Let's Talk About The Gap In Your Teaching
Recently in an Instagram post, I compared traditional dance education to Swiss cheese.
There’s a lot of holes in it.
I’m willing to bet good money that most of us were taught all about the importance of plie, articulating the foot, musicality, and picking up choreography quickly, but not taught about the importance of the following:
how we treat, talk, and feel about our bodies
disordered eating habits and eating disorders
mental health
rest and recovery
how to manage our inner critics and perfectionism
identifying verbal abuse and emotional manipulation
These are all things that were knocking at our doors as dancers, and they’re still knocking at our doors as teachers and dance professionals.
By not addressing these issues, or educating ourselves on them and having tools to manage them in ourselves and in support of our students, we’re left with big gaps in our teaching, dancing, and well being.
The art of dance education has been handed down from teacher to dancer, teacher to dancer, through generations. The emphasis has been on carrying on traditions, legacy and respect.
But, new flash: that can be done alongside emphasizing the importance of mental health and physical wellbeing.
Just because your teacher, and her teacher before that had to weigh in before class, be publicly shamed for their appearance or performance, or be shunned from rehearsals and performance does not mean that’s the way you should be teaching.
The future is a gift we’re given so we can apply lessons learned from the past to make tomorrow better.
I created my StudioZen Membership to help fill these gaps in dance education, so we can fill those Swiss cheese holes and fill the future with happy and healthy dancers who can have long, safe, and vibrant careers.
If that sounds like a plan you can get behind, StudioZen might be for you! Check out the details HERE!
For this spring enrollment period, I’m offering two special bonuses:
When you enroll before March 17th, you’ll receive access to March’s materials totally free!
Enroll for the whole year, and get access to 12 months of StudioZen materials and save over $75!
You can also check out this IGLive where I interview a current StudioZen Member, so you can hear all about the benefits of the program, and what to expect, from someone who’s in it!
Your chance to join this movement and the Membership closes on March 31, so the time is now!
I hope you’ll join me on the road to filling those gaps to create a kinder, gentler, more inclusive dance future!