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: , , ,

Dance schools in NYC

February 16, 2013 by ·

Here are some observations about dance schools in Brooklyn and the New York city area. These are things I’ve noticed, and have also been brought to my attention by my students.  I guess you can call them pet peeves.

Dance schools in NYC at our Park Slope Brooklyn dance studio.

Park Slope dance studio in Brooklyn NY.

Please stop advertising your school at one price, and then when a student comes to register,  hit them with a registration fee. If you advertise one price, that should be the price. Not, oh plus $20 for registration.  I’ve noticed many Brooklyn salsa schools doing this recently.  This is deceptive.  So, if a school does this, watch out.  They also tell you it’s a one time fee.  But, if you don’t go for a few months, then start up again, they will hit you with this registration fee again.  Guys, Be up front with the pricing.

Should you really be charging for music? These are your students. If they are asking for some salsa, bachata or tango music, have them bring a CD and burn them some songs. Do you really need to sell them it? They are new to this whole salsa, tango, or whatever dance scene it is.  They want music to practice to. Give them it, and help them out.  Squeezing every dollar out of a student is not the way to do business.

Telling students they will be great salseros or tangeras in no time flat.  This is over the phone, without even having meet the student.  No school or teacher can tell you how long it’s going to take for you to be good, or even decent.  That depends on you. Students often ask me how long does it take to get good at Argentine tango, or become a great salsa dancer.  The answer is, I don’t know. I’ve had students who after a few classes were dancing nicely, and other students, after months, still struggle with the tempo. Honesty is the best policy.

Pitting one dance style against another. I’ve actually heard a studio owner in Manhattan asking out loud, during a Milonga at her studio: “Why would anyone want to dance Argentine tango? It’s so slow and boring.” This studio primarily teaches swing, hustle and salsa. They have a Milonga once a month. So, according to her, swing, hustle and salsa are great and Argentine tango isn’t.  This is like saying Impressionist painters are better than Cubist.  They’re just different.  If you dance salsa in Rueda there’s no reason to put down LA style salsa. If you dance Argentine tango in close embrace, don’t bad mouth open embrace. Try not to have such a parochial view of things. If you want to get really good at any one dance, embracing all styles will help. The best salsa dancers usually know a few different styles. The best tango dancers usually also know ballroom and many know ballet. Being able to include different techniques and styles from one dance into another will help you become a better dancer.

This is for the salsa schools. Too much focus on salsa shines. I have students that come from other schools, and maybe they have been dancing for a year.  They know 60 shines.  Wow! But they can’t follow or lead a simple copa or check turn the right way. Unless it’s specifically a salsa shine class, try focusing more on leading, following, technique, and musicality.  This is what partner dancing is about, not splitting up and doing shines. You should have great Cuban motion and contra body before you learn 60 shines and triple turns.

Roping students into a performance class and then after a few weeks telling them they need to pay an additional price for the costume that you have marked up double. A student told me that this happened to her in a belly dance class she was taking. She was told that she couldn’t do the performance unless she bought the costume. Nothing about buying a costume was said at the beginning of the class cycle. She dropped out of the class. Again, be upfront with the pricing.

Too much Focus on steps and patterns. Better to teach how to lead and follow then how to do a pattern. Better to teach technique, craft, musicality and style then a complicate step. Once you know this, you will be able to follow any pattern. Many student tell me that the school they used to go to taught really complicated patterns, but as soon as they left the class, they forget it all. Focus more on technique and less on steps.

Advertising a class as advanced and then letting anyone join in. A student told me about an advanced Argentine tango workshop he went to where half the women there weren’t able to do a proper boleo. Some didn’t know how to do it at all. If you promote a class as advanced, it should really have only advanced students. Allowing intermediate or beginners into the class isn’t fair to the real advanced dancers. If all schools started doing some of these things, it would make things a lot better for all.

Filed Under: Argentine tango, Dance lessons, Salsa Dancing, Tango Lessons · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Tango lessons in Brooklyn

February 14, 2013 by ·

You just started taking Argentine tango classes and want to practice, but you’re having trouble finding the right music to practice to.  Piazolla and Puligese are great, but difficult to dance to for a beginner, and even for experienced dancers.  There are hundreds of amazing tango songs to choose from,  but when starting out with tango lessons, what you want is songs with a steady and clear tempo, and not performance type pieces.  You want songs that you won’t have trouble finding the beat.  Here is a list of great tango songs for the beginner tango dancer.  At our two Brooklyn dance schools, we find that these are the best songs for the beginner Argentine tango dancer.   They all have a very clear beat, and are also great pieces of music.

Tango lessons in Brooklyn NY at our Park Slope Dance Studio.

Tango studio in Brooklyn NY.

Argentine Tango Songs For Beginners:   Don Juan/Carlos Di Sarli,  El Once/Carlos Di Sarli,  A la Gran Muneca/Di Sarli,  La Cumparsita/Di Sarli, Milonguro Viejo/Di Sarli, Yo Tambien Era Dichoso/Francisco Canero,  Pura Parada/Canero,  El Pescante/Canero, DonJuan/Canero, Por Tener un Corazon/Rodlofo Biagi, 16 y Vovemos A Queremos/Rodolfo Biagi,  Sentimiento Gauch/Francisco Lomoto, Yo Tambien Sone/Romero, Ojos Negros Que Fascinan/Ray Salina, Yo No Se Porque Razon/Enrique Rodriquez, Cafe Dominguez/Angel D’gastino

Filed Under: Argentine tango, Dance lessons, Tango Lessons · Tagged: , , , ,

Health Benefits of Dancing

February 1, 2013 by ·

There are many activities you can do to stay fit and healthy.  Dancing is one of the best.  Besides eating right, sleeping enough and not playing in traffic, staying active is critical to staying healthy.  We all know this, but many of us can’t manage to stay active.  You don’t like gyms or working out.  It’s boring.   Lifting a weight up and down isn’t exciting.  You don’t want to run around the same track again and again either.  Now how many times around was that?   You tried boxing, but don’t like getting hit in the head.  It hurts.  You even tried kick boxing.  That hurts even more.  So what can you do?  Dance.  It’s safe, it’s fun, and you don’t get head aches.

Dancing gives you a total body workout.  You are using all parts.  It’s anaerobic as well as aerobic.  It’s a mental work out, and also involves lots of flexibility.  There are few activities that have all this.

intermediate Argentine Tango class

Argentine tango intermediate class in Brooklyn.

Aerobic is endurance stuff.  Walking, jogging, etc.  You get that from dancing.  Try our Latin cardio class and you will see what I mean.  You will have a great time listing to great music and moving to it non stop.  The same is true for salsa, hustle, bachata, samba and tango.  One or two sambas, jives or Viennese waltz is guaranteed  to get your heart beat up.  I just had a group of twenty year old girls come to our Salsa Latin Hustle Social at our Park Slope dance studio.  After a few salsas and bachatas, they needed to sit down.  While we have regulars in their 40’s and 50’s who dance 3 or 4 hours straight with no problem.  Dancing builds your aerobic endurance.

Anaerobic is more like weight lifting or playing the net in tennis.  Quick, explosive movements.  Dancing has this too.  Try dipping or lifting your dance partner, and you will see what I mean.  It’s just like lifting weights.  Spins and lunges are also very anaerobic.

Flexibility is also a big part of dance.  Any Argentine tango student who is learning body dissociation, or salsa student who is learning figure eights and hip rolls knows what I mean.  I have a new student at our Midwood studio who is a martial arts teacher.  A black belt in many styles.  After two or three classes, he tells me that he is feeling muscles sore that he never knew he had.

Beginner salsa class

Salsa lessons in Brooklyn at Dance Fever Studios

Staying healthy isn’t just physical.  Your mind also needs to be fit; constantly growing and learning new things.  In dance your memory is put to the test.  You are always learning new patterns and sequences.  If not used, they will be forgotten.  Anyone who has ever choreographed a routine knows what I mean.  A 4 minute salsa routine can easily have over 100 different steps and patterns.  The more routines you do, the sharper your memory gets.  Dancing gets both the mind and body fit; while also having fun, meeting new people and making new friends.

 

Filed Under: Argentine tango, Dance lessons, Salsa Dancing · Tagged: , , ,

Secrets to Dancing Argentine Tango

January 24, 2013 by ·
tango lessons in Brooklyn at Dance Fever Studios. An authentic Argentine tango studio.

Tango class in Brooklyn at Dance Fever Studios.

There are really only three major types of steps in Argentine tango.   Walking, giros(pivots) and ganchos(hooks).   Almost every complicated pattern or amazing sequence you see, is composed of these three types of steps.  95% of your time dancing tango, you will be doing these types of steps.  Most of the time you will be walking, some times pivoting, and less time hooking.   Practice these three things, alone, by yourself, and you will be good.

Since most of your time is spent walking, this is what you should practice first.  Again, practice without a partner.  If you can’t walk a straight line forward and backwards, to different tempos, in total control of your balance,  by your self; don’t expect to do it with a partner.  Start with walking every two beats.  Step on the 1 and the 3.  These are called the strong beats.  Walking slowly is much harder than fast.  Practice this too.  Step every 4th beat of the music.  So, now you’re stepping on the 1st beat with the right, then the 1st beat with the left.  Don’t use the free leg to help you balance.  Keep your movement going over the entire 4 beats.  Walk like a cat creeping up on a bird.  There are some tango schools and teachers in Argentina that will only teach walking for the entire first year of lesson.  Once you can walk the right way alone,  you have a chance of doing it the right way with a partner.  Now,  that’s assuming that your partner also did the same practice.  If not, she or he will be using you as a balance beam.

To see more videos go to our Youtube chanel.

Pivots.  Once you have the walk, move on to pivots.  If not, don’t start learning pivots.  Just like walking, you need to be able to pivot by yourself, or you won’t be able to do it with a partner.  Do not practice against a wall.  This only gets you in the bad habit of relying on the wall for balance.  Start with 1/4 pivots.  Face one wall with your entire body.  Now,  turn only the upper part of your body, your torso, so that it faces the next wall.  You will feel a pull.  Your lower part wants to follow your upper part.   Allow it to by pivoting on one foot.  Now your body is aligned again, facing the next wall.  Repeat this.  These are 1/4 pivots.  Go both ways.  When you can do this well, move onto 1/2 pivots, then full 360 pivots.  When you have these, do it backwards.  Being able to do this is the basis for forward and backward ochos.

Ganchos,  like walking and pivoting, you must practice on your own.  Practice ganchos backwards, sideways and backwards over your own leg.  Make sure you point your toe and maintain your balance. Do all this, and dancing with a partner will be a lot easier and more fun.

 

Filed Under: Argentine tango · Tagged: , , ,