Riot and Frolic

A couple weeks back, I wrote about the expectations students should have for their teachers.  Well, now look how the tables have turned!

Here's the expectations for students (complete with bonus, interactive material at the end!):

Be on time. 

Nay, be early, so you can have your shoes on and be ready to go when your lesson time starts. Extra points for a pre-lesson warm-up, whether it be a stretch or a little technique practice or mental review of the last lesson.  BONUS points for having questions that you have come across by:

– going to group class

– having done some practice outside your lesson.

Try.

One of my students hates the word “try” and I get it. The idea of “making an effort to do something” underestimates one’s ability to JUST DO IT.  You might feel stupid and you might not be fully aware of what you’re actually doing or you might think you’re doing it wrong, but DO the thing your instructor is telling you to do (your instructor is there to fix whatever might go wrong anyways).

Be respectful of your instructor’s time.

Don’t late-cancel or no-show because “you forgot”.  Please save last-minute cancellations for emergencies.  If you suspect something might come up (your babysitter cancelled and you can’t find a replacement, you’re having a hell-ish day at work, the world is ending), give the studio a call and voice your concerns sooner than later.  The possibility of your rescheduling is much more appealing than your instructor twiddling their thumbs expecting you to show up and then… not.

Get off your phone.  I’ve taught several classes where people actively had their phones out.  I have 6 kids at home that any minute might do something emergency room-worthy and I still have my phone on Do Not Disturb while teaching.  You can wait 45 minutes to text or post or whatever, or you should probably not be in class in the first place.

Ask for permission BEFORE THE LESSON STARTS to video any material covered, so your instructor can plan ahead to leave a few minutes to make a decent video at the end.  (AKA, do not ask after the class has ended and the instructor needs to move on to the next class/lesson. You are essentially asking to make the instructor late for their remaining lessons of the day, or stealing time from the next lesson or class. Ew.) 

Trust the instructor of your choice.

Depending on how you started, you might have ended up with your instructor by pure chance.  Many times that turns out GREAT.  But if you don’t trust your instructor, don’t take lessons from that instructor.

Whether it’s your lack of shared communication style, their philosophy of dancing/teaching,  or the speed of your progression that gives you the emotional side eye about them, find a different instructor.  The majority of instructors understand when students are not a good fit and WILL NOT take it personally.  Ask around and try some different instructors until you find one that fits. 

Let your instructor evaluate your proficiency and tell you which classes to take.

Don’t go to classes that are over your proficiency level unless recommended by your teacher. (You’ll get frustrated, or they’ll get frustrated because you’ll have “learned” some material that is off your learning curve and if you’re trying to apply it before mastering some other fundamentals, you could make things harder on yourself [and your teacher], or the other students in class will get frustrated because you’re slowing down the class or making it hard for them to practice their part correctly.  STOP IT.)

Let them tell you when you’re ready for things (performances, competitions, etc.)

WE WOULDN’T WANT YOU TO DO IT IF YOU’RE NOT READY.  My first coach used to have a saying : Do not bring shame on the house of Nathan.  As much as I tried to heed his warning (there was a $10 fine for bad feet or looking down in photos!), he also didn’t give me the opportunity to screw it up.  Most pros don’t want you to do a public exhibition if you’re going to be anything less than an advertisement for their awesome teaching. 

Take care of yourself

While dancing is fun, dancing can also supply a social outlet, a workout, a weight loss program, a physical challenge, a mental challenge, meditation, self-confidence, and beauty. We want you to experience these things as much as possible and to do that, you have to stay healthy.  Eating well, sleeping enough, drinking water, and practicing good personal hygiene habits will help you stay on the dance floor as much as possible.  (If you’re not familiar with the CDC guidelines for hand-washing at this point, here’s another link: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html#:~:text=Wet%20your%20hands%20with%20clean,for%20at%20least%2020%20seconds.)

Practice

I put this one last, not because it’s the least important or the most important, but because students are often baffled by practicing, especially if they come in for lessons alone.  I mean, we are partner dancing, and to practice without a partner often feels silly or unproductive to people, especially when they are greatly successfully people outside the dance world.

But there are many little, VERY HELPFUL things you can practice without a partner, or really without even dancing. 

I like to call these exercises “toothbrush exercises” although a co-worker recently referred to them as “microwave exercises”, which I also liked, but I don’t have a microwave and BY GOD I BRUSH MY TEETH, so there.  These tiny movements are things you can easily (and sometimes inconspicuously) do in small spaces for a short amount of time that have a bigger payoff than expected. 

[I cannot more highly recommend the book, Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, if you want to learn about how to come about big changes by doing ridiculously small things to start with.]

I’ll be posting one of my favorite tiny/microwave/toothbrush exercises a day on my Instagram in a tiny community service effort while most dance classes are shut down.  Join me over there for mini-daily practices! (Expect around a new post around noon.)

Have fun.

While there’s always some plateau to overcome or challenge to conquer in your dancing progression, mostly it should be a good time.  Let your teacher know if you’ve lost your groove.  Maybe you need to take a break from Rhythm technique for a week and do a West Coast Swing and Hustle intensive to get your groove back, but ballrooming has tons of options to keep you entertained and happy for years to come.

Go forth and conquer.