
You might be a brilliant dancer and a brilliant teacher but can your pupils hear you clearly above the sound of the music?
Do you dance all day or do you mostly speak all day?
Communication is all about sharing information and sharing images
As a teacher you have to talk to parents and sometimes they like to think they know more than you and it is possible if you are newly qualified that they are older than you.
Are your adult learners older than you, do they make you feel awkward?
You need to make sure that your young students understand what you are saying
You need to correct pupils but you don't want to upset them
Sometimes you may find yourself in the situation where you need to speak to a group of people and just because you are a brilliant dancer and teacher doesn't mean you are a confident public speaker. It might just be a thank you at the end of a dancing show your pupils have performed in but take the stress out of it and enjoy it.
We use five organs of speech, our tongue, our lips, teeth and soft and hard palates
Using a 'd' sound instead of a 'th' can sound lazy and making the correct 'th' is easy once you know how
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When most teachers teach the pupils are sitting still, able to concentrate fully on what the teacher is saying. The teacher is also able to sit or stand still - perhaps sitting at a desk with all of their notes around them or standing at a whiteboard able to reinforce ideas with written words.
Dance teachers do not have these luxuries - they have to teach in the middle of a dance studio with no chairs or whiteboards, to students who are moving around and who are listening to music. Your voice is the only tool you have.
Do you find it a struggle to be heard above the music? Do you feel awkward correcting and teaching people who are older and more experienced in life than you are? Does you voice let you down?
The enthusiasm of the teacher must shine through their speech and they must be able to communicate with dancers, parents, management and schools.
These dance teachers need to have exceptional communication skills if they are to produce first class dancers This doesn't mean that all successful dance teachers are extoverts who love to talk; it merely means that they know how to get the best from their voices.
I have written articles in the Dance Studio LIfe Magazine (USA) and the ISTD Dance Magazine about the importance of good communication between dancer and teacher.
I have also written an academic paper for the Voice and Speech Review on the effectiveness of learning to dance on people's ability to speak clearly and confidently which you can access as a resource with this course.