The Art of Being a Dance Teacher
My name is Olga Kobleva. I’m a professional ballroom dancer and teacher. I’ve been dancing already for 20 years, 11 of which I’ve also been teaching in several countries, including Brazil now. In my first article here I would like to speak about what it takes to be a teacher, and ballroom dance teacher in particular based on my own experience.
To be a teacher is a great art. It’s a gift which you are born with or without. Having diplomas of a Teacher (I graduated from MPSU (Moscow State Pedagogical University) in 2011 with a diploma of a “Teacher of foreign languages” and passed the exams to the Russian Dance Union obtaining my 2 diplomas of “Teacher of Ballroom Dance” in 2012) I can say the following without doubts: no universities or courses can prepare you to be a really good teacher. What they teach at the “theory and practice of teaching the subject” classes stays at those classes, behind the closed doors. No one teaches you real life at schools. They can make you a “walking encyclopedia” but the art of teaching you have to master yourself. All alone. With full dedication, love and passion to what you do. With good days and bad days. With falls and rises. With all spectrum of emotions: happiness, anger, frustration, confusion, despair among the others. Being prepared to deal with all kind of students and people who surround you at your job: true an fake, grateful and ungrateful, loving and envious. Some of them will be your true close friends, some of them will betray you no matter how much good you did to these people. Some of them will help you grow and develop the field together while others will try to put you down simply because of being your concurrent and envying your success. Some of them will always say a good word about you, but some will pour out all their negativity on you or what is even worse will greet you with a fake smile while gossiping about you behind your back. But one thing I learned from my experience for sure: all that mentioned above is OK!!! It’s not your guilt or problem!!! It doesn’t matter at all! Let everyone be like he/she really is! What matters is your growth and self-development. And right students and colleagues will always find a way to you and value you. And besides, the only person whose opinion about you really matters is the one who looks at you in the mirror.
Nowadays there are “teachers and experts” everywhere in all possible spheres. Unfortunately we got lots of such species for whom it’s more important to show off their knowledge. Don’t you dare to use the wrong verb form or hip action, otherwise you are taking a risk of being given “ohh that look” that will arrouse in you a strong desire to dissapear at once.
Being a professional athlete I’ve taken hundreds if not thousands of classes with good and bad teachers. Being an extremely amazing dancer doesn’t make you necessarily a good teacher, and vice versa. I’ve experienced some situations of humiliation, ignorance, immaturity and unprofessionalism. But luckily, they were in minority.
Thanks God, I had a lot of teachers, real TEACHERS, who have a perfect skill to make an energy ball of their concentrated years’ knowledge and experience and in a lesson’s time insert it soflty and with love and care into your fragile mind and conscience. It will take you a real time to find such a blessing but once you did, stick to him/her. Don’t run for quantity, but chose quality. Don’t change your teacher or coach just because someone else (including other teachers) begin to say to you that this teacher is not good for you. In fact, don’t listen to no one, because everyone is interested firstly in his own benefits and some species can even begin inventing rumours about a good specialist just to put him down. Have your brain, your vision, trust your intuition and check everything yourself before taking a decision. If you feel uncomfortable with your teacher or don’t like something about him/her, have guts to speak openly with this person and find the best solution.
In my career of a ballroom dance teacher I always was trying to follow the example of the best teachers I had and have in my life. These 11 years were really life-changing and self-transforming. From a shy, always-wanting-to-be-appreciated-by-everyone person I turned into a confident, strict, but fair and devoted dance teacher, goal-oriented and abslutely passionate about my profession. I learned to say “no” when needed, to detatch from negative people, respect and value myself and my work and chose people with whom I really want to work. I’m still learning, because this process is never-ending I think. And these days I really absolutely enjoy every minute of what I’m doing.
So, what does it really mean to be a good teacher? Of course, everyone has his/her own understanding and criteria of that issue. I don’t have a secret formula, but I would like to share with you some of the main ingridients that I discovered during all these years of my practice:
-Really good knowledge on the subject and a solid experience both as a dancer and a teacher
No comments needed.
-Self-development
A really good teacher never stops learning, always investigating the area, widening the horizons of knowledge
-Dedication and love
If you make your job thinking just about money, it will not last long. You will be always irritated with people. And students always see and feel everything. You really need love what you do and enjoy dealing with these certain people. Don’t lie to people or to yourself. Don’t fake it.
-Punctuality
Funny enough, there are some people who are late to the classes, and when you try to help them, beginning your class later and obviously finishing later, in the end they complain of you not being punctual. Solution? If they are late, it’s their problem, that’s all! Respect your time.
-Self-confidence and knowing your value
Just take as a rule the following: some constructive critics from the people who can really teach you something good and help you improve is ok, but when someone begins putting you down trying to show to you that you are bad, get detached from these people, let them burry themselves in their negativity. Know your value and respect yourself.
-Individual approach to every student
Everyone is different. A good specialist always knows how to find a way to every student, how to make him/her understand and fulfill every little thing. All the limits are just in the head :)
-Being ambitious and goal-oriented
I will never put my student on a 50-class package to achieve some goal which can be achieved in 5–10 classes. Or on the contrary: I will not take a student who wants to make a 5-year plan in one week. Be honest with your students. Explain everything.
-Discipline and Honesty
A really good teacher will not lose his and your time speaking how good you are, when you are not, or trying to be your friend and gossiping or playing jokes with you. He will show all your drawbacks, sometimes being very strict with you, not to offend you but to improve you. If you are not ready for this and take my every correction like a personal offend, please do me a favor- don’t come to my class, sit at home and cry, saying how arrogant I am. :)I also don’t know such words as “tired”, “I can’t”, “I’m hungry”, etc. I prefer to deal with workaholics.
Well, actually I could write a whole novel on this issue, but I guess I will stop here. Thank you for attention and I wish all of you to find your perfect teacher or students!
