7 Tips for Teaching a Successful Preschool Dance Class!

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When I first started teaching dance, the internet was still in it's infancy! We didn't have YouTube, podcasts, or social media where information can be shared abundantly! I was on my own in learning how to navigate the world of Preschool Dance! That's why I created Dance to Learn® I wanted an online library of resources made for Dance Teachers by Dance Teachers! Today's Blog Post is a topic I shared recently on the Dance to Learn® YouTube Channel! Those are the 7 tips I've learned (and wish someone would have told me) when I started teaching preschool dance!

Watch the Video

First be sure you have a lesson plan. Lesson plans help you organize your classes and allow you to evaluate the class overall to ensure that the activities you are planning are captivating the whole child. If you're a newer teacher, I would recommend that you always over plan your lessons - for example, if you are teaching a 45 minute pre-ballet class, be sure you have enough activities for a full 60 minute class. This way if an activity you've planned doesn't interest the students you can always have a back up game or activity in it's place. When I am lesson planning, I always focus on 4 key components to lay out my foundation:

• The Theme

• Dance Concept

• Playlist

• Props

Now I know lesson planning can be time consuming and if you're as busy as I am, you may not always have the time to sit down for an hour and plan out your weekly classes, that's why I've created done-for-you lesson plans built on the Dance to Learn Curriculum. I'm not going to talk too much about those today, since that's not what today's blog post is about.

The second step you should take before your classes is to create a playlist. What you don't want to have happen is get to your classes, get your students' attention and then have to take 15-30 seconds to find a song on your phone. If you aren't focused on your students they will take liberty in those moments to lose focus and possibly even misbehave.

When creating a playlist, I use my I-Tunes app on my phone to arrange the songs I'm planning to use in the playlist. I place them in the order I want them to play, and then I'm sure I have them set to repeat. Then when it's time for a new song, I just click forward in the playlist to the next song on the list.

The third step you should take to plan out your classes, is gather and organize the props you want to use for the class. I'm a mobile dance teacher and have a lot of props! If I were to take every prop with me to every class, it would take probably all of class time to find the props I needed. So before class, I gather only the props I need for that lesson. I put the props in a bag or sometimes even a suitcase and take them with me so they can be available quickly when I need them.

So now let's talk about some steps you can take upon arrival to your studio to ensure you preschool classes are successful.

First be sure to plan your travel to ensure you are leaving with enough time to arrive at least 15 minutes early. I usually arrive to my classes 30 minutes early to be sure my room is ready. Upon arrival be sure to remove any distractions from the studio. Clean up any costumes, props, equipment that may have been left out from previous instructors and be sure they are put away. Also be sure your floors are clean. My dancers have been distracted by floor lint of all things. Take a couple minutes before class and sweep the floor before students arrive.

Now there are some distractions that can't be removed from your studio space. One is the mirrors. Although the mirrors are an essential tool for dance education, they can be EXTREMELY distracting to our preschool dancers. We can't just rip the mirrors off the wall for our preschool dance classes. But what we can do is arrange our students in class so we draw their focus away from the mirrors and towards you the teacher.

So my next piece of advice is how to set up and orientate your students in the room. After your room is clean and distraction free, be sure to set up spots for your dancers to stand or sit within the space. You can use anything from floor tape, poly dots or my personal favorite - the big foam shapes from Dollar Tree! I place the dancer spots in a circle and I am sure that I place my teacher spot facing the mirror and all the other dancers with their backs to the mirror. This way they can see me and each other and they won't be distracted by what they see in the mirror. A Circle also provides a sense of inclusion where all dancers feel connected to each other and the teacher. Providing your dancers with a visual cue on where to be in space is going to help them learn spatial awareness which is a really important skill to have when learning how to dance and if a dancer wonders off their spot all you need to do is direct them back to their red poly dot!

The next distraction in a dance studio space are the ballet barres. If you're studio space only uses portable barres, you can easily move those off to the side or out of the room all together. But what about the barres that are attached to the walls? I have a little transition trick for you that will help limit the distractions from the ballet barres.

Speaking of Transitions - that's my next tip! Be sure when lesson planning that you plan your transitions! These are all the moments when your dancers are moving into, around or leaving the studio. What should they be doing during that time? If you just say "Let's dance across the floor!" every dancer will interpret that differently. What has helped me the most with classroom transitions is turning them into a game. My go-to transition is my "Magic Fairy" Transition. Now the Fairies can be substituted with Dragons, Super Heroes, unicorns any creature of your liking. Here's how it works. Dedicate a wall or space in your studio that is just a wall. No mirrors or barres. Just a wall. Dedicate that as your magic fairy wall. When it's time to transition you make an announcement "The magic fairies are here! Stand up slowly slowly. Put on your tip toes...shhhhhh. Be very quiet! Don't go to fast you'll scare them away!" Then when they get to the magic fairy wall they can reach up high and catch a magic fairy. They keep the fairy safe by sitting criss cross applesauce with their fairy in their pocket. If a dancer moves off the wall, hangs on a barre or loses focus. You can just say "Oh no! Did we lose our magic fairies? We better stand up and catch some new ones!"

Other transitions that take place during class are also entering and exiting the studio. If you just let dancers arrive without any instructions or expectations, you may find yourself in a chaotic scenario. Be sure you consider what they should be doing when entering the classroom. My students' love my "Bippity Boppity Boo!" game. This is where I stand at the door with my magic wand. I ask what color glass slippers they want. Then I wave my magic wand and say "Bippity Boppity Boo!" And the dancers tip toe walk to find a spot. For the boys in your classes, I change the glass slippers to anti gravity shoes and say "Abra Cadabra!"

Now class is over and it's time to leave! Be sure to invest in a train whistle! Blow your train whistle "all aboard the dancer train!" As the dancers line up. The train marches out of the room to the lobby.

That's all I have for you today dance teacher friends! If you enjoyed today's video, please let me know in the comments down below if there was a tip I shared today that you'll be implementing into your classes.