So in a couple months I am going to go in to teaching salsa as full-time job. I'd like to know any tips you guys may have as far as teaching and business. If you have never taught then I'd like to know why you respect certain teachers, what you appreciate in certain teachers, how teachers have said or done that has been most helpful to you as a student, etc. Thanks!
Anyone have some teaching/business pearls
- Thread starter memphis salsero
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How long have you been teaching part-time? Will you be in business for yourself or are you being hired as an instructor for an existing studio/school? Also, I notice that you call yourself "memphis salsero" but state your current location as Los Angeles. How long have you been teaching in Los Angeles and/or dancing in the Los Angeles scene?
Sorry to respond to you with more questions instead of constructive comments for now, but I think that information will put us in a better position to tailor our ultimate advice/comments to you. Anyway, good luck with it!
Sorry to respond to you with more questions instead of constructive comments for now, but I think that information will put us in a better position to tailor our ultimate advice/comments to you. Anyway, good luck with it!
memphis salsero said:
My pet peeves about instructors:
1. Most of us (dancers) don't come from Latin-music back ground. But no instructor ever explains or breaks down concept of "dancing on the beat" to beginners. If not the "how" part but at least "what" part. It is easy to demonstrate the basic conga rythm. At least give students tools so that they can then go and try to learn about rythm, tempo, etc in salsa music. A bit of salsa history will also make it more interesting.
2. Only person I have seen demonstrate about musicality in dancing is Al Espinoza at my first congress. He danced to same 10-15 bars of music. On first one he did turn patterns. Second time he did just CBL and inside trun yet was hitting the breaks. He asked which looked better and what was the difference between the two. Among 30-40 odd people in the class only few realize second time he only did CBL and inside turn. The rest of hour was about what it meant to hit the break and dancing to the music.
3. I think some body isolation needs to be taught the same time the first basics are taught.
4. In the beginning class very few instructors actually correct the basic step! Don't let your students pick up bad habit in first place.
5. Beginners and advance beginners are too intimidated by the social dance floor. If you have a two hour class, at least give last 15 minutes so that students can dance freely. If you have a team, it is extremely helpful if you ask the team members to come help out and dance with the students during those 15 minutes (in workshop format). The students will know how it feels to dance with a good partner. They are likely to stay on rather than drop out.
6. Drill the good social dance etiquettes in to your students' head. Tell them the concept of dance space and demonstrate how to dance on a crowded floor versus not-so-crowded floor. Not for two or three bars but at-least half a song. Most of the times people who step on or bump into adjacent couples are the beginners [or cuban style timba dancers
.. topic for another thread]. I have learned my dancing pre-dominantly from only one instructor. There is only one other instructor that I give credit for turning Mr. Two left 'wooden' feet in to an average dancer. First time I took a private from anyone was last week. So below is about what I liked mostly from group class experience:
1. Emphasis on technique rather than turn patterns. Personally I was never interested in knowing too many turn patterns. I rather want to be able to execute perfectly what I knew.
2. Able to spot where I (or others are going wrong), being able to explain why I am going wrong and then to correct it.
3. Concept of maintaining balance during dancing.
4. How not to imitate instructor's style but to personalize it and be your own dancer. [We have one dance company here. Many students from there look like the clones of the company's director, especially on the social dance floor. Also you can tell them since they are all trying to do same kind of turn pattern for 6-10 bars]
Offbeat said:
While I agree with you about teaching about rythm, tempo, etc. in salsa music, I disagree about the history part. I'm not sure if many people are really interested in the history of salsa or just want to learn moves and dance. At least at my last congress Albert (Torres) gave a workshop about the history of salsa and there weren't lots of people around. And somebody else (Sorry, don't remember who it was) described that she noticed the same at another congress with the salsa history workshop by Albert.
Offbeat said:
That's a good idea, but I would suggest maybe an extra class just about musicality. Also I'm not sure if it's useful to already teach beginners without any dancefloor experience musicality or if they maybe should have some experience dancing salsa. So maybe add an extra class for intermediate (and maybe improvers, depends of which levels you are going to use).
Offbeat said:
I'm not sure if that's a good idea. On the one hand the students might become more shy about social dances due to the different atmosphere at their 15 minute free dancing. On the other hand how shall the students stop being intimidated by social dancing? There will always be other people around who've danced logger and/or better then you. So there's the possibility of always being to intimidated by the social dance floor.
chrisk said:
I wasn't alluding to a separate class like Albert Torress does at congress (that one is more like an optional for those who are genuinely interested). I mean to interweave interesting tidbits as you are instructing the class on basic. As a teacher who is professing it is your responsibility to think of ways to make your teaching both interesting and educating. Think of the best teachers you liked (in any subject). They think of why you liked them. It takes only few minutes to explain or demonstrate few of the dominant salsa style at start of the class. Then move on and tell that you teach this particular style. People may not get the difference, but they will at least be aware that there is no one (right) style of dancing.
Offbeat said:
Again not extra class per se though that will be great if there is such a regular class offered. May be spend say 10 minutes on it if it is 2 hour workshop? As I said it is about creating the awareness and curiosity in students' minds. This is basically to expose them to the possibility, potential and how some day they may be able dance beautifully.
Offbeat said:
You make a very good point. There is always an intimidation factor. Teacher can not eliminate it. I am talking about reducing it a little bit.
However the aim here is to let student make mistakes, familiarize themselves with the feeling of dancing to an entire song rather than to the 1,2,3..5,6,7 ..... change partners ......right hand up.. left feet hook turn.. etc. As my teacher said.. feel free to make all mistakes you can here (as in the class) or this is the place where you should be making mistakes. And he is there to correct them.
Also on a social floor you are likely to ask someone you danced with than someone whom you don't know (at least when you are a beginner coming up the ranks). If you danced with a person during those 15 minutes, it is much easier to ask the same people when out at a club.
I have been teaching as an assistant to Joby Brava for several months now. I have only twice run a class alone. To start I will be going into business for myself but I am also going to look at working at a studio/school. I lived in Memphis when I found salsaforums, but I've been in LA about a year and a half and helping Joby about 6 months.
To add to to my first post, many of you guys it seems are limited to the number of teachers in your area. In LA salsa instructors are a dime a dozen. I have to set myself apart. One of the reasons I decided to teach b/c I am asked often enough at clubs if I give lessons. Many teachers have a very intimidating/unapproachable element to them whereas I feel like people are comfortable coming up to me. So to initially market myself here are some of my strategies. To use that quality of being approachable, go out dancing several times a week to meet and network with people. I also have a good company to get promotional materials such as flyers and business cards from. I also wil do some internet marketing by starting a web page with a newsletter, auto-responder, google adwords, and some other internet marketing techniques.
My focus will be on teaching social dancing. Things like musicality and etiquette will be things I teach from the start. My emphasis on social dancing will also be somewhat of a sales pitch. You know if I am going to give someone a business card I want it to say something compelling, something that will communicate to students they will be learning how to dance better at the club. Suggestions on the business side of things are very welcomed!
My focus will be on teaching social dancing. Things like musicality and etiquette will be things I teach from the start. My emphasis on social dancing will also be somewhat of a sales pitch. You know if I am going to give someone a business card I want it to say something compelling, something that will communicate to students they will be learning how to dance better at the club. Suggestions on the business side of things are very welcomed!
memphis salsero said:
Plan everything that you do. Every lesson, every practice, every activity outside the school. This way you will know what you are doing and your students will know what you are doing. They will follow you to class, to practice, to the clubs, etc. You will look successful. You will attract new clients like that because your classes will always be ful and you will have a big posse with you at the clubs.
Plan for the unexpected. Ask a senior teacher what are the most surprising questions students have asked them and how they dealt with them. If it ever happens to you, you will look like a total genius.
Remember that your clients are the reason of your work and not an interruption of your work. Good customer service is usually the big difference between a good teacher and a great teacher. When you plan your classes, plan also some time for questions, explanations for slower students, and for dealing with student’s complaints about partners, DJ’s, things from last week’s class that they could not remember at the club…
Train yourself every day, keep taking salsa classes (nothing impresses a students like a teacher who knows what it is like to be a student).
Attend congresses and take the beginner workshops (that is where you learn the really interesting stuff).
Take business seminars, especially the ones about managing people (you will be managing your students) and improving your communication skills.
Never diss another dancer, teacher or school, no matter how much they hate you. Keep it professional.
Develop a huge sense of humour.
1. Technique is very important, (leading and following technique i mean), if they got the technique of leading and dollowing inside turns, cross body lead, broken arm, u know, all the basic stuff right... they will definately find everything else easy to execute.
2. Make them work both their feet and arms together after mastering basid step, ask them to clap on certain count while still doing the basic , or do a hand signal, so they dont get confused when u ask em to do basic and lead a move.
3. Challange them, give em a decent reason to come back charged for the next class.
4. be their friend; tell them it was scary as hell ur first few classes and how long it took u to improve , wut was ur most difficult move, how did u get over it.. things like that.
5. Dance ettiquete, give em live examples on the dance floor, take em to a club one night and show em wut refusal is, what is the right way of asking, who shows off, who danced to music, and who is a blacklisted wrestler. (real life experience not theories)
MMM... thats all i have on my mind now i guess.
2. Make them work both their feet and arms together after mastering basid step, ask them to clap on certain count while still doing the basic , or do a hand signal, so they dont get confused when u ask em to do basic and lead a move.
3. Challange them, give em a decent reason to come back charged for the next class.
4. be their friend; tell them it was scary as hell ur first few classes and how long it took u to improve , wut was ur most difficult move, how did u get over it.. things like that.
5. Dance ettiquete, give em live examples on the dance floor, take em to a club one night and show em wut refusal is, what is the right way of asking, who shows off, who danced to music, and who is a blacklisted wrestler. (real life experience not theories)
MMM... thats all i have on my mind now i guess.
I agree with you guys about teaching the right technique, musicality, posture, etc.
In addition, something I really appriaciated about my former dance instructor was that he managed to create a community among his students. So when they go out (especially the beginners or newbies who joined his classes at an intermediate/advanced level), they already know people. That's what he does:
- He has his students switch partners after every song or every other song. This way they not only learn to dance with different partners from the beginning but also meet their classmates.
- He charges a "flatrate" instead of charging per course. That is his students pay per month and can join all the classes he offers. (It's not a club or association, though. People don't have to join o anything. You just pay at the first class of the month, and if you don't take any classes during a particular month, you don't pay). Many advanced students take advantage of that and attend the lower level classes. Everybody wins: the advanced students get the opportunity to repeat some stuff, the beginner students meet advanced students and get to dance with them, and the advanced students help out the lower level students and explain certain things.
- He does a class-end party every month. He negotiated special entrance rates for his students for these parties at a local club. At the beginning of the night he's at the entrance to welcome the students, so that they feel welcome and comfortable and when they go in they see many people they already know from the classes.
- On his website he has a forum for his students where they exchange information about salsa parties, songs, salsa dancing in general.
- His former students remain attached to the community: For example, I have moved town over a year ago and can't attend his classes any more, but I still receive his newsletters, am on his guest list for special events, etc.
The business advantage for the instructor is: This community is very attached to the instructor and he has many long-term students who feel comfortable with the atmosphere and refer him to other people. With this concept he has grown to be one of the biggest and most popular salsa schools in the area within only two years, even though he might not be the best teacher in the area in terms of teaching leading and following technique, posture, connection, musicality, etc.
In addition, something I really appriaciated about my former dance instructor was that he managed to create a community among his students. So when they go out (especially the beginners or newbies who joined his classes at an intermediate/advanced level), they already know people. That's what he does:
- He has his students switch partners after every song or every other song. This way they not only learn to dance with different partners from the beginning but also meet their classmates.
- He charges a "flatrate" instead of charging per course. That is his students pay per month and can join all the classes he offers. (It's not a club or association, though. People don't have to join o anything. You just pay at the first class of the month, and if you don't take any classes during a particular month, you don't pay). Many advanced students take advantage of that and attend the lower level classes. Everybody wins: the advanced students get the opportunity to repeat some stuff, the beginner students meet advanced students and get to dance with them, and the advanced students help out the lower level students and explain certain things.
- He does a class-end party every month. He negotiated special entrance rates for his students for these parties at a local club. At the beginning of the night he's at the entrance to welcome the students, so that they feel welcome and comfortable and when they go in they see many people they already know from the classes.
- On his website he has a forum for his students where they exchange information about salsa parties, songs, salsa dancing in general.
- His former students remain attached to the community: For example, I have moved town over a year ago and can't attend his classes any more, but I still receive his newsletters, am on his guest list for special events, etc.
The business advantage for the instructor is: This community is very attached to the instructor and he has many long-term students who feel comfortable with the atmosphere and refer him to other people. With this concept he has grown to be one of the biggest and most popular salsa schools in the area within only two years, even though he might not be the best teacher in the area in terms of teaching leading and following technique, posture, connection, musicality, etc.
Offbeat, could you explain what Espinoza did to hit the breaks during his demo? What advice did he give you?
As a beginner intermediate I wouldn't have survived this long if it wasn't for having good beginner/improver teachers. Here are the the things that helped:
1/ Laying a good foundation for the basics
- already detailed by lolita
2/ Good sense of humour
- laughs always help you along when you mess up or just don't get it at all
3/ Dancing with your students
- although it was intimidating at first, there was one teacher that insisted you danced before you left and would dance with you after the lesson, it helps ease that fear of the floor quicker
- like someone said before, you know what it feels like to dance with a good dancer
- it's fun for the student...when it stops being scary If you can dance with your teacher then you can dance with anyone. Well, almost.
4/ Being approachable
- sounds like you got this covered
5/ Breaking down patterns
- number one ties into this too, like how to actually lead an arm break in el doce for instance. Think of it this way...when your a beginner you've only ever seen coppers and wrestlers do it on television so how do you lead it in a social dance???
6/ Getting students to think for themselves
- the one day improver's intensive at Bar Salsa (Salsa Rapido) does this. "Here is a move...think of a way to get out of it".
- allowing enough time for students to figure things out before switching partners
- encourage students to ask questions
7/ What's this thing called the clav?
- once again this is thanks to the one day intensive (not advertising - promise). It was kind of a spiritual experience to have it demonstrated
8/ Trying to keep the ability in class as balanced as posible
Hope that helps.
1/ Laying a good foundation for the basics
- already detailed by lolita
2/ Good sense of humour
- laughs always help you along when you mess up or just don't get it at all
3/ Dancing with your students
- although it was intimidating at first, there was one teacher that insisted you danced before you left and would dance with you after the lesson, it helps ease that fear of the floor quicker
- like someone said before, you know what it feels like to dance with a good dancer
- it's fun for the student...when it stops being scary
If you can dance with your teacher then you can dance with anyone. Well, almost.4/ Being approachable
- sounds like you got this covered
5/ Breaking down patterns
- number one ties into this too, like how to actually lead an arm break in el doce for instance. Think of it this way...when your a beginner you've only ever seen coppers and wrestlers do it on television so how do you lead it in a social dance???
6/ Getting students to think for themselves
- the one day improver's intensive at Bar Salsa (Salsa Rapido) does this. "Here is a move...think of a way to get out of it".
- allowing enough time for students to figure things out before switching partners
- encourage students to ask questions
7/ What's this thing called the clav?
- once again this is thanks to the one day intensive (not advertising - promise). It was kind of a spiritual experience to have it demonstrated
8/ Trying to keep the ability in class as balanced as posible
Hope that helps.
Some excellent advice so far. Especially continuing to take other teachers' classes! (You learn a lot, including how not to do it LOL)
I'd add a couple of things (that I try to do but as we are on different continents, why not...)
Watching an instructor working out a turn-pattern routine at the beginning of a class, or worse, as it goes along, does not give the students confidence that the class they have paid for has been prepared and has a purpose....
Best to have a clear and simple purpose behind each class. Tell them what it is! (Makes you think about it too)
If you are teaching a shine or two first, pick ones the class can use at a break during the following partner-work. Make sure they build up a repertoire of known shines from week to week, rather than a load of once-offs they forget after a day and never use again.
Plan a routine so that one or two points (on which you want to concentrate for that class - the purpose) crop up several times within it, with variations. e.g. hand flicks, or armlocks, or the jazz step, etc. etc.
Explain a lead thoroughly, with the right timing, hand position etc and also (which very few do) explain the follow - not just in terms of what the follower's footwork is expected to be, but also what pressures and directions and timings the follwer should be experiencing at different points.
Keep routines short, challenging and with many repetitions, rather than stringing together some long, memory-taxing thing
Towards the end of partner-work, play a track where you encourage leaders to vary the sequence while including the moves within it - this reveals how much there is real leading /following and how much is just choreographic memory.
Be prepared to adapt what you are teaching if it becomes clear that students have some particular difficulties with it.
I'd add a couple of things (that I try to do but as we are on different continents, why not...)
Watching an instructor working out a turn-pattern routine at the beginning of a class, or worse, as it goes along, does not give the students confidence that the class they have paid for has been prepared and has a purpose....
Best to have a clear and simple purpose behind each class. Tell them what it is! (Makes you think about it too)
If you are teaching a shine or two first, pick ones the class can use at a break during the following partner-work. Make sure they build up a repertoire of known shines from week to week, rather than a load of once-offs they forget after a day and never use again.
Plan a routine so that one or two points (on which you want to concentrate for that class - the purpose) crop up several times within it, with variations. e.g. hand flicks, or armlocks, or the jazz step, etc. etc.
Explain a lead thoroughly, with the right timing, hand position etc and also (which very few do) explain the follow - not just in terms of what the follower's footwork is expected to be, but also what pressures and directions and timings the follwer should be experiencing at different points.
Keep routines short, challenging and with many repetitions, rather than stringing together some long, memory-taxing thing
Towards the end of partner-work, play a track where you encourage leaders to vary the sequence while including the moves within it - this reveals how much there is real leading /following and how much is just choreographic memory.
Be prepared to adapt what you are teaching if it becomes clear that students have some particular difficulties with it.
Offbeat said:
Oh, so you mean just to add some bits of history to the classes. I think this would be a good idea to give people some background information about the dance. Sorry, that wasn't obvious by your first posting, but know we agree
Offbeat said:
How much can you teach about 10 minutes about musicality to students, who just learned some move and need their muscles and brain get used to it? I think it makes more sense to have an extra class, where students know some moves and are able to focus on musicality and how to use those moves in relation to the music.
Offbeat said:
I understand your point about reducing the intimiation, but I'm not sure if it would really work. But some free time for dancing is a good idea to have people practice the stuff they just learned while still having the teacher be around for questions or to correct mistakes.
Offbeat said:
Well, when I started as beginner, I had to ask people who I didn't know because there weren't really much beginners around from my class. So if I didn't want to sit out the whole evening, I had to just ask a stranger. I know that it took a lot of courage and I was afraid of rejection and the first dances. But it helped me also, because today I'm not afraid of asking any stranger that I want to dance with. So being pushed into the cold water ("having to ask a stranger") can be painful and helpful at the same time.
darrencorgan said:
I can't answer your question precisely. I will try to answer to best of my ability.
I think what Espinoza was trying to convey was dancing to the music than just dancing doing your turn patterns. As I mentioned he first turned on the music and danced with various turn patterns. It looked good. Second time he again danced to the very same song. Only stuck to CBL and inside turn as far as leads are concerned but hit the breaks. Second time as he explained he was dancing to the music. Even though it he was just leading the basic moves it looked much more beautiful. The breaks also gave the follower time for doing her styling.
I don't think he gave any particular advise. He put on a song and taught a pattern that ended just half a beat before each break...If I remember correctly he made people pause at the breakand then start dancing again when the music came in.
He was saying anticipate the breaks coming (though I am myself musically challenged this is one aspect I don't have too much difficulty with. I can anticipate the break coming depending on the flow of the music. Sometimes I might be off by a couple of bars when the music rhythm repeats more than I expected.) Later I learned that many dancers are familiar with many of the songs so they know where the breaks are and dance accordingly. Personally for me if the break is not where I anticipated I just continue dancing such that if the break comes in next couple of bars, I can hit it.
I'm going with what Flex says, plus this...
Start classes on time, or you're on a slippery slope...
You wait for people to turn up before starting and they just turn up later next week :twisted: , whereas if they arrive late and class is already underway cos you started on time, then they (generally) make an effort to arrive earlier next time. 8)
I hate the expression "salsa time" used because most classes/events start later than advertised.
Start classes on time, or you're on a slippery slope...
You wait for people to turn up before starting and they just turn up later next week :twisted: , whereas if they arrive late and class is already underway cos you started on time, then they (generally) make an effort to arrive earlier next time. 8)
I hate the expression "salsa time" used because most classes/events start later than advertised.
Wow you guys are rockin my world right now. So what are some things that instructors have done specifically that have turned you off?
memphis salsero said:
Choosing this one follower whom he'd demostrate EVERY MOVE AND TURN PATTERN with... he doesnt pick different followers
Playing the same music every class...variety is always good
Payin attention to those who progress faster and not enough attention to the strugling crowd
Wasting so much time with strugling dancers and not payin enough attention to other dancers
lolita said:
I think that if you are lucky enough to have a good partner, then it is right to use them to demonstrate the partner work correctly. Even better if s/he is good enough to add instructive comments for the followers/leaders.
But when it comes to dancing through a partner routine to music, it's advisable to make sure the teacher rotates through the class. Even better if the teacher has an expert partner to do likewise. This way, every student gets at least one chance to try out with a really good partner, and the teacher gets feedback and can diagnose problems.
I agree that students are turned off when the teacher(s) never rotate through at all. Followers seem to get more turned off by this than leaders.
One very experienced male teacher I know will sometimes get a good leader from a class to demonstrate partner-work with the teacher taking the follower's role. He will then rotate through the class to diagnose leader problems .... I don't think I'd be good enough to do that, but it's impressive and it works. Prompts the thought that with consecutive music tracks a really good teacher could first rotate through the followers then through the leaders.... LOL let's see if we can get Marchant to try that .... I think that Lee would probably do it ...