EP 48: The Magic Happens When Teachers Gather Together

What if a few small shifts in your teaching could dramatically increase student growth, confidence, and engagement? This episode introduces a groundbreaking tool designed to help dance teachers teach for transformation.

In this episode of It’s All Relative, Cara welcomes back mindset coach, dance educator, author, and former professional dancer Gina Pero for an inspiring conversation about leadership, coaching, and the future of dance education. As a featured presenter at RM Live, Gina shares insights from her groundbreaking Teaching for Transformation (TFT) Assessment, a tool designed to help dance teachers identify their strengths, uncover growth opportunities, and create a greater impact in the classroom.

Together, Cara and Gina explore how dance teacher development, student growth, mindset coaching, and transformational teaching can help educators move beyond simply teaching dance technique and begin truly transforming lives.

Cara and Gina talked about:

• The difference between teaching dance steps and teaching for transformation
• How the Teaching for Transformation (TFT) Assessment helps teachers improve their impact and effectiveness
• Why coaching skills, active listening, and teacher presence are essential in dance education
• How celebrating student growth increases confidence, motivation, and long-term retention
• The importance of in-person learning, mentorship, and professional development for dance teachers

3 Key Takeaways from Gina:

1. Small shifts in communication and teaching style can create powerful transformations in student confidence and learning.
2. Teachers grow faster when they have clear feedback, measurable goals, and practical action steps they can implement immediately.
3. Students thrive when teachers intentionally create environments that foster awareness, growth, connection, and success.

This episode is a powerful reminder that great dance teachers do more than teach technique. They create experiences that inspire growth, build confidence, and help students discover what they're truly capable of. By combining strong teaching practices with transformational coaching principles, educators can create lasting impact both inside and outside the studio.

Connect with Gina:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginajpero?utm_source=qr
Website: Www.ginapero.com
Www.5678coachingacademy.com

For Inquiries to be in touch with Gina :

https://book.ginapero.com/connection?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

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Relative Motion: https://www.instagram.com/relativemotiondance/
Youtube Relative Motion: https://www.youtube.com/@relative_motion

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to It's All Relative, the podcast where dance technique meets purpose, progress becomes visible, and passion fuels the path forward. I'm Kara Dixon, co-founder of Relative Motion, and our team is made up of professional dancers, teachers, and choreographers here to make high-level training feel doable, measurable, and exciting again. Whether you're a teacher searching for fresh cues, a dancer craving more clarity, or a studio owner chasing a bigger vision, this space is for you. Each week, we'll break down complex techniques, dive into real studio strategy, and share tools that spark transformation from the inside out. Because in this community, we train with intention, we lead with love, and we know that better dancers start with better teachers. So let's grow, let's move, and let's rise together. Because at the end of the day, it's all relative. Hi, friends, and welcome to our next episode of It's All Relative. I am super excited for this episode because I have my girl Gina back with us. And if you don't know Gina Piero, she has been with us before on a previous podcast that was actually so in-depth that we split it into two different podcasts. I loved our time together so much, and it's so funny because I was like, typically our podcasts run like 20 minutes or so. We went for like an hour because just your work is so good and your body of work is so in-depth and detailed. And then even the process we went through your book and even the process of how you like just go through life. It's so inspiring. And so if people have not seen or heard your last podcast, I want to really encourage people to go back and check that out. I will put the podcast numbers in the show notes so you can go back. But this is my girl Gina Piero. She is one of my dear friends. I am so grateful for you. Oh my goodness. And I love filling my time with people that just, you know, refresh me, inspire me, motivate me. And I feel like in so many ways, whenever we connect with each other, which we try to do regularly, it's all about just like, what are you doing? What am I doing? How can we up level it? How can we encourage each other to that next level? How can we offer more to the people that we're working to serve in our community? And how can we do it together? And so I'm gonna have Gina just jump into some things that she's working on currently, girl. I'm so excited for everyone to hear what you're doing. But also a lot of people, and I don't know how many people know or don't know this, but Gina's joining us at our live event next month, RM Live, which officially has less than a week left for people to register. It's gonna be so amazing. But Gina's offering, she's jumping in for both of our tracks, our new teachers and our alumni. There's some that are gonna be super sessions where everyone's in it together, and some are gonna be very alumni specific. And so we'll talk about that in a little bit as well. But Gina, refresh our friends about what you specialize in. There's so many things that you're amazing at between dancing, teaching, performing, and all this mindset coaching work that you do, this body of work that's so unique. So just tell us what you want to share with us about you and what you're currently doing.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Oh, this is lovely. Thank you, friend. Truly. It's so wonderful to be here. And our connection has helped continue to live our calling. And I feel like all the work that I'm doing is just it's a guidance of what I feel I'm called to do. There's just so much purpose in my previous life of what I've experienced as a dancer. And so, like bringing it all together to really create transformation, which is a subtle change where we can feel better a little bit more than we did a second ago. Like the goal feel a little bit better than we did before. So, all of you teachers listening to this, and I'm sure you're more than teachers, parents, et cetera, like thank you for showing up because teaching is one of the most extraordinary services that we get to choose. And in our dance industry, we have the pleasure of teaching ages for all the way up to 70, 80, 90, 100 years old. But I understand that in our dance studios, you know, we are teaching that most alive and changing and ever-changing age. So, what I would love to share with all of you today is I have created the first ICF dance educator coaching certification. So I will be A, bringing some of this stuff to RM Live in Orlando. Yes. Which is delightful in a month, but it is the first ICF aligned dance educator coaching program. And teachers can become dance coaches through ICF aligned core competencies and code of ethics. And ICF is International Coaching Federation, just in case you know anyone wants to further explore that. But aside that, what I'm really excited about is this Teaching for Transformation Assessment Tool that is.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Which we, I'm so pumped to dive into that. Yeah, because this is like, guys, stay with us on this podcast. This is gold. Like Gina has created this incredible assessment tool that, and we're gonna talk about this in a minute because it's unlike anything that we have in our industry. It's so special. It's gonna be so powerful. And so I can't wait. I can't wait to circle back to that. Gina, thank you for bringing that up because it's called teaching for transformation. We'll dive into it more in a little bit, but isn't that what we're all trying to do? Like, and I think like we see this on the Dance Teacher Network, we see this on every Facebook post, we see this on every Instagram reel. It's like people are trying to, and sometimes to our deficit, but people are trying to just digest all this information to become better at teaching. Like, we want to be better teachers, we want to be better mentors, we want to be better studio owners. And so we're just digesting all of this information, hoping that this one exercise is gonna one up the teaching process or this one major quote will change everything about how we show up at the studio. And so I think that the idea, what we will talk about, and like because I'm like, oh gosh, it's gold, but also the fact that you named it teaching for transformation is just so, so good. So before we circle back to that, I wanna talk about just like you and I are gonna be together in person, which lights me up because if people don't know, obviously that no one would know this, but Gina and I talk regularly. We're like, okay, girl, what are you doing Friday? Let's get on the phone, let's talk about this, let's dive in. What are you up to? How can I make this better for you? Let me see your website, let's give feedback. So we have this amazing back and forth friendship that is so great and uplifting. I'm excited because now in a month, we're together in person. And I think sometimes people forget the importance of meeting together in person. You know, everything has become so digital and we like douge this content, right? We're just like absorbing so much. But we forget that we're missing out on the actual human connection. And so this is why I tell people, hey, if you're coming to our free classes, if you're coming to our digital this or our virtual that, get in the room. If you like it when we're, you know, just plugging in for a couple of quick minutes, being in that environment, investing in the inspiration and the motivation and like all the tools that you get to be hands-on with in person. Gina, I'm pumped to see you. And I know you're like so excited also to just be part of our community for the weekend. You know, so tell me what you're most excited about because you have a lot of great sessions coming out at this event. So, what are you excited about?

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Well, I'm excited about what you just said. I love the in-person get-to-experience embodiment in real time away from things that can pull me, like laundry and phone calls and the office that we have here locally. And like, you know, things pull me from being so present with my body and my mind and my soul and what I want to learn and develop to live healthier, happier, more joyful. And again, to bring back tools that I can insert into students' lives. Like, I'm excited to learn from you and all the stuff that you're doing. I'm excited to put on my pants and my Leo that I have not done yet. But I'm really looking forward to learning and exploring what I don't know. And I'm excited to meet all of you teachers that are signed up that are ready to like dive in and fully explore ways you can help your students transform easier, more effortlessly, because truthfully, I am here to make it easier for teachers and students to learn and grow. Like, my PowerPoint isn't easy. Then I need to go back and reiterate to make it easier to land. Like, my job is to create more easefulness. So, hence the assessment, but I'm really excited to be in a community and around people that want to better their teaching skills and have a way to make it easier for their students, truthfully. Like that's very insightful for me and lovely to look at my calendar and go, you know what? Oh my God, July 16th, I'm going to Orlando and the 17 to 19, these are my days to learn, inspire, educate, grow. And then I get to come back and, you know, take those nuggets and implement them to better serve what we're here to do, our students.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Yeah, absolutely. It's gonna be so good. And, you know, it's funny because there are a lot of teacher conferences out there that are interesting because you and I have both been to them. Like we've both been to them, we've both taught at them, we've both done all the things, but it's funny because a lot of teacher conferences are set up to get just a little bit of a nugget in different, so many different elements. And so it's like a little bit of business, a little bit of technique, a little bit of mindset, a little bit of like your preschools, a little bit of accro, like a little bit of everything. And so you go through three days and you're like, you have a little bit of a lot, right? A lot of content, but just only a little bit of each state. And so to implement, you're only gonna implement partial ideas basically into what you're going, which I love that because you leave motivated, you leave inspired, you leave on fire, like, oh, these are all the things in our studio I know we can do better. And this gives me the inspiration to like kick that off, which I love, right? But so I always like to tell people our event is totally different than that because instead of leaving with a little bit of this and the that, we are a technique training event. We're gonna teach you technique. You are gonna know a soul system, you are gonna have full curriculum, you're gonna know how to go back in and instantly apply it to your put to your students, the students you have, not like, oh, okay, in general, this could apply to level one, but like really, what is your level one? And like, how do we need to apply this? And so I know you and I have talked because after we were at a conference together last year, I was like, man, the technique training that we do, it's like such a mind-body connection. But how do we take that into more of an empowerment? How can the teachers 10x their impact with the leadership and the mindset and all this work as they're also developing the technique? And how can we build this together where it doesn't feel like one more thing they have to do, like one more layer they have to add, right? And so I love how your work so seamlessly connects into our work because I feel like instead of it feeling like more and more and more, it just takes what they're already doing and it sorts it out and it gives it a system, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yep. And what I love is we can learn how to teach ballet and jazz and contemporary and tap, and we can learn how to teach the genres. My work just says, hey, here's what you already know how to do. I'm just going to assist in helping you teach the human.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Yes, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

That's it. So, how do what you know as a teacher, your signature style, how is that taken? What you do so well, and then what are some cues and some ways to show up that can make it easier for your students to learn ballet, to learn jazz, to learn technique.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

And to feel supported and encouraged as they're doing it.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Yes. And I just have to jump into this assessment we're going to bring to the event because it's what it does. The assessment real time. Amazing. I'm not going to mention like too much, but it channels.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Tell us everything that you want to tell us because this is what this is the moment that, like, look, when we were talking last week, and I was like, I want everybody at our live event to try this. What you've created is so good. And I feel, and we're going to make sure that everybody has this like one-on-one moment to really feel this, to use this, to understand how it can change it all within the studio walls. Like, tell us whatever it is you want to tell us about your assessment. Because it's gold, it's so good. When I get excited about stuff, man, I like 110 like uh get so excited. And Gina, this makes me so excited.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

So I'm calling it the TFT assessment, and it is a tool for dance teachers. And it's teaching for transformation because if we knew a simple shift where we could transform, deepen a little bit more the next day, we all would. I know it because those of us dance teaching, we are doing it for service. Like we love it, or we would not be teaching dance. We would definitely be doing something different because we just know we would. So, what I love about this tool is it can be like a 15-minute session, it could be a 20-minute session. It doesn't matter, and we'll figure that out for those teachers that are coming to the live event. It translates your class, your age group, what you're saying, and it gives you actual shifts that you can make, like literally the next day. And so bad. There's a scoring scale called Rise. And so it also tells you like where you're recognizing, where you're integrating, where you're sustaining, and then where you're actually embodying the skill. The skills it assesses on are actually ICF, International Coaching Federation, aligned ethical standards and core competencies. So those things will tell you like, where are you showing ethical standard? Where are you listening? Where are you present? Where are you communicating from heart? Where are you using the correct terminology? Where are you demonstrating ethically or sustainably in the classroom? And it will give you a timestamp of where you're doing it, and then shift, which I call feed forward, which we'll talk about at the live event, into like, here's something you can do next time immediately. So you as a dance teacher, you don't have to think, well, here's my score, here's what's assessing me. And like, well, what am I gonna do? What's the solution? It gives you it, it feeds you it. And then therefore, it's also not my opinion. It's not like, oh, this is what Gina Piro thinks. No, no, no. These are actually on, you know, specific proven methods of they're called core competencies, which are the standard of excellence. So we're raising excellence in the classroom, feeling championed, because the other thing it does is it highlights what your signature style is as a teacher. And some teachers know. And it champions you the whole time. It tells you where you're already excellent, and then it tells you where you could shift a little bit more tomorrow to create a bigger impact for that three-year-old, that four-year-old, that 10-year-old, that 15-year-old, that 18-year-old, that 25-year-old. I've used it on my subventions, you know, like I've recorded myself and you know, put put it through the assessment tools so I can be a better teacher and create a larger impact than I did the weekend before. And it's not putting me down. It's letting me know, like, here's where you're great, and here's a little tiny shift. Yes. I'm just like looking at it right here because after our interview, I get to teach a class on this. So I'm really excited. I'm so excited for you. But what I love is like it helps you recognize where you are, recognize where the growth can be, and then give you an exact step or tool to implement immediately. That is not difficult. So it's not overwhelming at all.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

It's kind of funny because I feel like as teachers, we're always trying to grow, trying to do better. But like a lot of it's guesswork. Like a lot of it can be like, I feel like the students weren't bringing enough energy today, and I feel like that made me off. Or like sometimes you walk into the classroom, you're feeling a little off. Maybe it's like a personal thing that you can't shake before you jump into that teaching zone. And so there's that moment where you're like, I feel like I didn't, you know, as a teacher, when you like really feel with other times when you're like, whatever I'm saying didn't really sit in this group on this day, and it wasn't my energy or was it the class energy? And so I feel like it's so great to have this method where you can take the system and you put your teaching right into it, and you can be like, you know, if this is the case, then the small shift can get you back. So the next time you walk into a studio and you're like, man, I really don't feel like I like the energies there are like that we're in this flow that we all like to be in as a teacher. You can think back, like, okay, not only did I have this feedback before, but the quick fix for that is this. Let me give that a shot. And then instantly we have this kind of like workaround like thing that we can do that this tool allows us to be better every time.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah, I'll give you an example. You know, like you start class and it teaches you to like have a clear agenda. You set the intention or make sure we're in our agreement. Like, here's what we're gonna do today, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, great. But at the end, come back to it so those students know that they did it. It's a sim, it's very simple, but what it does to the brain and the nervous system, what it does for your embodying a coaching mindset, which is what we're gonna talk about at your live event as well. Like, how do we embody the coaching mindset? We demonstrate the what are we demonstrating? And the tool tells you here's what you're demonstrating, and here's where you can demonstrate a little bit more so you can create obviously I keep saying this, but like a larger impact, which all that means is that your students feel happier, more joyful, they feel more confident when they leave class, they want to come back. That's an ROI for you as the teacher. Yes, studio. They feel seen, they feel loved, they feel accepted, they feel like they've grown. And the biggest piece in a child brain is that they feel A, that they're cultivating awareness, that they're like aware, and that they've grown. Facilitating student growth is one of the core comps that we'll talk about. Yes. That makes me want to come back because we're all wired to grow. We're embedded to grow, but if we don't see the growth and we don't facilitate it for our students in a way that they know that they're growing, that's when their serotonin goes down, their dopamine goes down, their oxytocin goes down, and that's where we see like that negative mindset. And even as a teacher, this is where yours brain chemicals also go down. Because then you're like, I don't know, my students liked it, maybe they didn't, I'm not seeing progression. And so this is a great way for you to just stay consistent with you empowering yourself as a teacher, you know, and with exactly what to do to keep your students in that, you know, growth um body and mindset, but also just in their confidence. It's like it's a win-win. You're gonna see faster growth. You're gonna see, you know, that you're feeling more confident as the teacher. You're going to see that how easy it is to add into what you're already doing. Yes. You're not gonna leave RM overwhelmed because the implementation pieces are included in those three days, which I love that you did, Kara. It's amazing that you've created that time to like integrate, I call it, to like integrate the work. Let's put it together in your system, let's review it. This is an added bonus that we came up with last week that we're like, you know what, we're gonna take a little bit further so they can leave with knowing exactly what they can do if they were going back and teaching on, you know, Monday after the event.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

You know, and it's so funny because I know you and I talk about this a lot, but just for our audience listening, that they're not always a fly on the wall of our conversation. So they're hearing like little bits of what we've been planning for them, which I'm excited about. But like exactly the work that you're talking about is exactly what we talk about and what we do technically. So, like what you're doing for like the mindset and the like, you know, building that teacher impact through that leadership, through that mindset work is exactly what we do technically. So I always tell teachers, like, look, every time a dancer comes into class, they need to win technically. They need to like have wins because if it's like if we're only working on these big tricks and it takes like three months to get a win, then in between that, the teacher, the dancers only get like, no, not yet. Like this needs to be fixed, that needs to be fixed. They leave for months straight with these like, and then teachers too. Like, when a dancer gets a win, a teacher gets a win. And so, like how you said, like reiterating concepts that we're working on, like with us when we go into a studio, we're like, hey, uh these are the main approaches. Apparels were the main panels on our apparel that we're working on. And this is the technique goal we have. If your mind goes anywhere else, try to draw it back to these panels and draw it back to this technique goal. And then at the end, like you're like, okay, remember, this is the goal. This is the goal. This is the goal. And so every time that they hit that goal, even if it's like an inch more of turnout or a half an inch higher releve, I'm like, look, you did it. Okay, you're feeling it. That's exactly what you want to do. That's stronger than when you came in. And they're like, they leave on fire. And then they know it's possible. And so when you're the main teacher at the studio, every time your kid leaves on fire, you leave on fire. Every time they know it's possible, you know it's possible. And so you're like, you have this partnership with the student and therefore with the family that like, we have goals for your child and we're getting there, and that's our commitment to you. All your kid child has to commit to, all your dancer has to commit to is showing up and giving their best all that they have for that day. And you know, it's not always gonna feel 100% every day. Some kids are gonna have a bad day. You know, it might be 80% of the hundred today or whatever it happens to be, but like, are they showing up and doing what they can do in that day? And so I love that with that technique, you're laying this incredible teaching aspect to it where we're we're like processing in real time what the teacher wants to sound like and feel like and give to the dancers and what they're actually doing, what they're crushing, what they're doing great. And like you said, these little tweaks they can take their 80% and make it 100%, right? Because the kids have the 80% that needs to be the hundred. And so we as teachers do as well. We're always like just trying to be a little bit better, right? Otherwise, we wouldn't scroll these videos on Instagram or watch these like podcasts that promote us. And so Gina, I'm so proud of you and this zine thing that you've built. I'm so grateful that you're gonna share it with our community first, like in a month. I am so honored that that's gonna be this big, the big thing that our community gets to, you know, be hands-on with. It's amazing. So thank you for the share. Thank you for having this time with me today. I just I love every minute that we get to be with each other. And soon it'll be like really in person. So good. Do you want to leave our audience with any last minute thoughts or like also how they can kind of see more about you, follow you, like just plug in before they're all with us in Orlando.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

First, just you know, thank you, Cara, for your commitment and dedication to your big, big, big vision and mission in our industry. I feel like it's changing so much of how we cue the body and how our technique in in improves and increases. But so just so you know, like I know what it takes to build a business in the back end, and I'm aware of being an entrepreneur, and you are a mom of three, a full-time like mom of three as well. And I just take most people don't see what goes on behind our closed doors. Like, no one knows what I'm doing uh when I'm not, you know, publicly posting, I guess. And like no one knows what you're doing. But I just want to say, like, teachers out there who are listening to this, we get you, first of all. Like, we know you might be in the car on your way to open up the studio after you've dropped your kids off, you know, at school, and then picking them up for another practice and things like that. So just thank you everyone for your commitment to wanting to still show up as a dance teacher. What I'll do is if those of you listening are interested in learning more about the teacher certification coming up or the teacher assessment, I'll just send you a link if I can, Kara. And yeah, absolutely. They can just, you know, click to learn more and get on my list of of the TFT, I call it, and then I can share as it comes. And if not, I'm on Instagram and also just go to my website. You can connect with me there. But if this is really something you're interested in and more stuff will be coming out, but in the meantime, it's we'll put your link and your Instagram handle and your website in our show notes.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

So everyone go into the show notes. We will find Gina there. She's so amazing. Man, even five minutes in your presence is such a blessing. So for people who have met you or who will have the opportunity to meet you, maybe at our live event or maybe sometime in the next season, like it's just such a blessing to just be a part of what you're doing. So thank you, Gina, for joining us today. It's my true honor.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

No, thank you so much. And we'll see all of you in person at the event this summer. I'm so delighted to meet those of you signed up and those of you that are going to sign up. And I'm so delighted, truly like honored and grateful and ready to dive in. I mean, I'm looking over here because like my notes for the event are over here. So I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm excited to know. So we see you doing this choreography on this podcast.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

So good. No, you're so good. Thank you guys for joining us today. We can't wait to see you soon. And until then, we'll see you next time on It's All Relative. That's a wrap on today's episode of It's All Relative. Thank you for spending your time with us. We believe what you bring to the dance world matters, and we're honored to support the way you teach, read, and inspire. If this episode moves you, made you fake, or gave you something new to try, hit that subscribe button so you don't miss what's next. You can connect with us anytime at RelativeMotion Dance on Instagram or visit relativemotiondance.com for more tools and training. Until next time, keep growing, keep leaving, and keep dancing with purpose. And remember, it's all relative.