Ep 9: Things Dance Teachers Wish They Could Say Out Loud

Ever wondered what goes on inside a dance teacher’s head during class? 👀

In this episode of Dance Talks, Michelle and Laura get a little tongue-in-cheek as they spill the (very honest) internal monologue of a dance teacher 🎙️

From “I can see you at the back” to “Can you just remember the routine” 😅 — we’re saying all the things teachers are thinking but don’t always say out loud to pupils and parents.

It’s light-hearted, relatable, and full of those “OMG that is so true” moments 🤣

Whether you’re a dancer, a parent, or a teacher yourself, this episode will have you laughing… and maybe seeing dance class from a whole new perspective 👯‍♀️✨

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Freedom to Dance Podcast. This is the place where we talk about absolutely everything in our little crazy world of dance. From what goes on inside our studio to the wider dance industry too. You'll get to know your teachers, hear from real-life dance parents, and maybe even some of our pupils. And who knows what they'll have to say. So grab your dancing shoes or maybe just a copper. Join us for all the laughs, stories, and behind-the-scenes fun at Freedom to Dance. Welcome back to Dance Talks, the podcast where we say what everyone in the dance world is thinking. But maybe doesn't always actually say. Right, okay, which brings me to this. When you're teaching, do you have an internal monologue? Absolutely. Not all the time, but like I can teach, but sometimes at the same time, it'll just pop into my head. Oh, I could write eat a beef, curry, rice. Again, yeah. Yeah, that happens to me a lot. Always on a Wednesday when we teach immature movers or Monday line dancing because it's around about dinner time. Yeah. And my belly's starting to um rumble. So I definitely get that. Um, but today we're going to expose what us dance teachers are really thinking during class. So, like the real things that go through us head, um, but we would never actually say them out loud. I mean, I've got some caucus. I mean, this could go one way or the other. So, and dancers, this one might expose us a little bit or maybe a lot, who knows? Um, oh God, we're gonna get cancelled. We're definitely gonna get cancelled. But today's episode, it's a fun one. So let's everybody, let's just take it lighthearted. It's a bit of fun, but yeah, it's also very real. Well, absolutely, because when I'm teaching, behind the cam, smiley, encouraging dance teacher exterior, there's like this full, raging internal monologue, screaming to get out. Absolutely. Right, I think we should start with the dancers. Okay. Right, so obviously, dancers, we love you, but here is what we're really thinking sometimes. Right, my first one is um I would just want to scream sometimes. I can see ya. Yes. I can see you. Yeah. Well, you know, like when they stood at the back of the class and and they just think that we're not looking. They think that we're not watching, but even though they chose to place themselves themselves at the back further back. So they've either got in a grump because they think we're not watching them, yeah, or they strategically put themselves there to try and get away from getting avoiding us. Avoiding us, yeah. Yes. I just want you to know, dancers. Inside and screaming. I can see ya. I can see ya. Yeah. I agree. I think what I use is marking it is not full hour. Yes, you should never mark it, should always never be marked. Unless I specifically say we're just gonna mark it. Don't mark it. I actually think I've shout at that. I don't think that's being internal. I think I've verbalised that thought before now. What you like, what you're holding yourself back for? I know. What's with the half effort? I, and it's not like we don't notice it either. We 100% notice it. There you go, kids. I love that we've got mirrors in our brilliant tool. One thing I always want to shout is stop watching yourself. Yeah. Just bluming dance are kind of like um sometimes when we train teams, yes, we face them away from the mirrors or with the mirrors to the side of them. And my god, the amount of left side looks because the mirrors are on the left. Yeah, the left side looks and they're fiddling with the hair that should be tied back. Yeah. Can I shout that one as well? Tie your high back. Um it drives me insane. Yeah, and I think because you know, some people might be thinking now, well, why do you have the mirrors if you don't want them to look in them? It isn't that we want them to look at themselves in the mirrors, but as a performer, yeah, they're a tool, they're not a tool, they're not the personality. They're not looking, they're not using them to check their own footwork or to bubbler, they're just looking if their hair's out of them. They're doing like that pouty pose, pouty um like Tiki Tock it and Instagram and yeah, ticket tocking. Tiki talking. Okay, I'm down with the kids. Click it. I clock it. I do it. No, I don't know. I've seen the kids do it. It said click it, and I don't know if it is click it or clock it, so I'm not quite down with kids, but is it clock it? Clock it. I don't know. But she's not. Sorry, I'm doing it to the mic like you can see it. Yeah, we must do a video podcast. Yeah. But that would mean we'd have to neaten up our appearance. Yes. Anymore, anymore. Yeah, I think this one, and this isn't a bad one, but I think something like, you know, we're we're very, we're very encouraging at Freedom to Dance. All our teachers are there to encourage and support our dancers. And, you know, we're giving all this positive energy, and then the kids still some of them struggle to appreciate their own progress or how well they're dancing or and I just literally want to scream at them, you're capable, yeah. Way more than that. Yeah. Like what's again, it's that holding back. Holding back, yeah. And some of that might come from their own, you know, insecurities and low confidence, but you know, holding back on what you're capable of isn't going to move you forward either. Absolutely. So, like, and believe in yourself. That's another one. Believe in yourself. Yeah. I have I I have I have like a saying that I say in the office a lot, and it's like, what are we doing today to push the needle forward? What are we doing today to take a step forward? And it's that you're way more capable. And if yeah, we're seeing your potential, yeah. We'll see it before you do. But then it's lovely when we see those light bulb moments of you starting to believe in yourself as well. Yeah. And my final one is I just want to shout. Again, this could be a mirror issue. We should go on the mirror. That's why we don't use the mirrors in team. I think I just want to say sometimes can we just remember the choreography without me prompting or saying this comes next or relying on the person in front of you? Yeah. Remember it just once. I'm begging you, please. I'm begging. Remember the choreography. Because then I go in my head, not out loud. Maybe I have said this out loud. I think it's internal. But sometimes it's external. Um, do you know how many routines I actually I was merely going to say it when you first said that. And I do say it out loud. I have said it out loud. Yeah. That, you know, of course, we are the teacher, we are responsible for knowing those routines, and we do. However, we might have to just think about it for a little minute, because at any one time we can be teaching between 30 and 55. Very specific. That's because the other month, this is how I know. Did you count up? I counted up, yeah. And I was cut at that point, it were 52 individual routines that I were teaching. Oh my god. So then, yeah, when they can't remember what they did last week. Yeah. And I'm like, well, neither can I. I'm with the end. And you know, again, that's why we do lots of repetitions to help support them with retention and give them hints and tips on what to do from retention. Um, but yeah. Just for once, remember it. Okay, let's see if we can offend some parents. Oh, easy. We're only giving parents. Okay, parents. Take a deep breath. It's your turn. We love you. But here we go. We're still gonna let loose, aren't you? Right. Have you got one? Yeah. Go on. We actually do know what we're doing. Yes, we promise. We know what we're doing. I I get that, yeah. I sometimes look at parents and they're looking at me, and I'm looking at them, looking at me, thinking, I know what you're thinking. Do you think I'm not capable? Yes. And we are capable. Very, very capable. Um, but and it's and I, you know, all joking aside, and I'm not, you know, I'm not wanting to kind of turn the this around in any way, but I for me, if I'm being completely honest, I often think when you go to a parents' evening at a school, would you ever question that a maths teacher? Yeah does S doesn't know the square root of 84. Yeah. Or the prime numbers. You you know, you you trust that that teacher has studied and for years and years and years in that profession that they can teach your child maths. Oh what? Well, or when we go to the doctors and they say, Oh, yep, Mrs. Dickinson. That's a Varuca. And you go, No, it's not. That's a varuca, that's a corn. It's a fucking. You know, I'm I I will always listen to to parents and take on board. And if you know, if they've got questions to ask, but it is sometimes difficult when you feel that it's the the doubting that you actually is it like the confidence in you know what you're doing, and you know, and it probably don't help because we're so kind of relaxed and you know, we're we're we're fools of all, you know, we're fools, aren't we? We're daft by yourself, I'm no fool. Yes, you are. I feel the dancing fool. But um, yeah, and we're daft, and I think, you know, so did they sometimes think sort of doubt the professionalism almost because we're we're not that strict, you know. But so I can probably appreciate that might be where some of it comes from. But I promise you, we know what we're doing. Hooray. Right, this is one for me. Oh, this is one for me. I really want to say this to your parents, and I hold it in. I hold it in, and it causes me a lot of trauma, but I'm gonna use this space to blurt it out. Go. They don't need correcting in the car on the way home. No, I'm gonna add something on. They don't need correcting when they come off the dance floor at a competition by you. Yes. Leave that to us. Yeah. You pay us to do that, let us do it. Yeah. We 100%. We're expecting to be the baddy the day. Yes. Do you know? Yeah, and it's not bad when it comes from us because they respect us. Um, not saying they don't respect you, but even my daughters have you probably said that to as have you said something to your child and they've turned around and said, Well, you don't know what you're talking about, mum. Well, let me tell you this: my own daughter dances as we know. Yeah. And if I give her a ballroom and Latin correction, or in fact, any child in this dance for a ballroom and Latin correction, she looks at me and they look at me like I have no idea on earth what I'm talking about. Yeah. Now, I do know a little bit about ballroom and Latin. I don't teach it. But I know we have to be the teacher in the room to still be able to correct that style. But I appreciate that as a mother on comp day, when my child comes off the ballroom and Latin floor, I should not be corrected. That is your job. And I will. And if she if she hasn't seen it, I will go up to her and say, What'd you make? No, but they don't need correcting in the car on the way home. They they don't need correcting when they get off the comp floor. Leave that to us. You take the glory, you take the good moments, choose your battles. That is not your battle, it is ours. Don't we? Have I got time for one more? You have got time. Okay. Progress doesn't happen overnight. Agreed. Can I just say something? Yeah. There is no right speed at which to proceed. Oh, there is no right speed at which to proceed. Actually, would he be on those walls with our other ones? I might have it tattooed on my forehead. Um, but it's just, you know, dance is a long game. It's not a quick fix. Um, and I've actually certainly game a long time. Yeah. My ate to admit it, but no, and I think, you know, I've actually I use the this example certainly in my ballroom and Latin classes quite a lot because it's it's a really hard style of dance. There's there's so much involved in each routine, each style. Sorry, guess that sound drinking through. Um you know, it takes uh years, years and years of practice um to sometimes to get it to get it right, and that's okay. It's a it's a long game, there's no quick fix, it's just experience and years of dedication. And you know, sometimes like they'll say to me, Oh, um, Miss Bell, why can't I why why about don't my legs look like yours when we jive? And I'll say, Because I've been jiving for 40 years. Oh, I didn't like that. Why am I saying that? That's how I have to change. Um, but do you know I edit that out? Yes, please. Say just repeat it and I'll cut it out. Say, I've been jiving. You know, I've been jiving for 15 years. Okay, that right, that's um, and that's you know, don't put the pressure on um your child and for the kids going back to the kids actually, you can listen to this, but don't put the pressure on yourself um to expect that progress will just happen like that. No, it it does not sound um we Yes, it takes a lot of time, and if you're willing to put in the time, yeah, because it will come. It will come. Yes, yeah. This brings me on to the next one for me. This is my last one and then we're gonna um I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna give the parents a break. You can carry on if you want. I'm gonna give the parents a break. I feel like I've gone all in on them. Comparing your child to other dancers. You were gonna say hell there's level yes. I think it's put me on the teeth in. Comparing your child to other dancers. Stop it. Stop. Right, I'm gonna start again because we try to record this podcast in one take. We are. Here we go. Comparing your child to other dancers doesn't help them. Every dancer, I can't tell you how many times I've said this, is on their own journey. Yeah. So, example, last night you had a private lesson with a little dancer. Little dancer is only six. I went upstairs into our upper level studio. Swan K. Oh wow, um to level one. Um and she danced, she's only just turned six. Oh, yeah. She danced a tango, and her footwork was incredible. Well done. Thank you. Guess the sound. Do it again. Her footwork was absolutely incredible. And I was just in amazement, and I thought, oh, you know, this is her dance. Um, well done, this must be her dance. And she continued to then show me a samba. But when you went out of the room, I said, Oh, will you teach me this samba? And we went to um do a part of it, and she she was like, And turn your foot out, and turn your foot out. Okay. Taking a correction. I mean, I am the samba queen, but I took it well. I took it well. Um, and yeah, she um and that's her thing. She's yeah, quick at picking things up, but you might get another six-year-old who it doesn't click until the eight, yeah, nine, ten, yeah, teenage years, it will click, please. They are consistent. Yeah. By that I mean attendance. Attendance is key. Um and if they're not here, they're not going to get better out of it. End of. Yeah. End of. So every dancer is on their own journey. Please, please do not compare your child to another child. Well, then it comes back to Yes. Sorry, I whacked you knee there. You didn't. I don't know if it'll pick it up. I don't think for a while. I did. Well, I guess I would have wear that and it might have hurt you and I didn't write it. Hell yeah. Um you forgot where you were. Yeah, just sorry, just with comparing, you know, I don't mind if a child in the same class as my daughter can spell supercolourfragilist electrial dossiers or whatever it is. Yes. Because if my child can't, it doesn't mat matter. It doesn't mean anything, you know. Yeah. I mean, you can barely say it. Like, I don't believe I need to get you our teeth in, I think. Look, you know, you don't, you know, we shouldn't become parent in any setting. You know, we're all individuals, we've all we're all on our own journey, and just allow them the time, and it will click. Their time will come click, but just focus on them and them alone. Right. I'm gonna let you off one more. I yeah. You can go in one last time on the parent. We're gonna have no customers. We are getting cancelled. I feel like I need to say this one on your behalf. Okay, I'm not sure. Let's go. Um, as mentioned obviously in a previous um earlier podcast, I had to take some personal time um at the end of November and beginning of December, which was really bad timing, as it was our show. Very inconstant. Um, and you know, thanks to Laura, the show went on and um all the costumes um were put together and all the rest of it. And I'm pretty sure there were times when you just wanted to scream because even I felt it in the short spells that I did show up during that time. The the costumes will come together in the end. Yes, my virtually, mine was we probably a costume back on time. That's what I wanted to say. Yeah, and I think, you know, again, because it trying to look at it from your point of view, parents, it must be hard sometime because you're you don't see what's going on behind the scenes. You didn't see me working with how many costumes about 340 costumes in the show. Yeah. But the amount of garments was way higher. Yeah. But what I'm gonna say is trust the process parents. I actually did used to work in wardrobe many, many years ago. Yes, you did. So I do So if you can't trust the girl that used to work in a wardrobe, not in a wardrobe. Idiot. Did you ever try walking through the back of it and see if you end up it down here? Every time you've ever wondered what the lump is up there. Of course I did. I'm a daydreamer. Um thank you for bringing that one. I feel seen, heard, and valued. You are. Thank you. Okay, right. Oh god now we've we've gone in a little bit. The kids who've gone in um a little bit on the parents, but let's just like give you some teacher truths. So a few truths about us as teachers. Yeah. So go roll. Tell me something that people might not know. That never switch off freedom to dance. Um, but in the sense of the amount of times you could be laid in bed going through the routines. All 52 of them. No. Yeah, like thinking of um squad choreography. Yeah. Um you have to try and not do it in your car when you're driving because you're driving because you could have an accident. Or I have actually before my husband has said to me, What are you doing? Like are you doing like a routine, you know, dark? Because I'm obvious I must be unconsciously kind of doing like do you know what I mean? Your eye models. Yeah, yeah. Um I've done um a little samba walk down Aldi when we trolley before now. From the Sabpa Queen. Absolutely. What about you? Um probably this is quite a serious one actually. We care more than we let on. Yes. I think that's a big one. Um I know, I've gone, I feel like the tone's gone down, but we do care. Like, I care if, you know, if you know that a family are having a tough time, so maybe they've lost someone, um, or I don't know, um, you know, things happen, don't they? And they care about that, or if a child's um upset, or they don't feel seen or heard, and then all of a sudden they're like, oh, yeah, like you get a message from a parent, and it might be that a kid's upset about something, and we do actually affect us then, and we go, we go through things um like a hundred times over things, and that's um whether it be a parent, a pupil, a member of our team, each other, yeah, like this is real hard because me and um Miss Bell have been friends for 32 years. Um and we edited that. Yeah, 15 years. And um we care more than like we know that we care. But you know, we're going back to that time when Miss Bell like took a little bit of personal time off. That was like really hard for me because I'm here trying to keep everything going and being light and bright and yay, keeping the show on the road, but like inside I'm thinking, oh gosh, I hope she's alright. I hope you know, a family's, you know, and you so yeah, we care more than we let off. Yes, yeah. I think um right, what can I think? I think um we notice effort more than talent. Yes. Can I just um I'm gonna add one of those little things saying go ahead and another wall, another any space left on wall. Um it's something like effort beats talent. I've totally got it. Yeah when talent doesn't make the effort. Yeah, effort it's something along those lines. I think that's a new one I've just made up, but it's that just so I mean don't get me wrong, there's nothing more rewarding or um you know lovely to see as a dance teacher is a very talented dancer. However, um it's not the all-in-s. No, it's not effort. If I can see a pupil, which I do, they're the pupils that I notice the most that are pushing and pushing and pushing. Yeah, um I can't because then I could Because you kind of sometimes might go, oh god, this is like obviously exposing another like secret and thought. Yeah. When you know somebody is talented, then you just know they're getting on with it. Yeah. Corner at room, because they'll never push themselves forward either a talented dancer, they tend to hide away. Yeah. And that's because sometimes of the way they feel in class, because people are always looking at them, or so but then so then you know, and you kind of go, Oh yeah, I know they'll know what they're doing, so I'll watch you. Yeah. And you know, but in fact, I get more grumpy at the talented dancer who doesn't put effort in. Yeah, that annoys me because you might be talented, but you're not the best. No one's the best because there's always the best. Yeah, and um I can absolutely guarantee that when I was a working performer back in the day, back in my heyday, um, I booked jobs on effort, definitely on personality. I'd like to charm my way in, charm my way through an audition, and then I'd go, oh crap. Yeah, like this choreography is hard, and I had to go away and really work hard to keep up with those talented dancers, and there were dancers that just made everything look easy. It was phenomenal dancing out, yeah. Yeah, and yeah. But when we were on stage, we looked great, it's just that I had to work a little bit harder. Yeah. I mean, the personality didn't shine like me, but you know. But you know, not everybody can have it all. Well, exactly, exactly. And I think another one for me is um a little truth. We are human. We are parents. We are, we are, and we are parents, and behind this superhero teacher kind of exterior, we are like any other regular parent trying to survive. Yeah, just trying to survive the oh, forgot to top up the school money and uh just the hectic routine handwise schedules. Do we sit here at our desk and one of us gets a ping on our phone and the other one, and then it's just like, oh, I forgot to put dinner money on. Did I put it on? Yeah. This morning. Did I top up the dinner money? Did I do the bus pass? Um, is it peak day? Where are they after school? Because that's a hard thing for us as well. Um we're here after school. So if our kids have got after school activities elsewhere, extracurricular, that's hard to say with these teeth. Um we don't know, we don't know why not there. So um we're also just trying to survive. We are, but on that note, we are human and we love interacting with all of you, and especially you as the parents that bring them. Um we do value each and every one of you because we are human. It means a lot to us if we choose to come here. Um so you know, don't avoid us. Yeah, do not avoid us. Say hello. Okay. Question time. Oh god. This is a new feature. Right. Well, as you know, we like to keep it a bit fun, don't we? A bit fun and light. Um and Miss Re Miss We're losing the plot. We're losing the plot. Right. Miss Laura recently asked parents to send in questions from um either dancer and or I don't know, anybody at the parent. Yeah. Um I guess what we've had some in. Have we? We I don't know why I said that because I actually I actually posted on social media and asked for uh the questions to be sent in. So uh but you've actually picked some, haven't you? So I have. Yes. Okay, so I think we've got have we got one question today? I think yeah, well, we've got more than a few. We've got more. But let's just do one because we're already at about 30 minutes. Yeah, so this is the one that I chose, and the question is from Harlow, aged three. Hello, Harlow. Um, and it's for both of us. Oh, yeah. And it says, What is your favourite song to dance to? Harlow's is I like to move it, move it. Oh, Harlow. I use that in my um street infant street classic. I like to move it, move it. I like it, move it. It's a yeah, that is a good one. It's from Madagascar. Yes, it is. It's from Madagascar, yeah. Um I like that you like that Harlow, but you come to our cheer class, so you need to go to that. You come to Street and you'll hear it played in your class. Go on, then. Have you got any faves? I think well, the first one that popped into my head is Love Potion number nine. Oh, we sang this the other day. Ooh. Ooh. Ah. Da da da da ooh. Ah, da da da ooh.

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Da, no one else knows what it is. Da-da. Da. Yeah, anyway. Yeah. Um, I mean, I've got I've got lots. That's always one of my in Mexico. Mexico. I mean, none of these are recent charts. Shall we just go? So these are all traditional songs that we would um compete to at ballroom and Latin competitions. So if you are not a ballroom and Latin dancer, um any song with a cha cha rhythm or a samba rhythm or a rumba rhythm can't come on at any point. You're not dancing to the a set routine to a set song as such. It's like your routine within freestyle and you don't know what song's gonna come on. Yeah. And they're just some like the all romance belters, the bangers aren't absolutely. And some of the kids look at me going out in class sometimes because I try to still play the traditional music. I think it's good, it's respectful to the heritage. Yeah. What's yours? Oh as you know, I like so much. Yeah. I I just love music. Anybody always use one song for the rest of your teaching days to warm up to what would it be? To warm up to depend on style. That's a question. Well, I like old school like garage. And uh garage, RB, hip-hop. At the minute we're dancing too in our street class. Ghetto superstar. Oh. That is what you are. Go halo. Ghetto superstar. Yeah, I like that one. I mean, there's many, many, many, many, many more. But I like, you know, like the um like Christina Millian. Somebody hit the lights. Yeah. So we can rock it day and night. People getting down, that's right. From AM to PM. Yellow was expecting such a um eclectic range of music. Yeah. I know. Thank you, Harlow. Yes. This is a full question. Yeah, hope we've answered it, Farah. Yeah, 100%. So um at the end of the day, um everything we wish we could say comes from us wanting dancers to just feel confident and proud. Yeah, and I think staying on our original theme there, if you've ever had a teacher who's pushed you, they've probably had a lot more to say inside than they've actually said. Uh so yeah. Yeah, 100%. I agree. I hope you still love us, we still love you. And I think all that's left to say is thanks for listening to Dan's talks. Yes, we'll see you next time.