Dance Teachers: 5 Ways to Set Good Vibes in Your Studio
We’ve all heard the saying, “check your baggage at the door.” It is a concept often used at work or in school to encourage you to leave any external or personal issues you’re facing behind once you step into your office or classroom so that you can fully focus on the tasks at hand. However, the truth is, this is an outdated and unrealistic expectation for human behavior. Still, there’s a fine line between making space for emotions and personal issues and allowing such emotions to become distracting or lead to unproductivity.
As a dance teacher, your students’ creativity, passion, and focus is essential to having a successful session. You’ll need to prioritize finding that balance between understanding that your students are human while still maintaining your expectations for them in class. That’s why we came up with 5 ways to ensure your dance studio is a refreshing space that supports positivity, acceptance, inner peace, and concentration.
5 Ways to Set Good Vibes in Your Studio
1. Embrace consistency.
It’s easy to find comfort in certainty. Small gestures can create a consistent environment for your dancers so that they know what to expect each time they enter your room. Invigorate their senses by using aromatherapy, natural light, mood boosting colors in your decor, or by playing a specific song softly on the speakers before class begins.
Over time, these habits will create a sense of familiarity for your dancers. They’ll feel more at home and at ease. Additionally, they’ll start to associate these sights, sounds, and smells with the dance studio, training their mind to snap into dance mode upon entry.
2. Set rules and boundaries together.
When class first begins for the year and everyone is still getting to know each other, work together to set behavioral expectations for your studio. You will likely have your own set of rules, such as turning phones off or not talking during certain times.
Along with your rules, give your dancers the opportunity to share some rules they’d like to uphold, such as respecting personal space, being able to ask questions as needed, break times, and more. By working together to set these standards, you are building a mutually supportive and respectful environment.
3. Read the room.
Taking a few moments each day to check in on your students’ well-being can have a huge impact on how successful the class session will be. You can gauge their attitudes by simply having them all close their eyes, then raise their hands if they’re feeling happy, sad, anxious, etc. This way, students won’t feel embarrassed to share their state of mind with honesty. Once you’ve taken stock of everyone’s mood, you can tailor the day’s practice to everyone’s energy.
While it may not be realistic to cater to each dancer’s emotional needs, a dancer who feels seen will perform better than one who feels neglected. Keep that in mind! This also gives you an opportunity to connect with your students individually after class, especially if they’ve expressed negative emotions.
4. Get creative with your warm-up exercises.
Once you’ve read the room, you should be able to pull from a plethora of ideas to warm the class up. Don’t choose the same exercises each day. Get creative by trying role playing exercises, freestyle dance sessions, or even challenges such as balancing acts and races. Try incorporating elements from yoga or gymnastics.
Not all warm-ups have to be physical, either. Sometimes, dancers can warm up with a writing, speaking, acting, or singing exercise. The goal is to get them fired up and focused for the day’s lesson. Remember, these exercises can also take place anytime throughout the class session to shake up the energy as needed.
5. Set an intention for each class session.
Before each class, choose a word to present to your students that you’d like for them to consider while setting the tone for the day. Have them take a few moments to reflect on what it means to them. If you have time, briefly share with them why you chose it. Encourage them to focus on that word, and at the end of class, have everyone share their experience with it.
Setting intentions in this manner gives students a purpose behind their time there. Having reflective conversations before and after class also helps students get to know you as a teacher, thus feeling more connected in class. They may feel more free to express themselves, offering a feeling of ownership and safety within the studio.
All in all, your students can find solace in your studio with just a little effort, and this level of comfort will lead to focused, productive class sessions.
How do you create safe and supportive studio vibes for your students? Let us know in the comments below!