Some people take dance classes purely for fun, and others do so with the intent to become a professional dancer. Regardless of what your objective is when you enter into dance school, there are some standard things that you should look for when comparing dance schools in Mt. Pleasant, SC. These are the top seven things to consider when choosing which is the right fit for you.
The Experience and Qualifications of the Teachers
Dance is a broad term that is used for many different genres and types of movement. When choosing the dance school for you or your child, make sure to check both the qualifications and the experience of the teachers who you will be working with. Most dance teachers have been involved in dance nearly all their lives. At a minimum, a dance teacher should have years of performance and training experience. Also, they should participate in continuing education and attend things like seminars, shows, and conferences.
Approachability and Friendliness
How approachable are the teachers and the staff of the dance studio you are interested in? Do they know the talents of the individual students, and can they remember everyone’s name? The only way to excel at dancing is to feel comfortable, supported, and special; under those conditions, your child’s true talent can shine.
Age-Appropriateness
How appropriate are the classes for your child? A dance class should be tailored to meet what your child is emotionally and developmentally capable of. If the curriculum expects too much, that could squash their motivation, fun, and creativity. Also, make sure that you feel the costumes, themes, and music aren’t too mature for the dancers – or the audience.
How Safe is it?
Whenever you engage in physical activity, there is a risk of injury. An experienced dance school will do what it can to minimize injury risks. Things like having a carefully constructed dance floor that helps to reduce shock to knees and ankles are just one way to gauge how a dance studio is addressing injury concerns. If a dance studio has not taken the precautions to ensure people’s safety, then it would follow that they might not be watching their dancer’s movements as carefully as they should.
Class Size
Class sizes should be limited for several reasons. The first being that the room should be large enough for the students to move around freely without accidentally bumping into one another. Next, the class size should be appropriate so that each student is getting enough time and attention from the instructor. When teaching dance, there are times when students will have to take turns. So, there has to be a limit on how many students per class based on time constraints.
Class Placement
Children are capable of different instruction according to their emotional and developmental milestones. It is important to tailor a child’s class around what they can do so that they don’t get overwhelmed or feel frustrated at not being able to keep up. An experienced dance studio will often arrange their classes not by age, rather by experience and ability.
Basing class placement on experience allows the younger children to learn from the maturity of the older students in the class. And if a teacher sees either that a child is struggling or that they are ahead of their peers, they should have the freedom to move them around based on their experience and talent level.
The General “Feel”
Dance studios all have their own “feel”. And not every dance studio is going to be the right fit for you and your child. Things like whether the dance studio is clean and well-maintained are very important, but so too is the friendliness and comfort level that you get when you and your child walk through the door.
Not all dance schools in Mount Pleasant, SC are the same. When choosing which is best for you, and/or your child, make sure to consider all things. You want your child to have fun, but also to be well instructed and as safe from injury as possible. At Tapio Dance School, we have the experience, professionalism, and friendliness to foster all of the things that lead to a talented and well-rounded dancer.