Positive Language Practices for Dance Teachers
I’ve always loved words.
I was DIY-ing my own books, poems and short stories as soon as I could read and write, and I’ve always been very aware of their power - to captivate, to motivate, and to inspire. I’ve also always been someone who feels deeply, so to me, the connection between words and the feelings they evoke has always been clear.
Yet, it wasn’t until years into my own teaching practice that I started to wonder if the words I was using with my students were really communicating what I wanted to say.
So much of dance education is passed down - things not only like steps and choreography, but the structure of class and performances, and even the language we use. And while many of us dance teachers have formal training, we often use the language and phrases we heard our teachers use.
As a young teacher I know I did this; I would often hear myself saying the things my teachers had told me. Using the language we were taught with is normal, and makes sense; we’re modeling what was modeled for us. It also shows us how powerful language can be - I’m willing to bet we can all remember things our teachers told us 20, 30, 40 years ago!
But everything evolves.
We don’t teach pointe work the same way now that it was taught 100 years ago - we’ve evolved. With new information, research, and technology, we adapt so that we can better, and more safely serve our students. Evolving as an educator is vital, and crucial to staying on top of our game and giving our students the best education possible. (I bet you don’t teach things the same way you did 5 or 10 years ago!)
So it follows that the language we use in our dance classes should evolve as well, because…
Words matter, and so do the feelings they evoke.
Yes, the word we use in our dance classrooms and studios matter, but this doesn’t mean that we should constantly be walking on eggshells, monitoring everything we say and do around our dancers. It also doesn’t mean that this generation of students are too sensitive, or entitled (more on entitled dancers in this blog post). Those reactions aren’t actually helpful, nor do they help us connect with our students. What is helpful is looking at language through a lens of curiosity, and becoming mindful of what our students are hearing, perceiving and receiving through our words.
I recently did presentations for both DiscoverDance and Disrupt Dance on the power of language, and how we can use positive language to keep our students engaged, motivated, and healthy, and the response I received from these presentations makes me realize this is a topic we need to hear more about in the dance community.
Which is why I’ll be on Instagram Live this week, talking about Positive Language Practices for Dance Teachers!
Join me on Thursday, September 23rd at 12:15p EST on Instagram! You’ll learn 3 magic phrases that will keep your dancers engaged in class, and dramatically reconnect you with them, so you can have a pandemic-proof strategy for keeping classes happy and healthy.
Can’t make it on the 23rd? Not to worry - I’ll post the recording of the Instagram Live on my Instagram Page, simply CLICK HERE and make sure you’re following me!
At the end of the day, I know we all want our students to know that:
We care for them
We want them to be happy, healthy and safe
Dance is an amazing outlet for joy, expression and self-discovery
But we have to use the right language, and positive communication in order to drive that message home for our dancers.
Drop any questions in the comments below! I hope to see you over on Instagram soon!