Tap Teacher Training Quiz...You ready?

In your mind, Tap Teacher Training might go in that "would be nice" section of your never-ending to-do list.

But might Tap Teacher Training really be a "MUST" for you? A "NEED"? A "GAME-CHANGER"? 

Since I started the Tap Teachers' Lounge in 2018, I've seen first-hand that Tap Teacher training is the most powerful way for a Tap teacher to bring out fresh enthusiasm for Tap dance in their students, and a deeper sense of accomplishment, inspiration & confidence in the Tap teacher who truly commits to the training process. 

So, if you're wondering if Tap Teacher Training might help you,

here's a quick checklist for you ⬇️ to help you answer this question. 

1) You have a hard time clarifying the MUSICALITY aspects of your lesson planning.

If your current lesson plans are too "step-focused", then you're missing the other wing of the bird. Without the "musicality wing" of Tap class, you'll find that you're constantly hitting several walls. The depth of Tap class is more than the complexity of steps; it's the music that those steps can create. 

 

2) You were LAUNCHED into becoming a Tap Teacher without much mentorship, training or support. (I know I was! 😅)

This is such a common experience, and one of the reasons I created the Tap Teachers' Lounge. Of course we know that there's a HUUUUGE difference between being a Tap student and the Tap Dance Educator. Without the right support in bridging that gap, there are often huge holes left in our lessons. We all want to offer great instruction to our students that we feel proud of. But it's hard to do that without help! 

 

3) You struggle to help Tap students who don’t NATURALLY understand/feel musicality.

Maybe you became a Tap teacher partly because you "picked up" pretty easily. But now you're standing at the front of the class, looking at eager students who want to make the music happen, but they're just not "naturals". If you don't have tangible, real strategies to help these students, they will easily start to feel like "maybe Tap dance isn't for me." 

We know that Tap dance is for EVERYONE! ❤️ As Tap Dance Educators, it's our job to give our students confidence-boosting lessons & approaches that help them to feel that they belong.

 

4) You have a wide range of skill levels in one class, and you have a hard time making your Tap classes comfortable yet challenging for all of them. 

Nearly every Tap class is "mixed-level" to some degree, but some level differences are truly HUGE 😳 Fortunately, there are ways to manage these mixed-level classes in a way that can keep everyone growing at their unique pace...AND eventually, grow your Tap program out of the mixed-level blues! 

 

5) You keep saying "STOP RUSHING!" to your classes. In other words...you could use more effective, proactive methods for teaching tempo awareness & management. 

Let me state the obvious: If your students knew how to stop rushing the music, they would! 😅

I got so frustrated with this problem as a younger Tap Teacher - my voice got hoarse from all the yelling over taps & music lol. I finally stopped to ask myself "WHY are my students rushing in the first place?" There are usually two culprits (I teach this in my Online Tap Teacher Training program). 

Once I answered that question, I set about the business of improving my teaching skills so that I teach tempo awareness & management up-front AND consistently.

After taking myself & my students through that process more effectively, there was a lot less "FIXING" to do. And when that rushing problem popped up here & there, I had effective tools to help students fix it. 

 

6) You’re doing a solid job teaching your classes, but you also know you could be bringing MORE to your classes…if you had a stronger game plan.

You feel pretty good about what you've been offering your Tap classes, but you just have a feeling that you could somehow bring more to your students. If you're not sure what that is, or you don't know where to begin, Tap Teacher Training could definitely be the answer.

 

7) You’ve been teaching for years and could use some fresh ideas & strategies to keep you and your students inspired & growing.

Inside the Tap Teachers' Lounge, I've worked with countless Tap Teachers who've been leading classes for 20-30 years or more. These are the savvy ones who know that the secret to continuing to keep your students growing, is to keep growing as a teacher. 

And let me throw this in: As my body has endured a couple of pregnancies, C-sections, and just straight-up aging, I've learned how to teach more from my MIND than my body. This truly refreshed and improved my teaching.

Looking to do more of this? Tap Teacher training is the answer.

 

8) You have trouble making on-the-spot adjustments in class when students quickly excel past (or struggle with) your class plan.

You thought XYZ exercise would take a long time, but they nailed it fast. 

You figured QRS exercise would be a quick one, but they struggled.

How do you handle these issues in the moment? You have to have a strategy and skill-set that is both intentional AND flexible, so that you can respond to the needs of your unique students in real time.

A written-out "follow 123" syllabus just doesn't give you that. These are issues of SKILL & STRATEGY, where teacher training can truly change the game.

 

9) You've realized that your lesson planning can get a little "random" - it could be more integrated and comprehensive.

This happens often for those of us who didn't have teacher training or mentorship. 

Over my years of being a Rockette, as a member of Dorrance Dance and other professional Tap companies, and working with some of the best Tap dance educators on the planet, I picked up a LOT of lessons that I was able to cobble together, mix with my own ideas, and try out on my students. 

So many Tap teachers have stayed closer to home, and picked up solid, but patchwork teaching ideas from YouTube, free FB groups (like mine), from their own teachers, etc. 

If you're looking to fill in the gaps, and bring it all together, Tap Teacher Training will help you do just that.

 

 

10) You feel stressed about how to challenge your advanced Tap students.

"They're only 13, and I'm starting to run out of things to teach them!"

If you want your students to continue to grow with you, you've got to deepen your well of knowledge.

Once you do that, very advanced 13-year-olds will have you feeling excited and inspired, because you know you have more in your "bag" to give them!! 

 

11) You and/or your students feel discouraged or frustrated with cleaning Tap routines.

"One more time" can be the most agonizing phrase because it can really mean "until we're 3 minutes over class and your grandma opens the studio door to get you out of here and take you home for dinner!" 🤣

If you keep cleaning the same choreography over and over, and you can't figure out what to do or say to get the sounds clean, it probably means that there are some more teaching skills you can gain that can

1) help you clean more effectively in less time, and

2) set your students up for success so that there's less cleaning to do in the first place!

Teacher Training will give you these effective "coaching" tools. 

 

12) You worry about your students getting bored in Tap class, and could use some fresh ideas to keep them engaged. 

Especially with students ages 7 and up, you don't have to feel like a party clown to keep your students engaged or "entertained".

There are specific exercises and teaching strategies you should be bringing to EACH class that keep your Tap students "locked in", and not mentally "drifting out the window" or "bored." 

Your teaching approach must create a culture of engagement in your Tap program. 

If you're ready to adapt your teaching approaches, ongoing training is vital. 

My training program lasts 12 weeks, because it takes time to absorb new ideas and develop new habits, new muscle memory as a TEACHER. 

Not everyone is committed to making those changes within themselves, and that's ok. But here's the spoiler alert: I'll tell you that my students' engagement improved when I improved my skills as a teacher. The kids in class didn't go out and buy halos 😇. I made the commitment to being a better teacher...and it made all the difference.

 

13) You have a significant number of students who worry that “Tap is hard to learn”. You have students who give up easily, and you wish you had some strategies to help them make REAL, confidence-building progress.

Imagine if someone told you "If you do a standing back flip right within the next 90 seconds, I'll give you a billion dollars." Short time frame, no instructions, no trampoline. Wild right?!

Now...if you couldn't do it (I know I couldn't lol)...is it because you lacked desire??? No way!

The majority of your students have at least SOME desire to dance. But if our standards are high, yet our teaching skills are not setting our students up to meet our high standards, we can accidentally be setting our students up for discouragement and self-doubt. 

If you want more tools in your Tap Teacher bag to help set your students up for more confidence-building success, then teacher training is the most powerful thing you can do. 

 

14) You have a lot of Tap students in your Pre-K Tap combo classes, but many of those students aren't choosing Tap dance as they get older.

Lynette, an alumni of the Tap Teachers' Lounge, told me that after taking my program, she finally felt like she was REALLY teaching her "littles" substantial lessons that would help them to grow and stick with Tap as they got older...it stopped feeling like "babysitting" and more like teaching them the real stuff. 

Sometimes the "littles" take the Pre-K combo class and they are excited about Tap for a while because they "get to make noise with their feet". It's up to us to show the kids AND their families how Tap dance is all about making MUSIC with their feet. 

Committing to learning foundational musicality concepts comes into play here in a big way. So if you need more training in that area, then let's goooooooo!!! 

 

15) You don't have a ton of spare time for lesson planning each week. 

Got 15 other dance classes to plan for? Laundry to fold? Kids to shlep around? Costumes to order? Where is all this magical time to sit down and PLAN your Tap class in a comprehensive way? 

If you struggle to find time each week to plan, then you REALLY need training. Training in the Tap Teachers' Lounge gives you direction, a flexible course of action, and tools to navigate classes, even if you didn't have time to make up a new combo. 

As you integrate the training, it truly preserves your energy, so that even if you didn't have time to sit down & plan class this week, you know exactly what you can do to lead an effective, comprehensive Tap class that leaves everyone feeling accomplished and enthusiastic.  

 

So how did the quiz go for you? 

If you answered YES to even THREE of these things, then I'd encourage you to move Tap Teacher Training from your "would be nice" list to your "gotta find a way to get training immediately" list! 

Interested in the Tap Teachers' Lounge online training program? Get on the waitlist right away, and start figuring out how you can put the energy into this deeply important (and FUN) work.  

Let 2023 be a game-changing year for you and your sweet Tap students.