When I was younger, I only ever taught kids' tap classes because that's really all there was in my area. So it was such a joy to get back into teaching tap dancing with a class that included adults! From there, I started teaching the occasional tap class that was adults-only, and I just loved every minute of it.
Don't for a second think that I don't absolutely adore my teen and tween tap dancers, but there's just something special about teaching tap to adult students., and I'd bet anything I'm not the only dance teacher out there who feels this way!
Here are just some of the reasons dance teachers love having adult students in their classes:
They come to dance classes pumped to learn
No one is pressuring the adults in my tap classes to be there. Coming to my class is not a studio requirement, or something they need to do to land a better part in the high school musical. Their parents didn't sign them up. It's true that most young students who take dance classes are there because they want to be dancing, but you can bet that all of the students in adult dance classes signed themselves up because they've always wanted to learn to dance or they're excited to get back into it.
Students in adult dance classes are motivated
The big, obvious reason that students in adult dance classes are extra motivated is because they're almost always paying for those classes themselves. They want to get their money's worth, so they're especially focused and hardworking. But they also have other clear motivations, from wanting to learn something new to wanting to get fit (tap dancing in particular burns a lot of calories!), and show up ready to push themselves. They are there to DANCE.
They're only chatty during breaks
Dance is a discipline, but I'll admit that it's also a social activity - especially for those kids, tweens, and teens who spend A LOT of time at the studio and so don't have a lot of time for socializing outside of school. Every dance teacher will have deal with chatty students now and then, but adult dance students typically only chat during downtime. When the teacher says it's time to focus, boom, that's it, they're focused.
Adults accept that practice makes progress
Younger dancers are often still working on developing a growth mindset, and I totally understand that it's super hard. When you're in class with someone that just gets it when you're struggling, it doesn't feel great. Adults who sign up for dance classes, on the other hand, almost always have a growth mindset - or else they wouldn't have signed up for a dance class. They're not trying to be perfect because they don't feel the need to be.
And they aren't afraid of a challenge
Most of my adult tap dancers aren't trying to impress anyone, and they're past the age when they're worried about looking silly. I love that because it means we can all make mistakes, try new things, and get silly together!
Adult tap dancers take corrections in stride
Whether or not adult dance students are planning on dancing in the recital or in a showcase, they are usually super cool about not just hearing corrections, but also taking them seriously. Instructors love when they give a correction and the result is that a week or two later there's an obvious improvement. More advanced adult tap dancers may occasionally debate with a teacher about technique, but it's all in the spirit of improvement and the love of the form.
They know what they don't know
My adult tap students are always the first to raise their hand if they need me to repeat a combo, go through something more slowly, or they don't know what a term I used means. I don't have to worry as much that someone in the class is confused by something but biting their tongue instead of speaking up. And you know what? I'm the same way when I take a dance class - I am literally the first person to put my hand in the air and say, "I have no idea what you're doing. Please break it down?"
Now, again, I want to stress that plenty of kid, tween, and teen dancers are just as motivated, hardworking, and disciplined in dance! I know because I have the privilege of teaching them :) I just felt inspired to write this post because I think that adult students in dance classes sometimes don't get the credit they deserve for showing up and putting in the work.
So three cheers for all the adult dance students out there! Even if they don't say it often enough, your instructors think you rock!
Want to tap dance? Christa T. teaches group and private tap classes for adults and kids at various North Shore venues, and is now teaching adult tap classes at Dance Enthusiasm in Salem on Thursdays! More info: http://www.danceenthusiasm.org/contact/.
She’s also available for tap classes wherever students want to hold them around Beverly, Salem, Peabody, and anywhere in the North Shore. Whether you've never put on a pair of tap shoes or you want to get back into tap dancing, whether you're 8 or 80, tap instructor Christa knows you can do it!
Email me for info: youcantapwithchrista@gmail.com
Don't for a second think that I don't absolutely adore my teen and tween tap dancers, but there's just something special about teaching tap to adult students., and I'd bet anything I'm not the only dance teacher out there who feels this way!
Here are just some of the reasons dance teachers love having adult students in their classes:
They come to dance classes pumped to learn
No one is pressuring the adults in my tap classes to be there. Coming to my class is not a studio requirement, or something they need to do to land a better part in the high school musical. Their parents didn't sign them up. It's true that most young students who take dance classes are there because they want to be dancing, but you can bet that all of the students in adult dance classes signed themselves up because they've always wanted to learn to dance or they're excited to get back into it.
Students in adult dance classes are motivated
The big, obvious reason that students in adult dance classes are extra motivated is because they're almost always paying for those classes themselves. They want to get their money's worth, so they're especially focused and hardworking. But they also have other clear motivations, from wanting to learn something new to wanting to get fit (tap dancing in particular burns a lot of calories!), and show up ready to push themselves. They are there to DANCE.
They're only chatty during breaks
Dance is a discipline, but I'll admit that it's also a social activity - especially for those kids, tweens, and teens who spend A LOT of time at the studio and so don't have a lot of time for socializing outside of school. Every dance teacher will have deal with chatty students now and then, but adult dance students typically only chat during downtime. When the teacher says it's time to focus, boom, that's it, they're focused.
Adults accept that practice makes progress
Younger dancers are often still working on developing a growth mindset, and I totally understand that it's super hard. When you're in class with someone that just gets it when you're struggling, it doesn't feel great. Adults who sign up for dance classes, on the other hand, almost always have a growth mindset - or else they wouldn't have signed up for a dance class. They're not trying to be perfect because they don't feel the need to be.
And they aren't afraid of a challenge
Most of my adult tap dancers aren't trying to impress anyone, and they're past the age when they're worried about looking silly. I love that because it means we can all make mistakes, try new things, and get silly together!
Adult tap dancers take corrections in stride
Whether or not adult dance students are planning on dancing in the recital or in a showcase, they are usually super cool about not just hearing corrections, but also taking them seriously. Instructors love when they give a correction and the result is that a week or two later there's an obvious improvement. More advanced adult tap dancers may occasionally debate with a teacher about technique, but it's all in the spirit of improvement and the love of the form.
They know what they don't know
My adult tap students are always the first to raise their hand if they need me to repeat a combo, go through something more slowly, or they don't know what a term I used means. I don't have to worry as much that someone in the class is confused by something but biting their tongue instead of speaking up. And you know what? I'm the same way when I take a dance class - I am literally the first person to put my hand in the air and say, "I have no idea what you're doing. Please break it down?"
Now, again, I want to stress that plenty of kid, tween, and teen dancers are just as motivated, hardworking, and disciplined in dance! I know because I have the privilege of teaching them :) I just felt inspired to write this post because I think that adult students in dance classes sometimes don't get the credit they deserve for showing up and putting in the work.
So three cheers for all the adult dance students out there! Even if they don't say it often enough, your instructors think you rock!
Want to tap dance? Christa T. teaches group and private tap classes for adults and kids at various North Shore venues, and is now teaching adult tap classes at Dance Enthusiasm in Salem on Thursdays! More info: http://www.danceenthusiasm.org/contact/.
She’s also available for tap classes wherever students want to hold them around Beverly, Salem, Peabody, and anywhere in the North Shore. Whether you've never put on a pair of tap shoes or you want to get back into tap dancing, whether you're 8 or 80, tap instructor Christa knows you can do it!
Email me for info: youcantapwithchrista@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment