Blog
What I Really Teach as a Dance Educator …
What people *think* I teach as a dance educator ... Ok dance teachers, raise your hand if...
Dance Team Bonding Strategies and Activities
Why is team bonding important for dance teams and companies? Have you ever watched a dance...
Guest Blog Post ~ Oblique Strategies: Breaking Through Creative Blocks
I am thrilled to introduce The Holistic Dance Teacher Guest Blog Series! In the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and be inspired by incredible dance teachers, choreographers, and professionals working in different parts of the dance field. Through this blog series, I will be introducing many of them to you! The artists and educators in this series all align with The Holistic Dance Teacher Approach, and I think you’ll find their contributions interesting and helpful for your own teaching and creative practices.
Our first guest blog post author is Angela Sigley Grossman, a dance artist based in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and Associate Professor of Dance at our shared alma matter DeSales University. I think you will want to save this post for the next time you experience choreography block or feel like you are in a creative rut!
A Letter to My Dance Students: Yes, this is hard – but that’s what makes it worth it!
Dear Dance Students, Hello again ... it's me, your dance teacher. I wanted to talk about something really important today. It might be a little hard to hear, but it's something that we need to discuss more openly in the dance industry. Honestly, I think will change...
How to Teach Empathy in Your Dance Class
Empathy is one of the most important skills that we can teach our dance students. It is vital for success on stage, in the dance industry, and in life outside the studio. There are many ways that we can teach empathy in your dance classes, or help our dance students become more empathetic individuals. In this blog post, I share 6 strategies for teaching empathy through dance, including movement exercises and discussion tactics. You can easily utilize these strategies in your dance lesson plans to help improve your dancers’ overall well-being through social and emotional learning.
Recommended Reading: Books for Back to Dance Season
Get set for a great new season of dance If you are a dance teacher gearing up for a new dance season, chances are you might want to implement some new practices in the dance studio. The "fresh start" of back-to-dance season allows us an opportunity to...
Four Habits for Dance Students to Start in the First Six Weeks of Class
Do you want to have a successful dance season and reach your dance goals this year? This dance blog post highlights four important habits for dance students to start in the beginning of the season. By adopting these four habits early in the season, dance students will be able to reach their dance goals and find more joy in their dancing all year long!
A Letter to My Dance Students: Every Performance is a Gift
Dear Dance Students, Hi, it's me again - Your Dance Teacher. As I am writing this, we are at the tail end of another spring performance season. Maybe you have another recital or two coming up, are preparing for a summer intensive showcase, or are gearing up for...
12 Simple but Meaningful Self-Care Practices for Dance Teachers
This blog post features 12 simple but meaningful self-care practices for dance teachers that have the power to transform our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Meaningful self-care can help reduce our risk for career-ending injuries, help prevent the stress and frustration that leads to burn out, and helps us find more joy in what we do for a living. They may not be as glamorous as a spa day, but they are important and impactful! When we practice meaningful self-care, we are better able to care for our dance students, our families, and our communities.
Recommended Reading: Books on Dance Pedagogy & Teaching Methods
Refresh your dance pedagogy and teaching methods We all get stuck in a rut with our dance teaching methods from time to time, right? It can be easy to fall into habits as a dance teacher: our favorite exercises, our go-to corrections, our usual metaphors and...
How to Give Dance Students More Effective Feedback
The challenge of giving students feedback on their dancing During my conversation with Joe Nickel and Michelle Tolson as a guest on JAM: Joe and Michelle's Dance Podcast, the topic turned to how to give feedback to our dance students. Many dance teachers have...
How to Teach Social Skills in Dance Class
Social skills are the skills we use everyday as we interact with the people around us, and our vital for success and happiness. They help use have positive interactions with those we encounter through the day, develop strong friendships, and maintain appropriate relationships with peers and authority figures. When we have strong social skills, we are able to effectively resolve conflicts, speak up for ourselves when necessary, and demonstrate empathy for others. In this blog post, I’ll share six easy ways to teach social skills in your dance classes, as well as make the case for WHY these skills are so important! You’ll find fun activities that will improve your dancers’ social skills – and possibly solve some common behavioral issues as well!
Dance Improvisation Tips and Activities for Advanced Dancers
It is increasingly important for dancers of all levels and dance styles to be skilled in dance improvisation, as it has exploded in popularity throughout the dance industry in recent years. Dancers – especially advanced students who want to have a professional career – need to be comfortable with improvisation. This blog post features tips for teaching improvisation to advanced dancers, and dance improvisation exercises to use with them in class.
Recommended Reading: Books on Choreography and Creative Practice
In this blog post, I’ve compiled a list of books on choreography, dance composition, and creative process that you can use as a resource in your own creative process or with your students. These books make great additions to your library if you are a dance composition student, novice choreographer, or experienced choreographer looking to shake up their creative practice.
Four Habits for Dance Studio Owners to Start in the First Six Weeks of Class
This blog post highlights four habits for dance studio owners to start at the beginning of the dance season. Implementing them will not only help dance studio owners get their season off to a great start, but they will also make studio life much easier during the entire year. It is important as dance studio owners that we set healthy boundaries, lay out expectations, and develop good relationships with our students, families, and teachers. When these become habits – especially habits established at the beginning of the season – they become second nature for us and our students.
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