With more and more teachers available today, students can be more picky about who they take classes from.

 

 

 

…then make sure to consistently progress your teaching skills and learn more ways to inspire your students!  As Tony Robbins says, “If you are not growing, you are dying.” and that can be true in teaching dance too!

 

 

 

1. Blair Singer’s Master Facilitator Training ($7,000 plus travel) Although he doesn’t talk directly about teaching dance, you will learn a lot about how to control a room, how to handle any difficult situation with elegance, help people get past those “stuck” moments, and so much more that will help set you apart from the average teacher. I have been to several of Blair’s trainings and I can definitely recommend them!

 

 

2. The Teacher’s Retreat ($100 – $1000 plus travel) Dance instructors from around the globe come together for 1-5 days to share ideas and improve their teaching and dancing skills.  We have held over 10 of these retreats which have included some of today’s top instructors and they are a very intense and fulfilling learning experience.  These are currently on hold but you can still sign up for them on the website and we will let you know when they are available again.

 

 

3. Hire Ted Maddry ($200/class review + travel) Ted has an amazing eye for helping teachers improve their teaching skills (which is very different from helping someone improve their dancing skills).  I hired Ted to attend my classes at the Boston Fusion Exchange and then go over what I could do to improve them.  It was extremely valuable and now I hire him to do this at some of the Teachers Retreats so the attendees get a smaller version of this amazing experience.  You can also hire Ted to do this for your classes and he has even offered to do it for $120/class review + travel, if you mention the “Dance Ninjas Discount”.

 

 

4. Teacher Training Online ($47/month, or $364/year, no travel) Learn from all the trainings I have done, without the cost or the time!  This is a great way to keep growing as a teacher without putting in the thousands of hours of time and tens of thousands of dollars it normally costs to do everything above.  Note: I still highly recommend everything above!

 

 

 

I could add many more great trainings to this list, but I want to give you the best of the best that I can vouch for.  That said, any training is better than no training, so even if you don’t do one of mine, or any of the ones above, please do something!  Read a book on teaching, attend a regular class and take notes on what is working and what is not working.  Anything is better than nothing.  Don’t let your skills stay stagnant.  Keep improving, keep your inspiration alive, and keep your students coming back!  

 

What methods or trainings do you recommend for improving your teaching?  Add them in the comments below.