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Dance Buzz
Episode 3: Top 10 Rules for a Respectful and Focused Dance Class: Tips for Students and Teachers
In this episode, we break down our top 10 rules for maintaining a respectful and focused dance environment that'll have you and your fellow dancers eager to learn.
From the importance of facing the class while moving across the floor to classroom preparedness, we cover it all. Hear our insights on arriving early, bringing the right equipment, and staying present during class. We also dig into the responsibilities of both the studio and the teacher in ensuring a safe and productive learning environment, as well as when it's appropriate to introduce younger dancers to certain techniques.
But that's not all! We also share our favorite tips for teaching etiquette and respect in dance, such as always showing reverence for the teacher, classroom environment, and live musicians, when present. Plus, we discuss the importance of call and response when the teacher is speaking, and keeping students actively engaged in the learning process. Tune in for an episode packed with valuable insights for dance students and teachers alike.
Welcome back everybody. My name is Jonathan Godfrey. I'm Chelsea Godfrey and welcome to Dance Buzz. So today we're gonna be talking about etiquette classroom etiquette, masterclass etiquette and, like a little bit of convention etiquette as well. So, chelsea, what would be your number one rule that you would want students to know?
Speaker 2:Number one number one Or your first one. So we have 10 main ones here that I think we can, that I think are perfect in the sense of What I think should be taught explained.
Speaker 2:My number one Would probably be Talking like the neighbors. Like talking to your neighbors would probably be my number one thing. I think there's a time and there's a place for it. So you should never talk while the teachers talking right, which I know is like a rule we learn in school. You know they, they have now different signals to try to get everybody's attention and all that kind of stuff and dance. Sometimes Maybe that's used for younger students.
Speaker 2:I think teachers also can do a fun way, like if you're teaching younger Kids, you know like all eyes on me, like that kind of stuff, like call and response, i think sometimes can be very, very important.
Speaker 2:But that is like one of the bigger things for me, unless it's directed right. So I feel like in my personal classes when I am doing a cross-leaf or phrase work, for an example, even in my master classes, i give the phrase and then you know some people, i give them like 30 seconds to go over the phrase, maybe less, and You know I always prompt with does anybody have any questions? and sometimes the kids take the opportunity to Social and not socialize like what they had for breakfast or whatever, but they they go through the phrase work. That, to me, is just something that should definitely be taught. It's a respect thing, it's it's almost like trying to have a conversation. I teach it like it's like I'm having a conversation with someone and then I immediately turn to someone else in the middle of my conversation and talk to somebody else. So that would probably be mine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i agree on this. It's the chit chat kind of on the sides of the room, like you said, mostly when you're going across the floor.
Speaker 2:That's when those Tangent conversations, i think, start to happen with the, the dancers right, which I believe leads to number two, which would be When you're going across the floor. It sometimes becomes more challenging from a teacher perspective to keep focus and Make sure that kids are not doing that chit chatting on the side. That is also something that Leads to the number two, which is backs facing the dancers. So if you're going across the floor, your back should never be turned away from the class one, because you can learn so much from Absolutely watching.
Speaker 2:You're learning what people's strengths are, what people are doing, so so well, how to apply those. If someone makes an error, you say, okay, i'm not going to make that error and I'm going to take that as a learning step.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, i mean building off of that. I think when the back's returned specifically across the floor talking about here. I know in my personal classes sometimes I have to make adjustments to my across-the-floor phrases. Meet across the floor and I don't want to turn the music off, stop the flow class. So I'll just say, or I'll you know, say a gesture with my hands or whatever, we're gonna cut this part, we're gonna add this in and if your back is turned you're missing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's nothing that Disappoints me more. I think that when people are going across the floor and they don't know what the phrase is and, like I, am a very observant teacher, so I'm not only watching the kids that are moving across the floor, but I'm also watching the kids on the sides 100% yeah and I can definitely say that I'm sure that the convention teachers are doing the exact same thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i think that's a big audition thing. If you're an audition and you're standing on the sides and not giving your full attention, as a teacher and as choreographer, i don't want to necessarily work with you because I want somebody who's gonna give me their full attention while they're there.
Speaker 2:Well, and I feel like, even in an audition setting, like most time, like the mindset is oh, this is an audition, so my focus point will be better.
Speaker 1:But just train that focus no, absolutely.
Speaker 2:But if you, if you think about it like how much, how much your Disengagement you're allowing, like if you do it something consistently, how much disengagement you're allowing to your classes and how much you're losing, yeah time. So I think that would be my number two backs to backs of the class, right, and it's rude.
Speaker 1:Definitely, which I think then can then kind of lead into Just turning your back on the teacher. In general. I mean, matt, bad habits definitely have a tendency to build, i feel and I think we as teachers know that so well from Technical habits where if you have one technical habit, if you consistently do that, it's gonna start to turn into a different technical habit. That's bad as well.
Speaker 2:So One bad habits gonna lead into another, unfortunately sure, which I think, john, if I know you The best, i think I know what your number one is going to be, but maybe say it for everybody else.
Speaker 1:My number one is definitely don't arrive late be on time. On time is late actually, yeah being on time is late and early is on time. Mm-hmm, it's one of my biggest pet peeves, you know, and more so than anything else. I just feel it doesn't show you're fully committed to it. If you know, my class starts at, say, four o'clock and you're rolling in at 401. I'm just like you couldn't have made that extra two-minute effort to even arrive at 359.
Speaker 1:It's just which is still late, which is still late for me because I think dancers need ten minutes. I think ten minutes is a good time to show up early, get yourself warmed up and mentally prepared and when I say that I don't mean sitting there on your phone scrolling tick-tock and, you know, texting your friends like you need to kind of get there and get yourself in the zone, be prepared for the day of the class.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i don't mean to jump in. You know, sometimes I understand like we have students, like we're here on the east coast and our schools run Later than a lot of other schools on different coasts. So for our program we have to, we start at four o'clock, which is sometimes is Is it's difficult for some students for some students for sure. So they may be getting there a little bit, like They might be getting there like closer to four o'clock sure a little heads up.
Speaker 1:I always think heads up is great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but like, um, like, What 401 is a like, exactly, this is two minutes. You couldn't have come like two minutes earlier?
Speaker 1:So you could have come into the class and have just been like ready, even though really five to ten minutes would be a lot a lot better, for sure, and I think that Going off of that if, for whatever reason, you do have to be late, giving the studio heads up, is great. I think it shows a sign of respect. You know I mean if preferably through email definitely through email.
Speaker 1:Unless you have a different set up with your studio and your studio likes a text message or you know, a Instagram DM or whatever The case may be, whatever your studio prefers. But I know, like, if I'm running late to an appointment, like, shoot them a text, give them a call, just be like, or however They're perfued, you know I'm gonna be a few minutes late, i apologize And then for me, when the dancer does arrive late and I'm in the middle of class, wait.
Speaker 1:Yeah don't just come into the class. You should be waiting to for that. Yeah, waiting for that teacher to invite, invite except you into the class Again, just out of respect. and yeah, when you do get invited in, don't go and be like you know, i'm sorry, i had this and this and like, don't take up the rest of the class's time giving you our story, just coming to be like I'm sorry I and leave it and then move on into the class.
Speaker 2:And depending also when you're coming into the class, like if you're 10 minutes late, which like I feel like at that point really, as a studio owner or a teacher, you really should kind of just be like depending on their situation, like if you weren't aware, i would probably say also depending on how long class is, but like, like if it's a 45 minute class or even a 30 minute class, like you've already cut into a big fraction of that class.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you're taking a 45 minute class and you show up 15 minutes late, a third of that class is gone.
Speaker 2:Right, which is your warmup. So I don't think it's safe at all. You can't just walk in late and then could jump into your splits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and start moving across the floor. It's just, you're gonna become injured.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly, and even like, even though our ballet classes are like I know, like you know, john is, you know, one of our ballet teachers here and he would never let someone come in 10 minutes late. But if you do allow your student to come in 10 minutes late, they shouldn't be starting at indigij, they should be starting their ballet class reset at. Whatever the start of your classes, whether it's ankles, ankle press throughs, leg swings, plie is however, you start your ballet class.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I've had dancers definitely be like I'm gonna arrive a little bit late today. They'll give me a heads up, You know, maybe they messaged me ahead of time just saying I'm running a few minutes behind today. I have to stay after school, whatever the case may be, And they come in and let's say they're 10 minutes late to ballet. By that point, you know I'm in either still working on Tandu's first, Tandu's fifth, whatever the case may be but they have to go back and do their plies. They have to get their body warmed up. There's a reason warmups exist, You know. It's for the safety of the dancers taking class. It's to prepare ourselves for the remainder of class. So, like Chelsea said, you can't just come in and immediately jump into whatever comes or whatever you're on at that particular moment.
Speaker 2:Right, And while I'm sure we could talk forever about why being on time is extremely important, i think, with being on time, being prepared for class and having what you need, 100%. You know, sometimes when you're rushing to class, it makes it a lot harder to be prepared, right, because now you're taking the time to get everything that you need. And even if you are showing up on time or early, right, or whatever that means to that studio, do you have the correct shoes? Do you have the correct equipment? I know for us, when we go out and we teach, we require certain equipment to teach our method, essentially the way we have structured.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we have a method that we teach, which we use equipment. It was blocks and different resistance bands And summer's coming up. So as we move into summer we do a lot more I guess touring would be the best word where we go, when we visit different studios and we teach our method And we work with their students. We work with their teachers And before we go we send out a list that says we're gonna need your dancers will need this equipment And one of my pet peeves is showing up and they don't have it.
Speaker 2:They don't have it. It does die, like when people don't have their equipment. You know, sometimes we bring our own. You know, sometimes studios just can't do it. But it's really like we can't travel with blocks, really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, especially on an airplane Take up way too much space, you know so.
Speaker 2:And now we know that our band's going through a.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're getting on a plane you're careful of any like resistance bands, some of the security's wanting to check them out. We were traveling one time on a plane and we had a suitcase full of our multi-loop stretch bands, red bands and their fabric bands, and we went through TSA and the bag-out flag, which I figured it was originally, but the guy had to literally check every single one. It was like 50,.
Speaker 2:It was like 50 multi-loop stretch bands. It was fine though. I mean, they're doing their job, so it's fine. But it's just to say that we technically can't always be traveling with that kind of equipment. So if you're going to be bringing in a class, you know, just be prepared with the correct equipment and that, whether that's on the studio owner, the teacher or the child and parent, just to be aware of that. You know, when we have kids come to our studio, we have ample stuff obviously.
Speaker 1:Well, we're able to store the equipment you know.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But I do think the airport story is a great example of arriving on time, being prepared I mean it's going hand in hand of make sure you give yourself enough time to get where you're going, and we know that issues arise, so you kind of have to be prepared for them. So, yeah, i mean even bringing shoes. It would be like going to a baseball practice and you don't have a bat Right, right, right. You're going to use your hand to hit the ball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, you know you need to come prepared for the class you're about to take, So as we move into the summer Yeah, or even sorry, I don't want to cut you off, john.
Speaker 2:But even like dance shoes, like if you're supposed to be wearing a pair of jazz shoes right, which I know you're very meticulous about but if you don't have your right shoe, it's exactly like that, like you wouldn't go to soccer without your cleats and your shin guards, because that's just not how you practice or that's not how you're going to perform in your game. So why would you do that for your practice and your scrimmage?
Speaker 1:100%.
Speaker 2:And I think we just need to take a little bit more focus on that.
Speaker 1:Accountability as well for that.
Speaker 2:Yes, which I'm sure we've talked about, definitely accountability, but that would be, you know, one of the next ones on the list, i think would be be prepared for your class Yeah. So moving forward, I think.
Speaker 1:I think we could dive into the classroom a little bit more here. Sure, and one thing that I see sometimes is sitting, and I just don't understand it.
Speaker 2:Well.
Speaker 1:I just don't get it Sitting in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think this is an age thing And I think it depends on how you target what age you have. If you are of a certain age, i would really honestly say, like 10 and up, you should not be sitting in class unless you're directed to.
Speaker 1:Of course I'm not talking. you can never not sit, you know. But exactly if we're going across the floor and the teacher stops to correct people, Your first response on the side should not be to sit down.
Speaker 2:No, of course, to sit, or even which. I know this is really tedious, but even like leaning against the wall 100%. Leaning against a bar, just leaning Like you should always be forward and open to learning. Present, attentive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't sit Even, i would say, with younger dancers. but in this particular point, the responsibility falls on the teacher and the studio owner.
Speaker 1:Because, if they're doing it for us and we're coming in as outside choreographers or guest teachers, you know they're doing it in the regular classes. So I think it does fall in the responsibility of the studio and the teacher just to be like, you know, and sometimes maybe you're uncomfortable calling out that student to correct them, but it's our jobs as teachers to prepare these students for past the studio. Yeah, any and all circumstances.
Speaker 2:I think with that too in teaching, if you are gonna have a child sit, like, if you're gonna have children sit, like. I think what I do is if I'm working with students ages five and like, honestly, a lot of people group like five to 10 in classes that we teach, which I think is like a really big like five year old is not the same as a 10 year old.
Speaker 1:But people When we head out to teach workshops.
Speaker 2:Correct correct People group them that way, even though we really now we really don't start until age seven or eight, i can't remember off the top of my head, We recommend starting at eight.
Speaker 1:For our particular methodology, starting at age eight, and I get some-.
Speaker 2:Seven is okay, depending on the student.
Speaker 1:Of course and again that falls on the studio owner making the decision if that dancer is ready for the class or not, And we've taught younger kids, but those younger dancers 100% need their own class.
Speaker 2:So when we have those groupings, what I do is like I'll have half the room sit while the other room is standing, like if I'm doing something center and let's say we're just working on pirouettes, right, and I have half the room sit and the other half stand and they execute the preparation or whatever it is I'm learning I'm doing, and sitting is a form of disengagement. So it's really important that if you're going to have your children sit or your students sit, that you're really really like immediate of okay, next group stand up, other groups sit and everybody watch like turn to face each other, making sure they're not like facing any different direction. Keep them engaged in that setting.
Speaker 1:And I think that brings us back to quickly the first point or I'm sorry, yeah, the first point of chit chatting on the side. You know if you're sitting, i know personally, if I'm sitting I feel a lot more relaxed.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, i mean, when you do this with older students, like if I'm in a group, right, and like, let's say we're doing all the second turns, i'm not gonna have. Let's say, i'm teaching a class of 50 kids, i'm not gonna have all 50 kids doing all the second turns.
Speaker 2:So but with older kids you can say, okay, everybody stand off to the side. Which brings it to kind of like another point which I actually don't think we really we didn't like make technically when we were going through our points. But when you people are entering and exiting from on and off sides, you should never walk against a group. So when you, it'll quicken the class and it'll create a better structure. So if you're splitting the group in let's just say half for an example, right, if one group is on stage right and the other group is on stage left, everybody enters from stage right, they exit, or enters on and exits off the same way they and then exits on the other half and then exits off. They should never be running across the room.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it'll definitely help the flow of class continue.
Speaker 2:Even if that dancer is like standing on the other end of the of the stance floor, they should still be exiting that way because it's just gonna create more chaos and like rush through people. It's just a lot, especially, and I've learned I mean, i've always taught like that, but I really talk about that I set that structure in, even like our master classes. I say okay this group on.
Speaker 2:you guys go off And I use my hands as signals to kind of help, especially if it's not something that's actively being taught. Do I think that's an etiquette thing? Maybe not necessarily, but I think it's a good thing to help the flow of class.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a good flow of class moment, so bringing into our next point as well as the crossing of the arms. And you see it, it happens. in center it does, but on the side is really I can't stand crossed arms.
Speaker 1:So it bothers me so much, i'm gonna give it a story about this. So I was teaching at a nationals I don't know, this had to be five, six years back probably but I was teaching master classes at a particular nationals And in a ballroom of course, and there was a dancer leaning against like an exit door, leaning against the door, arms crossed, and I was dividing into groups And I said to the dancer I just said okay, are you taking class? Cause some people just come in and observe class sometimes There was a lot of people there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a convention type class And dancer was leaning against the door with the arms crossed And I simply said are you taking class? And she left the room crying.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I wasn't trying to single her out, she just looked disengaged.
Speaker 2:So I just simply asked if she was actively taking class, because, again, people come and observe class even now when we teach And it wasn't rude when you asked, you were just like genuinely asking like oh, are you taking class? Because she was a younger student So you didn't know if she should put in the group. It's like one way or the other. It would have been like if you left her out, she would have left crying. If you called her out, she left crying.
Speaker 1:Can't please everybody. So, but I feel like, yeah, sorry, i didn't mean to cut your story out, no, it's fine, but I think it's show, besides it being disrespectful, like you said earlier, it's a sign of disengagement.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we always tell our students, especially when we have master classes master teachers, like, of course, our expectations of our students are they're top like, top line, like we have.
Speaker 2:We review everything pretty much that we're saying here today, even though we actively teach that as well. So when the master classes master teachers do come in, they don't have to actually think about doing it, they just know, like this is what is expected of us, but with the arms being crossed. Instead of crossing the arms, because a lot of people are like, oh, what do I just like hold them by their sides? No, you can cross your hands behind your back, you can fold your elbows behind your back. If that's something that's like antsy, like if you feel like you need to like move your hands a certain way, you don't feel comfortable. We always say, like hands behind the back shows an open chest, which is like open to receiving feedback and whatnot, and closed means closed off to that. So the way you're, and that's in every single circumstance, If I'm having a conversation and my arms are closed, i kind of have like that to meet like that kind of like meh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i mean, i think, without even realizing it, you know, like Chelsea is saying, when you close your arms, you're kind of just closing off to feedback, you're not open to the conversation and it changes the way you take in and put out information. It doesn't come off as genuine and it doesn't. it's definitely not received in such a positive light.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm kind of going back a little bit to what we were talking about in the sense of sitting and standing and just structuring class across the floor and whatnot. I think maybe you want to dive a little bit into kids lining up on the sides and what that looks like and how we can structure in and teach Kids what to be doing in this scenario.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so the process of going across the floor, i think, is an art of its own. When my dancers get older, i don't dive into it as much. They should know by that point because we've taught them at it. You know at their younger age or their lower level, but in my I teach this in the.
Speaker 2:In the I mean in all levels, like no yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean in the beginning of the year, of, of course, we'll give a refresher course of course Yeah. Yeah, but in my younger ages I like to talk about so if I'm doing a phrase work That's two eight counts long, for instance, my next group should be starting after those two eighths and I don't want to have to sit there and count it out like five, six, every group yeah, because it takes away from me being able to correct the dancers that are on the floor.
Speaker 1:If I'm having to look Over to the side of the room be like, okay, i need my three dancers lined up. I mean that that alone is gonna take me eight counts and then counting them in, so I'm losing half of Half of the time. The current dancers are going across the floor, are missing, which means I can't correct them, which means I can't grow. So I know when we travel we make sure to bring assistance and one of their responsibilities is is to Count the dancers across the floor.
Speaker 2:If they're not doing it actively and it is a big pet peeve of mine And it's not for any other reason then I just feel I Would rather be correcting the students going across the floor to make them better, then counting somebody in and teaching them to go across the floor and I feel like if, maybe, as a Teacher, if you're finding it hard, you feel like your students aren't structuring the way, like as quickly as you want, then have set lines for them, say this is the line you're gonna be in, and if you want to rotate, who's in like closer to the mirror, who's closer to in the middle and like whatever, line leaders and things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I would. I would keep structured set lines, at least if you're having a master class, but definitely like in your regular classes.
Speaker 2:Like like not every studio Maybe, like every studio is different 100 characters that are at the studio are all gonna be different at the dancers and their personalities. So I feel like by structuring that it will help. Even if you still are having to count kids out when they're eight years old, like You know, even if you have to count them out when they're eight or nine or ten, at least your lines are set. So you, okay, everybody go across the floor and know, everybody knows where they're going. You know maybe they can change their order, but their lines are the same and then You know, i always teach the same way. After that phrase is done, the next group should be going in. I should not have to count, like in a batmah phrase. That just is a like if I'm just doing batmahs, like basic batmahs across the floor, like I should not have to be like every every every in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they should know. So I think that needs to be taught. But I think from us teaching and traveling a lot, one thing I've noticed personally that I really like is some of the studios we go to will put a teacher assistant in a younger class. Yeah, I love that and I love it because then it takes and it has nothing to do with the responsibility of it, but it goes back to me being able to focus on teaching the dancers and correcting them where that teacher assistant Who knows the students already?
Speaker 2:exactly relationship is.
Speaker 1:Guiding their students like okay, susie, five, six, seven, eight, okay Sally, you know, and kind of going through that. And I think we've started to implore that the studio a little bit as well with our Younger levels will put maybe a dancer in a higher level into the class one and a guest teacher comes in, just to, you know, give them a little help if they need it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely being like a role model or helping with that structure. I also think, again, kind of going back, it doesn't take away from the pressure, the responsibility that it puts on a leg for us, but instead because when you're coming in, you're you're a one-time teacher, sometimes right, you might come back the next year or whatever, but it's not, you're not a weekly teacher, which means like it's not necessarily our job to Demand attention.
Speaker 2:We shouldn't have to teach these etiquette rules when we go out for master classes right And I think too that if we can just just even if you have a list or if you just exactly a crash course of You know this is how you do it, and then if you're actively practicing it, the kids will start to get that natural flow. You'll have better structure in your classes, you'll become less frustrated when you're going across the floor And I think class flow was a really big thing and a successful class and a successful studio In successful dancers.
Speaker 1:So I think it'll make class a lot more enjoyable, for both the teacher and the students.
Speaker 1:Definitely makes me like when I have it, when I'm teaching my like classes, if the class flow is Where it needs to go, i like I could probably teach like well, not forever, but like I can know Yeah it's so much more enjoyable, you get so much more accomplished because you're not having to worry about those smaller etiquette things where you're like, you know, don't lean on the wall, don't cross your arms, and it makes the class so much better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and number 10, our last one, just to kind of close out today's segment. Right, am I not right?
Speaker 1:I don't think we're on 10 yet.
Speaker 2:Pretty sure we are.
Speaker 1:No, no, we got two more up there.
Speaker 2:Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 1:All right, don't cross in front of the class.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, okay, sorry, i read cross and cross arms, cross class.
Speaker 1:It's okay, but we had a little bit of an issue this year at the studio with some of our newer, younger dancers.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:The way our studio is set up. You have to go through one room to use the bathroom, the restroom, and these dancers would constantly come into the room and then cross right through the front of the class And I think it's a distraction, especially if the dancers are really young. They're typically very cute wearing like whatever, and it distracts the dancers in the class.
Speaker 2:So I try, like when the students have to go to the bathroom. this is a really big thing. But even making sure the students are going to the bathroom before class and I know that's something probably you know if you've been teaching younger kids more but teaching younger kids is actually newer to our program, so that was something that I learned quickly because I had no choice. So I really liked everybody to use the bathroom, because then it becomes a trend. And the crossing in front of the class I mean, yes, it happened with the younger kids, but also I actually see it at different kinds of events. I guess you could say Yeah, you mean like conventions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Conventions. Even I noticed it a lot when we go out and we teach our master class workshops, where the dancers are just crossing in the front and then the-. You should always loop around, Yeah loop around to the back of the class. I mean, there's a couple of reasons. One, I think it distracts the dancers who are currently going across the floor or taking class, but it also cuts the line if they're checking in the mirror to see if they're doing it correctly.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:You know. so it's really difficult, and I think this then falls into if you're taking a class where you have a live pianist or you know somebody playing live music, you shouldn't be walking in front of them, and I didn't learn that till college because I didn't have a luxury of a live-.
Speaker 2:A lot of people really won't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's difficult. I mean it's an added expense for studio owners.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like some schools.
Speaker 1:well, For sure, if you go to a Votek or a performing arts school. So if you do have class with a live, you know music Don't cross in front. and if you do duck and even my students know, you know once we start going across the floor sometimes, sometimes I'll sit on the side of the room to get a head-on view as they're traveling across the floor and as they pass me, they duck, they don't cut my line of view, like if you're standing in the back of the class, they're saying the back or even the side, when I'm sitting in the side and watching them come across.
Speaker 2:Because when I'm sitting, like if I come early to class, Yeah and I'm sitting to watch, like if you're teaching ballet I'll sit, and actually the kids. When they're going across the floor They actually give me a big opening gap correct, so you could see the class. It's so respectful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a big respect thing, yeah, which moves into another respect thing of call and response to teachers.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, how could I forget this one? This is like. This is honestly. This would probably be like next to chit chat. This would actually probably be my next biggest thing. I Can probably talk about this for a while. You know, we have all day If a teacher right, well, me and you when we teach classes right.
Speaker 1:We're very big on Teaching class and being open communication with the dancers during class.
Speaker 2:Exactly. I ask so many questions. You ask them a question, i prompt so many things and I'm like what are we doing? You know, i, sometimes I we use a dancer, right, i'm just trying to give an example using a dancer I have here. She execute it and I'll be like okay, what are they doing wrong? What are they doing Right? Okay, teach me. If I don't know anything about dance, or if I'm a beginner dancer, teach me x, y and z. And I am expecting someone to answer me Otherwise. Yeah, talking to myself, and I also feel like when you're just Teaching, like, like when you're just giving class and you're talking, you're talking. You're not allowing the kids to be involved in the teaching and growing process. It shuts them off and they get bored immediately.
Speaker 1:It brings the dancers into the loop of class. I mean, if I have a dancer ask me I'm struggling with this, for instance, my first response is typically a question. It's not an answer. I'm like, well, what do you think? I want to get feedback from them because I want them to process and think about what they're doing, not just rely on somebody else to give them information. It's taking accountability, but it's. I Have to really be conscious of what's happening During this movement with my body, and then they'll give me some response and if they're wrong I'm gonna tell them.
Speaker 2:If they're right and we like, all right, let's explore this a little bit more, let's figure this out or dive deeper into it, or, like you know, sometimes I feel like we both say, okay, i don't really love that word, and then we tell them why we don't like. Yeah you know certain kinds of words when they're describing something to be, as, and it just changes their mind.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they have to be as specific and precise as possible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm building awareness so when I'm teaching like a master class and I'm like out there, and I'm like, okay, does anybody have any questions? or, and people just stare at me with a blank face, it's just like, just say no like. Just say no like, or or.
Speaker 1:Somebody has a question there. Somebody is always going to have a question, in my opinion.
Speaker 2:Honestly, if it's okay that people don't want to ask them, because sometimes people are a little timid at first to ask them and sometimes It takes one person to ask the question, or even if I'll be like Sometimes, if nobody answers me, i'd be like do we need to see this again?
Speaker 1:And then I think sometimes that's a little bit silence, and the blank stairs then lead you into it. Like you're saying, we should do it again.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. So I think, instead of me being like sometimes I, i say do we have any questions? If nobody answers, say should we do it again? That's usually an easy one for people to answer because they feel more comfortable saying yes, i would like to see it again. Sometimes I say should my assistant do this? Do you want to watch them first? or or you guys okay. And they'll say yes, have so and so do it. Or I think we're okay. Now that I respect. But The younger ones too, like for call and response, like I'll say okay, thumbs up, like are we all good, and That's how we kind of communicate more, because the younger ones, they actually are the opposite, they love they love to talk.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they love to talk. So I think that's where we can prompt like raising hands. I I always, even in my older class, i say please, you know, raise your hand, because I Don't want the same person to answer over and over again, and I also know that when I was in school I didn't like the anxiety of someone calling me out. However, i know sometimes as well, like you do, do that.
Speaker 1:I do. Sometimes I'll put people in the spot More so if it's, it's if somebody, if I get no response.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and in our classrooms, in our personal oh, and our personal class is like I wouldn't go into a master class and put somebody on The spot. No yeah, but in our, with our own students, you know, sometimes like getting through those moments of Uncomf, like when you're not comfortable.
Speaker 1:There's such growing moments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's such growing moments It allows you to kind of really dig deep and and discuss further in that Yeah and I think this brings us to our last one here now. This is the last one.
Speaker 1:Sorry about that which has to do with the last of the class, the end of the class, and it's saying thank you For me. In my ballet classes I always do a reverence, which is a little old school I understand, and I don't think a lot of ballet teachers still do reverence, but I still constantly do a reverence every class, unless I'm like really over on time and Chelsea's like I got class to teach, you need to like leave, and I'm like but, i, always do a reverence and I I really like even every class.
Speaker 1:I mean, i see these kids three, four times a week this yeah and they come up and they say Thank you. They'll curtsy, they'll bow, they'll say thank you, thank you for class, great class, and I think it's just so respectful.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I have to say, just chiming off of this, john, i didn't mean to cut you off I This has been this year, this season for us has been a exceptional year with the class respect you know in Seven years that we've owned our business, Not just teaching like I know we've taught longer than that but just owning the business. This is the first year That kids have come up to me after a class That's not ballet and said thank you.
Speaker 1:It needs to happen in every class, whether it's a teacher that you see every week right, Exactly.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. It's like after after a, after a master class or whatever It's like. obviously it's a. it's a little bit more Expected, like I do expect to thank you when I'm teaching a master class more and I Love it because sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't know, we definitely don't always get it for sure.
Speaker 2:I mean, i think I also do like the clapping at the end of class and I'll be like okay, i'll be like thank you guys, and da, da, da, da, da. And then sometimes individual people come up to us. Yeah, and we always encourage our students, like at conventions, in convention settings go up to that teacher and Thank them for class.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i mean even at conventions. I know sometimes the teachers are running from class to class. But if you can, even in passing, just be like thank you very, very quickly, moving on, just Taking a moment to thank that teacher for their time being there, and my response Sorry, my response to the dancers and even in the weekly classes, when they say thank you is not your welcome, it's thank you as well. I'm like thank you back. No, thank you for taking the time if they were Focused my responses.
Speaker 1:Thank you back. Thank you for taking the time to be here, being focused and Giving me the respect that I'm giving you.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I just wanted to say that like kind of, like I was saying before, that I am really really grateful because I Also take a lot of time to prep my classes the same way a ballet teacher would, or whatnot to think about the process of it, and I'm grateful that my students this season are really recognizing that and it means a lot to me. So, if you're one of my students listening to this, thank you For thanking me and I thank you for Taking that time and, you know, being part of my weekly classes and whatnot. Yeah, so I think those are our top 10 There are our top 10.
Speaker 1:There's many more but, i, think those are our top 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I hope this helps with class structure and just a little bit more of what we can bring to the dance World and dance community to ensure that it's providing a place of positivity and growth and learning absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you guys. See you next time. Bye You.
