Dance lesson is a chance for students to learn and improve their dancing skills in an enjoyable environment. Some dance lessons are taught in group classes with many students learning together and others may be private or one-to-one. It is important that tutors check what their student’s main goals are and what they expect to get out of their tutorials while making sure their lessons are engaging and fun.
Using simple but effective language to convey the spirit of the dance, rather than excessively explaining every little detail, is much appreciated by beginner students. It’s also important to avoid counting continuously during music – they can count for themselves, and it distracts from the musical experience.
Some students feel uncomfortable with close embrace in couple dancing, or sustained direct eye contact, and it’s a good idea to let them know this is normal for beginners, rather than telling them to “get over it.” Students are more likely to learn if they are comfortable and confident with their teachers.
Some students are accustomed to receiving information very quickly, and they can become impatient with long-winded explanations. Some learners need to understand the details of a dance, step or pattern, while others need to grasp the overview gestalt and are more effective when presented with both. Appeal to both types of learners by giving examples and describing the same steps in several ways. For example, you could teach a new dance step tacet (without music) before moving onto it with music, and you can also include videos in your resources to give students visual prototypes of the steps they’re learning.
