7 Tips to Help Students Learn Faster
When students learn there are many benefits to dancing and fall in love with your dance studio, you’ll get new students coming in daily. While learning to dance comes naturally to some of our students, for others it takes time. During lessons, students will face choreography and movement combinations they can’t wrap their mind or body around. Here are 7 tips to give your students to encourage them on the road to becoming a better dancer faster.
- Focus: The key to learning anything new is staying focused, whether dancing, a new language, or the newest iPod. Students come into dance class with a day’s worth of thoughts circling in their head. We know some students carry these burdens more heavily than others do. Encourage students that dance is something to do for themselves, an escape from the stresses of the work day. Class is a place to have fun and learn a new skill. At the beginning of class, remind students to shake off their days and get ready to shake a leg instead. They need to be able to relax and focus to learn faster.
- Go from the general to the specific: Present dance lessons to your students as a map. They need to pass one landmark before they encounter the next. Dances have their own unique steps but many movements are universal. Drill students on getting the basics down first. Encourage them that the more difficult movements will flow easier later on, when body and mind are used to working together.
- Develop listening skills: Listening skills are valuable in every aspect of life, from friendship to networking! In dance studios, good listening skills are equally important. Students need to learn to listen with their whole body. Have them watch your body while listening to your voice. Point out the order of movements so students can feel them in their body. Students need to fix the beat of the music inside their heads. Kinesthetic students might want to move their head with the tempo, helping them internalize the rhythm.
- Get inside the movement: Students need to go beyond listening and watching to understand the mechanics of a dance. Remember that when you learned to walk as a child, it wasn’t instant, nor did your ability to learn and teach dance come instantly. We are training our students to move their bodies in new ways—that cannot be instantaneous, especially when teaching adults. Students’ bodies need to practice enough that eventually they will remember the feeling of the dance instead of thinking about each individual movement.
- Learn to learn: People all learn differently. Some students like to jump in right away and mimic the steps; others like to watch and internalize the movements. Some ask lots of questions; some like to figure out new dance steps on their own. Counting the beat aloud works for some students, while others like to feel the rhythm of the music in their fingers. Students can be unsure of what will work for them, so have your class try a little bit of all of these methods to find which one is best for them. The combination of the methods may be best for some students.
- Just stop: Sometimes the best way for a student to learn to dance is to just stop for a moment and watch. When he sees the movements his classmates and you are doing, he can see himself doing the same in his head. Don’t worry if a student needs to stop for a moment and watch. That student may need to take herself through the dance mentally, feeling the movements and rhythm. Once she has seen the whole picture, putting it into practice will be easier. (Encourage students to move to the side while watching so as to not block other dancers.)
- Never give up: Don’t let your students stop taking dance lessons! Personally connect with your students so you know who might be in danger of dropping out. Remind your class that few people are good dancers after only a few lessons, even those who go on to become great dancers later. The more we dance, the more we learn. If a student doesn’t feel she is making the progress hoped for, encourage them to talk to you after class about specific techniques to improve on.
Learning, like dancing, is a skill that takes practice. I’ve seen students become proficient ballroom dancers in six months (some in even less time). The key to learning is your encouragement as an instructor. Remind students of these seven tips and encourage them in frequent, regular practice. All of your students can learn to dance!
Teaching Students to Be Better Dance Partners
Instructors know there’s more to dancing well than just learning the steps. However, beginning students who have not had any dance training before may not realize this. Helping students to think about dance as more than just the steps is part of helping beginning students. Our current focus for the Ballroom University blog is helping students adjust to our ballroom dance classes.
One of the most important parts of being a good dancer is learning to be a good dance partner. We structure our classes to let our students learn to dance with many different partners. As mentioned in another blog post, “Encouraging Students to Change Partners in Dance Classes,” this may seems strange to students. We need to teach students that learning to dance with many partners won’t just make them better dancers; it’s also a great way to meet new people and learn how to adjust to different partners.
Beginners need advice on how to become a better partner. Here are some tips to teach all students on being a good partner:
Tips for Both Partners:
- Learn how your whole body moves, not just your feet. Notice where you hold your weight. Learn to shape your body to accommodate your partner.
- Adapt to your partner’s actions—they may lose their balance or wind up on the wrong foot.
- Try to keep your fingers together in order to avoid poking or digging your fingers into your partners back or arm.
- Don’t push or pull hard while dancing; don’t rest your body weight on your partner.
Beginners are still learning to adjust to a partner. Especially as Americans, many students are used to doing things on their own and it takes time to grow into a better partner. Here are some tips I use to teach leads and followers in my classes:
Tips for Leaders:
- The key to leading is, quite simply, to lead. Don’t push your partner around the floor, guide them.
- For less experienced followers, lead with two hands whenever possible. Don’t lead your partner through figures that are too difficult for her to do or for you to lead. Remember that we were all beginners at some point.
- In open positions, keep your joined hands at waist level of the shorter partner.
- Use your fingertips for leading turns. Learn how to execute push/pull leads (compression/tension) well. Don’t squeeze your partner’s hands and fingers tightly.
Tips for Followers:
- No one likes a backseat driver; wait for your leader to move before you move. Likewise, be involved in the dance. The leader will indicate the movement, but it’s your job to get yourself there.
- Follow the weight changes and the rise and fall of your partner since these will convey his timing.
- Support your own weight, unless the movement specifically calls for you to give your weight to your partner.
By having your students dance with many partners at different skill levels, the students have the opportunity to both share their expertise and learn from those who have been dancing longer than them. Because we know being a good dancer means being a good partner, giving students tips on how to improve their leading or following will help them to improve quicker on the dance floor and enjoy the dance more. Remember, teaching students is about helping them to feel like they’ve learned something and to enjoy the time they spend at your studio.
Answering the Question “How Many Dance Lessons Do I Need?”
Our current focus for the Ballroom University blog is posts that deal with helping beginning students adjust to ballroom dance classes. Today we will discuss a common question. I hear frequently from people inquiring about ballroom dance lessons: “How many lessons do I need to be able to know how to ballroom dance?” This question is really impossible for us to answer without knowing what the student’s specific goals are for dancing. Do they want to be better at improvising on the dance floor? Do they want to improve their posture or style?
Before we instructors are able to answer the question, we need to make an assessment of the person’s:
- Innate potential,
- Trained abilities, and
- Desired goal.
How can we assess a person in order to answer, “How many lessons do I need to be able to know how to ballroom dance?” We need to think about the following:
- Innate potential varies from person to person. We usually can’t assess innate potential until after the student has been in a classroom setting with us. Students all have different bodies, abilities and work ethics that come into play. We’ve seen students who tell us they practice everyday at home, yet still have slower progress than someone who doesn’t practice at all. The second student has innate potential.
- Trained ability depends on the student’s past experience with dancing, athletics, physical coordination and the musical arts. Again, this will vary from learner to learner. It is a good idea to ask about a student’s past training, helping us to gauge the amount of time it may take them to learn to ballroom dance.
- The desired goal of a beginner may be to simply learn how to ballroom dance. I often encourage students by letting them know that from the very first lesson at Chicago Dance, they will be dancing. Some students aim to commit the basic steps to memory and sync up their steps with the music. This goal could be met in as little as two or three lessons if the student already has physical coordination and an understanding of music.
But has a student completely learned how to ballroom dance when he or she can do 10 moves while dancing on time to the music? I think there’s something more to dancing. Dance is an art, a science and a sport. Learning to dance is more of a process than a destination. I often tell students that the question “How many ballroom dance class lessons do I need?” is the wrong one to ask. “What do I want to accomplish with dancing?” is a better question to discuss with your beginning students.
The best way to encourage students and keep them in your class is to tell beginners to commit to consistently take ballroom dancing classes for a specific period of time. This period should be determined from the student’s goals and abilities. Periodically reassesses with students their goals and progress, making sure they are getting what they want out of your dance studio. Pleased students often recommend your studio to friends and family. Dancers who love ballroom dancing in your class will always want to improve.
How do you assess students’ interest and progress in ballroom dancing? How many lessons do you usually end up recommending? Also let us know what other often forgotten parts of beginning to dance we should talk about. Share with us in the comments below!
Top 25 Benefits of Dancing
There are many benefits to dancing. Usually students come into a dance class with only a few of these benefits in mind. Below is a list of the benefits we see to dancing. Encourage students by mentioning these benefits. This will broaden students’ dancing horizons to see the many benefits of dancing! The list will also help students to focus on the benefits that will inspire them most as they set their goals for learning how to dance.
The top 25 benefits of dancing:
- Recreation and entertainment.
- Getting more fun and enjoyment out of life.
- Increased self-confidence and social ease.
- Meeting people and making new friends.
- Standing out on the dance floor.
- Making a special person happy.
- Impressing someone at a special occasion.
- Popularity.
- Relieving stress.
- Relaxation.
- Emotional or physical therapy.
- Better health.
- Increased muscular coordination.
- Better posture.
- Stamina and flexibility.
- Exercise that can be done year-round.
- Physical therapy.
- Professional dancing and exhibition.
- Fulfilling business goals, such as opening a dance studio.
- Teaching purposes.
- An outlet for self-expression.
- Acquiring more grace and poise.
- Overcoming shyness.
- Never again fearing a dance invitation.
- Breaking the monotony and boredom of routine!
Helping Students to Set Better Dance Goals
It is good for us as instructors to assess students’ goals in taking dance lessons. Goals vary from student to student and knowing their goals will help us to make our classes more student-oriented. It would be foolish to focus a class on committing many steps to memory if the class contains mostly students who just want to have fun or who have already memorized many steps. The best instructors know how to teach to their specific students and those students’ goals. It is good when talking with students about setting dance goals to remember the acronym SMART.
Students’ dance goals should be smart—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a time limit.
- Specific: What does the student want to accomplish? Have the student pick a goal, like dancing well at their daughter’s wedding. Other specific goals are being able to dance with confidence at a social dance or dance club, entering a dance competition, or dancing in a recital or showcase. You may also want to make a list of dance styles or moves your class would like to try.
- Measurable: Can you see an improvement in the student’s dancing from week to week? Month to month? Part of students’ improvement comes from their practice at home, part from getting feedback from their instructor on their dancing. Encourage students by pointing out areas where they are improving! Often, students cannot see when they have reached their own goals. Encouragement helps them want to keep dancing.
- Achievable: Can the student reach their goals? You know students won’t be winning contests after four lessons, but they should know a few steps and be able to show off at the club. Help students to set smaller goals, like being able to do heel turns consistently, rather than to set a goal like “being a great dancer.” This will help them to see more clearly when they accomplish their goals.
- Realistic: Do students want to feel confident dancing in public or to become a professional ballroom dancer? There is a big difference. Students don’t realize that professional dancers start young and devote the amount of time most people dedicate to their jobs. Encourage non-professional students to choose goals like being a good lead or follow, or reaping the long-term health benefits of being active.
- Time Limit: How much time do they have to devote to dance? The amount of time that they have will vary from student to student. Have students set specific goals: Practicing with a partner one hour per day, five days per week. Practicing right turns for five minutes everyday for three months. When goals have time limits on them, it’s easier to remember to work on them. It’s also easier to check with students if they have been practicing on something specific for a certain amount of time.
By helping students to set goals with these tips in mind, they will feel more confident in their progress. It will also be easier for you to check with your class on how they are coming along. It will encourage you as an instructor when you see students achieving their goals!
Notifying Students of What to Wear to a Dance Class
Our current focus for the Ballroom University blog is posts that deal with helping students during the adjustment of learning how to ballroom dance. After being an instructor for so long, many of us forget what it’s like to be a student and it’s helpful to give basic instructions before they enter their first ballroom dancing class.
In this blog post we’re going to talk about preparing students for what to wear to their first ballroom dance classes. Many students have never danced before and aren’t sure what to wear. We’ve seen everything from first time students wearing 6” stiletto heels and a tight-fitting dress to bulky jeans and gym shoes.
At Chicago Dance, we are pretty casual—the days of ties are long gone. But we certainly don’t encourage shorts, sandals or flip flops when learning how to ballroom dance! We need to prepare our students for their first lesson, helping them to feel more confident. This will help them to focus on their dance moves and not on what they are—or are not—wearing. We want our students to be comfortable and able to focus on the dance.
So what should we encourage men to wear to ballroom dance class? A shirt or even a t-shirt and dress trousers are the best choice for men in most ballroom dance classes. It’s helpful for some students who sweat a lot to bring a change of shirt. Regular suits and jackets are not the best for dancing. Most students won’t know that suits and jackets worn by competitors and performers are specifically cut to not bunch at the shoulders. Suggest that students lift and move their arms around to see how a jacket performs before wearing it to a dance lesson.
What should we encourage women to wear to ballroom dancing class? A flowing skirt enhances their dancer’s movement. They’ll be reminded of the clothes on the famous dance shows on TV! Suitable clothes must allow the follows to stride out. Therefore, let students know that a tight, straight skirt (such as an A-line skirt) won’t work for freedom of movement.
As we all know, shoes are the single most important item for any dancer. We instructors wear dance shoes, but that is impractical for someone who just wants to take a few lessons. Ideally, beginners should wear shoes with suede or leather soles that are not worn outside. Inform students that the shoes should be leather or smooth-soled. A pair of dress or office lace-up shoes will be fine. Talk with students about how athletic or sports shoes have too much grip and could lead to damaged knees or ankles. The more slip on the sole the better, as we always want to prevent student injury in our dance studio!
- Male students should have shoes with a 1/2″ heel, the normal shoe heel height. Some men wear a higher heel for the Latin dances. This will help your students to be a better lead if they are not tripping over their shoes.
- Female students should wear a sandal with a strap or a court shoe that fits properly. This will enable them to complete the steps in ballroom dance class that have the ladies moving backwards. Another important point is that ladies’ shoes must have a heel for ballroom dance classes.
Once students know what to wear and what not to wear to your ballroom dancing classes, they’ll feel more comfortable and graceful. This will enable them to focus better on your instructions. When and how do you talk with your students about what to wear to your studio’s ballroom dancing class? Let us know below in the comments!
Encouraging Students to Change Partners in Dance Classes
Our next few posts will deal with helping students with the adjustment to learning how to ballroom dance. After being an instructor for so long, it’s hard to remember what it’s like to be a student. It’s helpful to remember those nervous butterflies and uncertainty. Imagine being a student, entering a ballroom dance class for the first time, bringing a close friend or significant other. You and your friend plan to enjoy the evening together, learning how to ballroom dance, spending time in each other’s company. You are surprised to learn the instructor wants you to rotate partners. You object to this, feeling intimidated by the idea of new partners.
There are many reasons why our students do not want to change partners in a ballroom dance class. One reason is that extremely shy individuals find it difficult or threatening to rotate to a new unknown person. This fear usually diminishes as confidence in their dance skills increases during the ballroom dancing class. Another strong reason that couples dislike rotating is that in some religious or cultural groups, dancing with anyone but your spouse is not permitted. You may want to require established couples to check with you before they can insist on always dancing together. Have the couple remain to the sides during class, so as not to be disruptive to the other students. You can also suggest your studio’s private lessons to couples who want to dance exclusively with each other.
We as instructors have all experienced that couples who remain together while learning how to ballroom dance tend to fall behind in group learning situations. By changing partners in a ballroom dance class, we’re speeding up the learning time of our students. Allowing students to dance with an excellent partner is always a nice change of pace for them. Dancing with someone who is struggling forces students to really know their own part and gives them a small opportunity to be dance instructors themselves. Changing dance partners can also prevent students from developing bad habits.
Not only is rotating great for students, it also allows you and the other instructors to watch students reacting to different partners. This helps you to hone in on the range of ability levels in each ballroom dancing class—from students who can barely figure out which foot to move to those who expertly help their partners through the steps. Every time a student works with a new partner, you’ll see different strengths and weaknesses, helping you to know what your students all need to work on.
Here are a few ideas of what you might say to your students when requiring them to switch partners, reminding them of the benefits of switching:
- Changing partners is good for both men and women. Women improve their ability to follow by adapting to the different styles and leads of partners in a ballroom dancing class. Men develop better lead skills by recognizing that some women require more precise timing, clearer signals, or a firmer or gentler lead than others.
- When two dancers learn to dance only with each other, they do not develop the understanding of leading and following that they would when they change partners in a group ballroom dance class.
- After rotating partners, when you go back to your friend or significant other, you will be more accomplished and make an even better couple. Your knowledge of how to ballroom dance will have improved.
- By changing partners in ballroom dance class, you meet new people. Dancing is a wonderfully social activity and that involves rotating partners.
How else have you encouraged students who are reticent to dance with unfamiliar partners? Leave your comments below.