Dance Teacher Training Programs.

March 18, 2013 by ·
Dance Teacher training programs.

Group salsa class in Park Slope Brooklyn

You want to become a dance teacher.  You see lots of different dance teacher training  programs, but aren’t sure how to choose a good one.  Here are some tips.  If you want to work consistently and make a living as a full-time dance teacher,  the more dances you know, the better.   If all you know is salsa on2 or Argentine tango it will be difficult to keep yourself employed.   Owning two Brooklyn dance studios,  I get resumes and calls everyday from professional salsa dancers, professional Argentine tango dancers, belly dancers,  international Latin and ballroom dancers looking for work.   The first thing I ask them is,  do they know any other dances or styles?  If the answer is no,  I will have a hard time employing them.

Dance schools want dancers who are well-rounded. It’s great to be an expert in one dance, but know some others.  I just got a resumes from a dancer who’s  been dancing for 15 years and all she knows is salsa on2.  In 15 years she couldn’t pick up some other dances?

Here’s a typical day for me and any of my dance teachers.  Yesterday at 9am I taught a private at our Flatbush dance school.  The student is doing hustle, salsa on1, and bachata.  At 10 I taught an Argentine tango private.  At 3 I went to our Park Slope studio and taught a private bachata lesson.  This student also wants to learn cumbia.  At 7 I teach a couple who is doing social ballroom.  At 8 we have a two-hour intermediate salsa class.  Where would I be if I only knew how to dance one dance or style?  A dance student frequently starts leaning one dance,  then become interested in a different dance.  If all you know is that one dance, you will lose them as a student when they want to move on to a different dance.

Also, a school would rather have one teacher doing two hours than two separate teachers each doing an hour each.  It’s just easier.  So, make sure the teacher training program is making you into a  well-rounded dancer.  This way no matter what a student wants to learn, you will be the go to dance teacher for that studio.

Is there any kind of placement program?   It’s great that they are training you in salsa on1, salsa on2, Argentine tango, Latin and ballroom, hustle and wedding choreography;  making you into a well-rounded dancer.  But what happens when you’re done with your training?  Do they have work for you?  Consider this.  The dance training program that has work for you is the one you should choose.

Do they teach you how to teach or just how to dance?  Many great dancers don’t know how to teach.  The teachers who last and make a good living, are the ones who know how to teach and not just dance.  You will be getting lots of different types of students.  You don’t want to teach each one the same.  Some are very serious about dance and dancing well.  Most  are not interested in become professional dancers, and are just doing if for fun.  Teach the right way and you will keep your student and get more.

Do they teach you about the business end?  What good is it if you know all the dances and how to teach,  but can’t get any business.  Even if you’re not interested in opening up your own dance studio, knowing sales and how to get students is important.  I see some of the best dancers starving for work.  Not having any idea how to generate business and keep themselves employed.

Consider all these things when choosing a dancer teacher training program.

Filed Under: Argentine tango, dance teacher training programs, Private dance lessons, Private salsa lessons, Private tango lessons, Salsa Dancing, Tango Lessons · Tagged: , , ,

Private Dance Lessons vs. Group Dance Lessons

March 12, 2013 by ·
Private dance lessons Brooklyn

Kristina and Michael during private salsa lesson in Brooklyn.

Private lessons are the quickest and  most effective way to learn the art and skill of dancing.  Many people will tell you that one private is the equivalent of 4 group classes. That’s partly true, but just partly.  There is  really no equation that matches private dance lessons to group classes.  When you take a private lesson from a good dance instructor, you are learning something the correct way right off the bat.  With group classes, you learn the same thing, but with 20 dance students in the class, how can the teacher make sure that you are dancing the correct way?  He can’t.  Being slightly off, is off.  It’s like saying  you’re almost on timing. You’re either on or off.  The same thing with technique.

In a group dance class, you mainly practice with other people at your level.  Maybe the teacher will dance with you for a few minutes, but for the most part, you are dancing with someone at your level.  That’s not a good thing if you want to get better.  The way to improve at anything is to do it with someone who is better than you.  Speaking French with a beginner won’t help much.  Put you in a room with a native speaker for a month and you will be speaking French.

Many people think, I can’t afford to take private dance lessons.  If you can afford to take group classes, you can afford to take privates.  Here’s why.  You will learn more in a private than in a group class for the same amount of money.  You won’t just learn more, and here’s the important part, you will learn right. Because of the tactile nature of partner dancing, certain techniques can not be learned properly in a group setting.  You need to be with someone who knows how to do it the correct way.  Feel how their body moves.   This is next to impossible in a group setting.   You also need to have this proper technique drilled into your muscle memory.  Once bad technique is in your muscle memory, it will be very hard to lose. Group classes are good for practicing what you learn in your privates.

In my two Brooklyn dance studios, I have seen many students who have spent lots of money over the years taking group lessons: salsa, tango, Latin, ballroom and more.  The things they were doing only partly right a year ago, many are still doing only partly right today.   Bad habits are hard to break.  Even harder if you are dancing with someone who also has the same bad habits.   I have many students who started with privates, learned things the 100% correct way, and have actually spent less money to get to the level they are at than the student who is taking the group class.

 

 

Filed Under: Private dance lessons, Private salsa lessons, Private tango lessons · Tagged: , , ,

Improving your salsa dancing

January 22, 2013 by ·
Salsa dance studios Brooklyn. Dance Fever Studios is a top Brooklyn salsa studio.

Salsa class in Brooklyn at Dance Fever Studios.

Improving your salsa dancing

Here are some tips to help both leaders and followers become good salsa dancers.  1)THE MUSIC is number one when you dance.  Listen to it.  It has two parts: rhythm and melody.  First, concentrate on the rhythm or beat.  You must dance to this beat, or there is no way you will become a good dancer.  You actually want to feel as though you are dancing behind the beat.  Even fast salsa music, when you get really good, is not that fast;  so don’t rush.  Stay with the tempo.   The majority of beginner salsa dancers tend to rush the tempo.  They are ahead of the beat.  A good way to slow yourself down is to practice salsa basics to cha cha music.   Just leave out the cha cha.  This will definitely slow you down.   If you are dancing to one tempo,  and your partner’s on a different tempo,  there is no way you will have a good time.  This is the single most important thing.  The melody or the tune is the second part of the music.  This is a lot harder to dance to, and will only come with lots of experience and knowing the music.  Eventually, you want to dance to both.

2)BODY MECHANICS: Each type of dance has a specific way of moving.  If you don’t move that specific way, you won’t look good dancing to that music.  You can’t dance salsa and look like a tango dancer or ballet dancer.  It doesn’t look right.  You need to have that salsa look and feel.   There are a lot of elements that make a salsa dancer look like a salsa dancer.  Two of the most important are Cuban motion and the figure eight.  You can see these two things explained and demonstrated on our Youtube chanel.   You need to have both motions wired to look and dance salsa well.  Do not spend another second learning a new “advanced step” before you have these motions down pat. Salsa dancing isn’t salsa dancing without these two motions.

3)Stay in your DANCE CIRCLE.  If you stand on one leg and allow the free leg to naturally hang down so that it just touches the floor, then make a circle with that free leg around your body without any stretch, this is your dance circle.  Stay in it when you dance.  This will make sure that your steps are the right size.  Large steps are a not good. You should be dancing with your body and not your legs.  The body moves the legs and not the other way around.   Smaller steps will also help your balance.

4)DON’T GRAB.  You want to be connected to each other with a very light touch.   The leader is not there to be your balance beam.  You don’t want to grab  on to him on every other step.  If you have trouble with your balance don’t wear 6 inch heels.  Wear flats until you are able to dance in heels.  And for the leaders.  You aren’t doing judo.  A good leader doesn’t need to throw the woman around.  You should be able to led a good follower in almost every step with one finger.  When you are leading and following the right way, it will take almost no effort.  The wrong way, and it feels like a wrestling match.

5)DANCE at each others ABILITY.   A great leader when dancing with a beginner, will only do steps she can do.  Taking her into steps that are beyond her ability is bad leading.  If you haven’t danced with a woman before, build the dance.  Start with easy stuff, and get more and more advanced.  Don’t do a cross body lead with a turn before you have led her in a simple cross body.  This is building the dance.  If you’re an advanced follower, and you agree to dance with some beginner guy, don’t expect him to be Johnny Mambo.

6)ADVANCED DANCERS:  Dance with people who are better than you.  This is true for any field.  Want to raise your chess game or boxing skills, you’re not going to do it with people at a kindergarten level.  This is sometime hard to so since advanced dancers usually have no interest in dancing with beginners.  So the best way to do this is by taking privates.  With one on one instruction, you can work on all your problem areas at your own pace and get out of any bad habits and be prevented from developing any new ones.

7)PERFECT PRACTICE.  Practice makes perfect is one of the most untrue phrases I have ever heard.  Practice all day long the wrong way, and you will do it the wrong way.  Go to the golf range and see all the golfers practicing their bad swings and never getting any better.  They are just enforcing that bad swing.  This is a problem with many dancers.  They get in bad habits and dance with other dancers who have the same bad habits.  Grabbing, steps too large, rushing the timing, poor body mechanics is no way to dance.  When you learn something, make sure you learn it exactly the right way,  and practice it exactly the right way.  If you don’t, you are only enforcing bad habits.   Remember, only perfect practice make perfect.

Filed Under: Salsa Dancing · Tagged: , , ,