The teacher you get has a lot to do with how good of a dancer you become.  So you’ll want to find a good instructor – someone who can get you the results you want.  Anyone who’s going to teach you to dance needs to have two things:  good disposition and good training.

 

Good disposition is difficult to measure, but you’ll know it when you see it.  Someone who genuinely enjoys people, loves to teach, and has a good attitude is fun to be around.  This is a teacher who can put even the most reluctant students at ease.    And that’s probably the first thing you should look for – do I feel comfortable with this person?  Thirty-one years of perfect dance training won’t help if the teacher makes you miserable.  Unless you’re just into that kind of thing, impatient, intimidating personalities usually don’t make good dance instructors.

 

As for training, there are two sides to look at:  dance ability and teaching ability.  Dance ability sounds pretty subjective – do you think they’re a good dancer or not?  But it also has to do with their level of understanding – of the various techniques involved, of the social and historical significance of the dances, of the kinesthesiology of movement.

 

5 Questions You Can Ask To Find Out If Your Instructor Is Qualified

 

1. How long has he been teaching?  The theory says that anyone who has been doing it a long time must be good.  Maybe so – the longer they’ve taught, the more students they have probably worked with.  Just keep in mind that someone who has been teaching the wrong techniques for 100 years has still been teaching for 100 years. 

 

2.  Is that full-time or part-time?  If the teacher has been around for a while (teaching more than 6 years) this isn’t as much of an issue.  But full-time is definitely better for newer teachers (teaching 18 months or less) because they need structured training every day so that their skills improve rapidly.  In-studio training is accomplished in staff group sessions, one-on-one with senior staff, and through individual study of videos, audiotapes, and staff manuals.  Newer teachers shouldn’t stay new for long – they are constantly learning and improving, their progress closely monitored and guided by the studio manager or dance director.  Anytime they aren’t working with students they should be training and improving their own skills.

 

3.  What styles and dances does he teach?  How diverse is their expertise? There are four major styles of Ballroom dance -- American, International, Exhibition, and Theatrical – which does your teacher know?  And can he teach the dance(s) you’re interested in?

 

4.  What is the highest dance level she has been examined and certified in?  Did you know that dance teachers have exams?  Ideally, dance instructors need to be examined and certified in anything they teach.  Independent teachers are on their own about keeping up with their exams.  Franchises have examination and certification timelines their teachers are expected to follow.  Some studios do in-house exams conducted by a senior staff member for beginning levels.   Any exam beyond that is more in-depth and should be given by a qualified examiner from outside the studio.

 

5.  Has he ever competed?  For how long?  In what categories?  You may not be interested in competing yourself, but you’ll learn fast from an experienced competitor.  Competing makes better dancers and better teachers – they generally have a broader understanding of floor craft, technique, and presentation.  It’s not the only way to be good, but it helps.  You don’t have to find a world champion – they cost a lot.  Regardless of how they placed, a teacher who has competed has more experience, a higher level of training, and an obvious commitment to their own dancing.

 

 

If You Get The Wrong Teacher On Your First 5 Dance Lessons You Could End Up Frustrated, Embarrassed, And Incompetent On The Dance Floor

 

Teaching ability is another matter, and possibly the most important thing to look for.    It’s important to know that a good dancer does not automatically make a good teacher. Why? Because doing is not the same as being able to explain how to do.

It sounds obvious that someone who teaches in a dance studio knows how to dance. They know the different dances, they know the steps, they know the rhythms. They’re supposed to know all that – why else would you go to a professional dancer?  

Unfortunately, some studios hire inexperienced staff, run them through a training class and put them right on the teaching floor.  Often these "insta-teachers" are allowed to teach before they are really ready to -- they could be just a step or two ahead of you.  

Studios that do this get away with it because the newbies are usually given inexperienced students, ones who theoretically won’t know the difference.   Sometimes there’s no choice because there aren’t enough experienced teachers to go around.  If this happens to you, make sure they schedule your next visit with a more experienced teacher, or consider going somewhere else.  There are studios that thoroughly train their new staff before turning them loose on students -- don't settle for anything less. 

The other pitfall is that it’s easy to see a good dancer, be dazzled with the way they move, and think, “Wow, I want to take lessons from him!”   The real question is -- how well do they get that stuff across to others? 

 

We find that a good teacher: 

 

1.      Communicates well – it’s great to have understanding, but a teacher has to be able to transfer their understanding in ways that make sense to you;

2.      Adapts their teaching style to the student – some people are very analytical learners, some need to get the overall big picture first.  Teachers need to be able to recognize how you learn and be able to teach that way – even if it's not how they would feel comfortable learning things themselves;

3.      Breaks things down to their simplest form – a teacher has the power to make something very hard or very easy. It’s by breaking things down into manageable chunks that things become easy, so it’s important to find an instructor who can teach the details without losing sight of the overall goal;

4.      Explains things in several ways – not everyone processes information in the same way, so look for a teacher who has a variety of ways to describe the same thing;

5.      Shows sensitivity to different personality styles – some people enjoy an enthusiastic, lively lesson, while others get along better with someone a little more low-key.  A teacher who can adapt can make nearly any student comfortable;

6.      Is able to troubleshoot and fix dancing – it’s not enough to know the steps; a good teacher must also pinpoint what you’re doing wrong and know what you need to do to fix it;

7.      Gives constructive (instead of critical) corrections – you don’t want a teacher that mindlessly tells you everything is great, but you don’t want to be pummeled into the ground, either…a good teacher corrects you as often as necessary but without harshness or negativity;

8.      Recognizes different learning styles – we all use some combination of the three modalities in learning – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic – but we each have a “home base” by which we learn fastest; good teachers pick up on and teach you through your strongest modality so you can learn quickly and easily;

9.      Respects the student’s questions and concerns – you should always feel comfortable telling your teacher what isn’t working, what you have a question on,  or simply what you don’t like;

10.   Enjoys passing on what they know – teaching is a great gift requiring a lot of patience and understanding…if the teacher enjoys it, so will you;

11.   Inspires and motivates – Makes it fun!  In school most of us had the experience of that one teacher that really stood out – that helped you achieve something you thought you couldn’t do, that brought life to a subject you thought you hated, that somehow inspired you to become more than you thought you were; the best instructors often are teachers first and dancers second.

 

Just keep in mind that it’s not any one of these things alone that will tell you how good of a teacher you got.  You’ll want to put it all together with how they made you feel and what results they got for you on your first couple of lessons to really decide.

 

To make it easier, here’s our acid test:  at the end of your first lesson, ask yourself –

·          Was the lesson easier than you thought it would be? 

·          Were you able to do more than you thought you’d be able to do? 

·          And did you have a good time? 

If the answers are yes, then this is probably a good teacher for you.  Smile and enjoy your dancing!