Choosing a dance school and a teacher can be overwhelming with the sheer number of options available to you. Some schools take on informal approaches with a focus on dancing as a recreational activity, or to enhance creativity and fitness, while others focus on preparing you for a career in dancing – requiring students to take formal examinations in a particular curriculum. If you’re looking at dance as a recreational activity to supplement your lifestyle, look out for these factors when choosing a dance class.
Qualification And Friendliness Of The Instructors
Nothing can be worse than an unfriendly dance teacher who admonishes you for making the wrong move. At the end of the day, you’re a novice, and you need to be treated like one. Look out for these:
- Make sure you feel instantly comfortable with the instructor, as you need to feel at ease in the teaching environment.
- Look out for specific communication skills like friendliness, approachability and patience.
- Ask to sit in on a few dance classes to observe how the teachers interact with the students before making a choice.
- Pay attention to the qualifications of the teacher so you know you’re getting the right instruction.
- Well-versed in dance techniques to prevent injuries to students.
Teachers should be professional and bring their expertise and knowledge to the classroom, so make sure you look out for these signs before you decide to sign up to a specific dance class.
Age Appropriateness Of The Lesson
Every dance class may appeal to a certain age group, so you’ll want to ensure that the lesson is appropriate for a particular age group – whether you need to sign up to the class or get your kids involved in one. Consider the following:
- Music and lyrics used in dance lessons should be appropriate to the age group of the students.
- Dance activities should be fun and enjoyable, while teaching students to work on their movement skills.
- Certain types of dance may appeal more to adults than to children, so no sense dragging kids to them.
All dance lessons are meant to be a good recreational experience, whether for kids or adults. Some lessons may appeal more to certain age groups, while others may be more universal. If you want to include your whole family in a lesson, choose dance classes that offer lessons for all ages within a single class.
Safety For Students During The Lesson
Safety is a key consideration when choosing the right dance class for your needs. As with all physical activity, there is always a risk of injury to the bones and joints. Look out for the following to minimise your chance of injuries:
- Does the dance studio have a specially constructed floor that minimises fall impact?
- Are beginners given certain safety equipment at the start to cushion their falls?
- Are special shoes recommended that may reduce slipperiness when moving?
A good way to prevent injury is to ensure that floors are constructed to reduce the impact of an injury by absorbing the shock that passes through your body if you fall. Ask your instructors whether they have any other safety procedures to protect students, but bear in mind that some injury risk will always exist for this kind of activity.
Size Of The Classes
A good dance instructor doesn’t want to teach hundreds of students at once. This can impact the one-on-one time that the instructor has with his or her students. Instead, a good dance class has only a few students, which allows the teacher to offer personalised attention. Consider the following:
- Does the class have a good teacher-student ratio?
- Does the teacher pay individual attention to students?
- Is there enough room for students to stretch and move freely?
Smaller classes enable the instructor to prevent students from developing poor dance techniques from the start.
Performance Opportunities For Students
Many dance classes or studios can put up performances for an audience, which is a great way for graduating students to showcase their newly acquired skills. Consider the following if this factor is important to you:
- What kind of performance opportunity will you get after your class?
- Will you be exposed to any competitions to help you further improve your skills?
- Can the dance class serve as a stepping-stone to other dance opportunities?
If this factor is important to you, make sure you consider these details when choosing a dance class.
