The 3 C’s for Dance Teachers to Focus on for a Successful Season by Ashley Mowrey
Communication • Classroom Culture • Connection
Back to dance season can be full of anticipation, excitement, and maybe a bit of chaos. Can you relate?
That’s why I created my Three C’s for dance teachers to focus on. It’s a simple and effective method to gain clarity, align with your authenticity, and be intentional in the studio.
When we are intentional about our classroom culture, how we communicate, and building connection with each student, we can create more trust, safety, cooperation, and belonging within our classes and teams.
Classroom Culture:
As we craft our classroom culture, it’s essential to check in with our personal core values and let them guide us. What are your core values in the classroom? Check out this previous blog post to learn more about values and how to identify your own.
Children learn best when they feel safe, connected, and included. Years from now, your students will forget what you said, but they’ll remember how they felt in your class.
Years from now, your students will forget what you said, but they’ll remember how they felt in your class.
Questions to explore:
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Describe the classroom culture you want to create.
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In what ways is your classroom culture already in alignment with your values and desired environment? What areas need to be shifted or revised?
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What are ways you can include your students in the creation of your classroom culture?
Communication:
Our words, body language, and tone of voice carry weight and are constantly observed and taken in by our students. Communication types to consider:
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Verbal: the words we use
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Nonverbal: our facial expressions, body language, gestures, and postures.
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Paraverbal: How we say it. Includes tone, pace, and pitch.
Questions to explore:
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How do I want to communicate with my students? Think about all three types of communication.
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What parts of communication feel good and in alignment with your values and desired classroom culture? What feels hard and out of alignment?
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When do your dancers have a voice in your class? How do you make sure they feel heard, understood, and supported?
Connection:
Building connection with each student helps keep kids engaged, boosts intrinsic motivation, and fosters cooperation.
Questions and ideas to explore:
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What are ways you can connect with every student and help them feel like they belong in every class?
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Ideas could include:
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Learning their names quickly.
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Collaborate with students to make classroom agreements and expectations.
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Ask students what music they want to hear in class and create playlists based on their requests.
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Give choice when you can. For example, can they contribute to performance songs, costuming, etc?
Wishing you a beautiful season filled with joy, growth, and lots of love!
Ashley Mowrey is a former competitive dancer, dance educator, and competition company director. Now as a Mindset Coach, she helps dancers build confidence and mental strength so they can shine on and off of the stage. Ashley works with dancers through 1-1 virtual coaching as well as studio and team workshops. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from The University of Arkansas, is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, a Whole Person Certified Coach and Trauma-Informed Certified Coach, a Certified Positive Psychology Coach, and a trained facilitator in Tara Mohr’s Playing Big Leadership Program. Ashley’s a specialist for Doctors for Dancers, and a blog contributor for Apolla Performance. You can also see her on tour with Embody Dance Conference, where she leads Mindset Skills Seminars for all ages, including parents and teachers.
