Thanks so much for all the comments on our first question: “Who is your favorite dancer?” We were overwhelmed with the input and think it’s great that so many people rang in with their thoughts!
This week, we hope you’ll join us in exploring our next question: “What is the most important quality in a dance teacher”?
What do you think?
Our answers will follow soon, but please feel free to get the conversation started!
Check Out our Answers:
Catherine’s Answer: posted at 4dancers.org
Henrik’s Answer: posted at Tightsandtiaras.com
David’s Answer: posted at BalletForMen.com
Answers from other great blogs: (and thanks for chiming in with us)
The Dance Buzz: Posted at thedancebuzz.blogspot.com
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
After many years of wishful thinking, I started taking adult ballet classes mid-June this summer. So this topic is fairly fresh on my mind. At present, I have two dance instructors that I see regularly here in New York City, one teaches a Sunday basic class, the other teaches during the week when I arrange to get away from work for class. Things will no doubt change when I advance to the beginner level, and my opinion may change as I improve.
The styles of the two teachers are wildly different – one focuses on the absolute basics of form and feel, avoiding injury and is very open and casual and pleasant. It’s a soft introduction, as appropriate I think, to the week. She’s supportive generally, but impersonal. I enjoy the Sunday class because it covers things that are assumed in the weekday classes that I don’t know well.
The weekday teacher is not demanding, but she is very challenging, and serious. I adore her and her class because she treats even we casual adults as serious students. Despite the large class, I feel that she is paying close attention to me, and is very supportive after class, and accessible. Many of the students in my class are professionals – although from what I can tell they are not necessarily professional ballet dancers, but performers in theater. During the week, I learn more about choreography than I do on Sunday, and of course, less time is given over to the absolute basics, so together with Sunday class it provides a bit of everything.
That said, the most important quality that comes to me, from this experience, is the support. But very importantly – the support is not expressed in a coddling way, and may go from cold to warm from time to time, where the teacher can sharply prod you for mistakes while inspiring you to invest the effort and later reward you with reassurance when you need it. Especially when you’re entering ballet as an adult, rather than the traditional path from childhood.
I can understand that, as you become more advanced, your relationships with teachers change – you’ll want someone who has little patience and drives you hard to refine technique, or someone who sacrifices manner in the name of absolute excellence (and inspires you to work hard to avoid scorn.)
That’s my experience. I’m here to dance for the love of dance, there is no money or career for me here, and so I think what I see as the most important quality reflects that desire to share the experience with teachers who are similarly there for the love of dance.
Wow, what a reply!
As Catherine already pointed out, we, who have been in the game a while, certainly have a lot to learn by people like yourself! The love of dance is the only reason why someone should dance, although it can be hard to remember sometimes. Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Keep posted on new questions from Pas de Trois weekly! H
I think it’s important for a dance teacher to constantly push you/ demand the best from you but in a way that isn’t “drill-sergeant-ish” or intimidating or not in a way that breaks down a dancer’s self-esteem/ confidence (if you get what I’m saying).
totally get your point. Tried to describe the same in my answer, but you really did it in just a couple of lines
Thanks for posting!
Responded here: http://bit.ly/cGMNN4
thanks – we linked to it in the original post. Thanks for chiming in
The most important quality is Dedication. One of my teachers is THE most dedicated person I know. Her life is solely revolved around her students, and making their careers as dancers happen. Shes goes over and beyond the call of duty, and I think that is the most important quality in a dance teacher.
It’s so great to have such teachers, those who gives their students all, way more than what you ought to expect from a teacher. Great to know you have one of these, truly a privilege! Thanks for joining the discussion!
Interesting answer! I do think dedication is crucial–good point!
@William–wow! Great answer! Thanks so much for sharing that. I think that those who have been in the dance world for a long time have much to learn (and remember) from those who are just getting started. I really hope that you and other beginners (or even non-dancers) will feel comfortable posting here. I think it’s great!
@Leenz –I totally get what you are saying. I think that is key as well–you can feel it when a teacher is making you stretch a bit outside your comfort zone–and then you grow!
@The Dance Buzz–posted a link up top to your post. Passion is up there on my list as well! It’s inspiring.
My post is now up on 4dancers: http://www.4dancers.org/2010/08/pas-de-trois-what-is-the-most-important-quality-in-a-dance-teacher/
David and Henrik to follow…
Thanks for the responses!
I started as an adult too (in college) and it was through the support and encouragement of my teachers that I developed confidence in the studio and has actually translated bit by bit into life outside of the studio.
My teachers never sugar coated anything for me, and they understood my shortcomings. They were great in making distinctions between the things that I needed to work on long term and the things I could fix right away. One strategy they also used that I liked was to not just give a correction, but ask how it felt, what it changed, etc. It made me feel more interactive…kind of like the difference between a lecture class and a class where the communication is two ways. Not surprisingly, I fared better with the latter academically (always slept through lectures!) and thus it was also better for me in the studio.
It’s hard to pinpoint one quality, but if I could try to put it into words…I guess it would be that a teacher must know how to adjust corrections according to each student. I’m sure some fare better with blanket corrections given to the class as a whole, because individual ones might be taken personally.
I’m taking adult classes now and miss the amount of individual feedback that I used to get in my college classes!
I personally love when a teacher is straight-forward and honest. It doesn’t mean that the teacher don’t believe in you, or doesn’t want to work with you, but that he or she helps the student to work out from a realistic and real perspective. This way, the student learn the most important thing about ballet, what makes people do it and enjoy it, even if you may not become Carlos Acosta or Sylvie Guillem: It’s really just you against yourself. And when you accept that, you can win and develop so much!
The gift of seeing all the students in a room as individuals, and change your work-methods regarding is a rare, and truly great ability in a dance teacher. Of course, it helps if there is less people in the studio, but some teachers just know their students instantly, and that is just great. As for individual corrections, well, if you really want to improve, you got to work with what you should, not general stuff that one can always say to a class as a whole.
Try ask your teacher in the adult class if he or she can give you some small individual corrections during, or maybe even after the class – as a boy, you should probably nail some extra perks just for coming there
Thanks for chiming in!
Steve–I think I agree with you. I called it “communication” on my post at http://www.4dancers.org, but it really is the same thing you are saying. I love the way you phrased everything–thanks for taking the time to put your experience into words! I hope you’ll be back to share some more!
I think the most important quality for a dance teacher is passion. All of my favourite teachers have lived and breathed their art, and it is an inspiration to see them share this with their pupils. It pushes me to work harder, and drives me to one day share my passion with others too.
The Dance Buzz also wrote that passion for the art, for the students and for the body is what she considers the most important feature in their teachers.. I agree, as you said: it inspires to work, and to share your inspiration with others! A great, and important feature! Thanks for joining in!
Sorry for the long answer, but… I also started dance class as an adult over a few years of stops & starts specifically because I had problems with teachers. Hopefully my experience is isolated but this is how my first 2 YEARS! of ballet classes went… teacher treated adult class like we weren’t there to learn ballet but there for a work out class that included a barre, a different teacher actually said, you will probably not accomplish much starting as an adult, your probably not going to get very flexible, and don’t even think about pointe, another teacher couldn’t give a rat’s a@@ about form because after all …”well, you’re not going to become professional dancers” and so & and so on.
If I just wanted a dance-y workout class I’d go to cardio barre, besides I already go to the gym, I am hardly 100 years old, naturally flexible & still pretty strong from years of gymnastics & ice skating, and I have a background in playing violin in an orchestra that included accompanying professional ballet performances, so I know how to count for dance.
I love dance. I love it as an art and as a discipline. And I dance as both. I am not defined by one thing, even the things that I do “professionally” despite my great love for my career field. I am fortunate to be persistent (stubborn) and eventually found a few great teachers that I continue to work with. The most important thing for me was finding a teacher who gave me as much energy & passion as I was willing to give to dance – I finally found teachers who were happy to be part of my journey & experience into dance. I think the desire to share the experience of dance with others is really, really important in a dance teacher!
Oh yeah, and dancing on pointe – so much fun
Wow, you go girl!
Glad to hear you stuck that one out. Unfortunately, there are some people teaching ballet hardly worthy of the degree “teacher”. They might do it for the money, or they just don’t know how to teach different students. Although true that an adult starter probably won’t become a professional, they missed out on the essence of what we do: Working with yourself only, to develop a expression and a form better than what YOU were able to when you started.
I’m really happy you found teachers you can work with, and that you proved the first guys wrong. People like that shouldn’t teach ballet. Or maybe they should try taking one of their own classes?!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! It’s so inspiring to hear stories like this. Makes me realize, “we professionals” has so much to learn from dancers outside our little, narrow world. Hands up for bead_109
I always loved it when a teacher would tell me the complete truth. I didn’t like to hear that I was doing well, if I wasn’t. I somehow thrived on negative comments. If a teacher would tell me “No, that was terrible. What was that?” (yes I had a few who would), it would motivate me to try harder. It would make me push myself as if to respond “I am not terrible. I’ll show you! I am going to prove you wrong.” And I would. I have conversations with some of my teachers from school, and they will tell me now that they would watch me try and prove them wrong. They would see that this method seemed to work well for me, and push me by telling me the complete and honest truth.
Of course if I would improve, I would get positive feedback. That was when I knew it was real. I knew I had accomplished something when I heard, “Good Rebecca.” And I would think, “OK. Got over that hurdle, now onto the next.”
This is basic psychology, and it works well with many students. Some tend to see only the negative in a response like “what was that?”, but in fact, you may also interpret it to mean “I know you know better than that!”, which is a challenge to be at your best! Ballet is all about doing as good as we can!
H
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us! Keep looking back for more questions weekly on Pas de Trois!
I too have been (and still am) a student of dance and a teacher. I think the quality that stands out for me for a teacher is they actually have a PASSION for dancing and not just doing it as a job to get by. There are some dance teachers out there that have lost their passion or are angry because “they didn’t make it” and I think this shows in their teaching.
I love going to a class and the teacher is really enthusiastic about the style they teach and want you to achieve-without screaming at you army style of course.
Enjoying reading your info.
Harlene
Thanks Harlene! I know what you mean–I’ve seen the teachers you are talking about and it isn’t pretty! Teaching is a very unselfish thing–you are giving of your knowledge in order to improve someone else’s skill level. Not for the faint-of-heart!
Burnout is a real problem too…
Hope you join us next week for the next question! Love all these different answers!
I love how people has so many different approaches to this, it shows the importance of good teachers, and it shows how hard it is to be one…
Keep joining us with your opinions and expiriences as we go on with more questions weekly, without you commenters, our site is in vain.. Big thank-you shout out to all those who has been posting so far!!!
Now, I’m curios what David has to say on the matter.. Coming any day now, I’d guess
I posted my answer here: http://bit.ly/cU7gD4
as a dance teacher myself it has been interesting and fun to read all the comments. i really don’t think it is possible to pinpoint one specific quality that is the most important, there are so many! i also believe that different styles work for different students. being very shy in my youth i found that loud, intimidating teachers had me cowering in the back and i would become incredibly tense with this type of teacher. however, for more outgoing types they may rise to that sort of challenge. i personally feel i improved more with teachers who had a sense of humor and were encouraging. i’m also not real big on teachers that talk a lot- i like to move and when teachers give long winded speeches i find myself getting annoyed!
i also find that i take a somewhat different approach when teaching adults than kids or teens- i am much more demanding of technical correctness with the youth. (steve you count as youth, i’ll let you slide when you’re my age).
anyway, i guess i am rambling and not answering the question! i think it is important for a teacher to be both demanding and encouraging- and it can’t hurt to have a sense of humor
Yes, Robin, you nailed the one quality I was thinking about after posting my reply, the one that no-one mentioned yet: The good teacher is able to adapt to his students, and teach how works the best for them!
Keep looking back for more questions.
Thank you for your great reply! Also, I am glad to hear you have been enjoying reading the other people’s replies – mission accomplished
I’ve certainly had a few ballet instructors. The latest one though, is simply “awesome”. She was a very accomplished professional during her career. Most of the adults in my adult beginning class have had some ballet training and some are really advanced. This particular teacher really impressed me with how she was able to cull out everyones skill level and tailor the class whereby everyone had/has fun and everyone learns. She also keeps the class moving and flowing thereby increasing the cardio element of ballet. I can honestly say “that this teacher has advanced “threefold” my knowledge and skill level with this art form”.
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