Mixed-Level Dance Class—How To Manage The Proper Way
Have you yet found yourself instructing a class of mixed level dance students? Managing them properly is often a challenging experience. Some of the students might be completely new to dancing while others might have been dancing for a few years. This can happen if you have introduced a class for a specific dance style, a class for a specific age group, or of you don’t have enough space to accommodate two classes at once.
Although it can get a bit difficult to teach such a class to ensure each and everyone is learning from it. However, there are some proven ways to instill a positive learning environment like pairing a new student with an experienced one. This helps in forming a bond between them and they help each other improve. Following are a few more ways to tackle the challenge of teaching a mixed level dance class:
Improving Communication
Start setting the tone right from the start of the class. You are responsible for creating a positive vibe and environment which encourages all students to follow. Focus on reminding all the students that the class is about learning new things, improving their self, helping others and having fun instead of competing with each other. Your main aim should be building confidence and proving the students a welcoming space.
Furthermore, you can assign a different thing to practice to all students or as mentioned earlier, pair up a beginner with an experienced student. You can even give the experienced dancers an extra jump or step to perform since it is essential experienced students are not held back.
Encouraging Teamwork
Since you will have experienced dancers, you are bound to get tempted by praising them more or pointing them out as good examples. However, this will only make the beginner students self-conscious and intimidated. As a result, those students might get reluctant to try on a new step or add in their own style. It is best to pass on general corrections, comments and advice to the entire class so no of them gets singled out. making groups of threes and fours is also a great way to encourage teamwork. This motivates the advanced students to help the beginner students while the beginners always have someone to guide them.
Offering Alternatives
If the mixed level class includes students with a lot of differences, you can always tackle that by offering different variations for them to perform. Ask the experienced students to work on the advanced version and the beginners to work on the basic version. This way no one feels left out nor do you have to slow anyone down. This keeps the class moving while everyone is learning and practicing in their own dance level.
Teaching a mixed-level class doesn’t have to be overwhelming for the instructor. With the right tactics and encouragement from you, each and every student in that class can learn without feeling left out or slowed down. Keep the structure as diverse as possible for effectively accommodating students of all levels. You can find more tips and suggestions to handle your dance class more effectively at www.danceproincomebooster.com.