some examples of constructive feedback and praise that can be incorporated into dance classes:

Examples of constructive feedback:

"Your turns are great, but I noticed that you're not fully pointing your toes during the rotations. Try to focus on keeping your feet flexed until the end of the turn for a cleaner finish."
"Your posture needs some work. Try to lengthen your neck and engage your core muscles to maintain a strong and upright posture throughout the routine."

Examples of praise:

"Your dedication and hard work are paying off! Your technique and precision have improved so much since the last class."
"Your performance was outstanding! Your facial expressions and stage presence were captivating, and you really brought the routine to life."

Classics vs. Click-bait: New Trends and TikTok Dances

Every dance studio has a unique approach to the art that comes from the creative direction of you, the owner, as well as the ensemble of your staff.

While it's important to teach the foundational techniques and principles that underpin all forms of dance, it's equally important to keep up with current trends.

This helps younger generations connect what they are learning with you to their everyday lives. With that in mind, here are 4 ways you can encourage your staff to use TikTok dances and other online trends to their advantage while teaching:

Try using a popular TikTok dance as a source of inspiration for a dance routine.
Leverage the dance studio Instagram page to post short tutorials for students.
Have your class learn a TikTok dance challenge as part of a warmup activity.
Share progress on your class's routines (with parent permission) so students can show friends and family what they’ve been working on.

Create a Community: Team Support & Development

As a dance studio owner, you can leverage your staff's knowledge and experience to help develop the skills and abilities of the entire team of teachers. For example, organizing training sessions and workshops led by experienced team members can further develop the skills of newer teachers.

Investing time in team collaboration and development has the following potential benefits for your studio:

Mentor/mentee relationships: Sharing knowledge and experience leads fulfillment when experienced instructors get to share their knowledge and less-experienced instructors feel they have support.
Consistent teaching: Working on lesson plans and curriculum together helps ensure a well-rounded and comprehensive dance education for students.
Increased creativity: Collaborating on projects and performances allows for the exchange of ideas and creativity, resulting in innovative and engaging dance productions.
Employee retention: Building a supportive network of fellow instructors fosters a sense of community and belonging, which can lead to increased job satisfaction.

Post-Pandemic Behaviors & How to Adapt

As we readjust back to our regular activities, you can play a critical role in helping your dance teachers adapt to post-pandemic behaviors in their students. This applies particularly to the youngest students, who have experienced some formative years in reduced and limited social environments. You can encourage teachers to be flexible and creative in their teaching approaches to accommodate students who may be dealing with pandemic-related stress or anxiety.

Here are some examples you can share with them:

Offer students alternate individual activities, such as drawing, if they are struggling with the group activity.
Consider being flexible in grouping different ages together for recreational classes so that siblings can be part of the same routine.
Approach the child’s parent to get their input on what might make their child more comfortable.
Break the class into smaller groups or in pairs so children can get to know each other in a more intimate setting.

It’s time for you to give it a whirl!

To wrap it all up, making sure your dance instructors continue to develop and hone their teaching skills is vital for ensuring that your dance studio is making an impact with students and a sure way to continue growing as a business.

Great teachers attract returning students, create superior routines and foster community at your dance studio, all extremely important aspects to creating a business that thrives!

We know that as a dance studio owner, you wear so many different hats and play many different roles. By exploring these approaches to teaching dance with your staff, you can be confident that they are the best teachers they can be!

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