r/DanceTeachers

I am in my late 40's I danced growing up and into my late 20's. I'll take adult drop in classes with friends from time to time. Am I a highly skilled professional dancer...not in the least, but I went to a studio that required ballet in order to be in graded levels. All I see now is videos of girls performing in groups and solos en pointe and they have no basic technique at all. They have no turn out, bent knees and just look sloppy all around. It also seems like an injury waiting to happen....

Hi! Im coming straight out of school and looking to teach dance on the side— not necessarily at like an official studio, but drop ins of some sort. I have experience in Jazz and hiphop, and was looking to teach hiphop and jazz funk at beginner, beginner/intermediate, intermediate, and intermediate/advanced levels. Just not quite sure where to start.

Ive been teaching dance and working in the dance office for quite some time now. I have LOVED teaching. I love the kids, I love choreographing, and I am well loved by our students and families. However, I can't stand the pay, the hours, or the studio owner any more.

At first I didn't care about the low pay, but now I'm older and see the importance of things like retirement funds and benefits. I used to love having the morning to myself and then teaching all afternoon/evening. now I wish I could just work normal hours like everyone else and enjoy a weekend off. I used to think it was a great environment but lately it's been really hard to work there. I could just try and teach at other studios but that help my first two problems. I don't want to be a starving artist forever.

I've started applying to grad programs and looking for other jobs. I feel peace about leaving this particular studio. But when I'm applying for jobs they seem so... lifeless? Like I get that not every job is going to make me feel as passionate as dance does. But at this point I'm nearing a crisis of self!

For those of you who have day jobs unrelated to dance or who have left teaching for a while. What did you do and were you happy you left? Am I stupid for wanting to leave? I feel like I just can't handle the toxicity anymore but I hate to throw in the towel. I don't ever want to walk away from something I love and I don't want to work a job I hate for the rest of my life. What's the right thing here?

I am a 3 year dance teacher, grew up dancing all styles. My first year, I started in the middle of year and at the end of spring semester, asked to choreograph a comp team dance and wasn’t given one, which in hindsight I understand, I was very new and didn’t have a ton of choreography experience under my belt.

I helped with some comp team rehearsals throughout the year, just here and there, though. The next year I went to competition team auditions to help out, asked to choreograph something and eventually, a month or more later, was asked if I would choreograph the musical theater production that the owner normally does. I know there had to be some level of trust there to do it, but it also kind of felt like I was given that piece because the owner didn’t have the energy to do it this year so it was the throwaway.

I did a great job with it. The routine did well, the parents and kids loved the dance, it even beat the other two productions (jazz and contemporary) from our studio at one competition. I also spent the year running rehearsals for other dances and cleaning certain routines, so I was highly involved in the competition team throughout the whole year.

This year, while assignments haven’t been officially given out, I’m a bit worried I’m going to get overlooked. She already sent out an audition form asking for solo choreography preferences and didn’t even list me as an option, even though I’ve asked to be listed every year I’ve been here. I would really love to choreograph a jazz or lyrical routine, I can do any level/age range, but the problem is, the priority is typically going to the owner’s daughter and a gal who grew up dancing at the studio. They are both wonderful choreographers but they won’t be there throughout the year to run rehearsals. We’re cutting back on the number of routines, so I can just really see a scenario where I’m just SOL.

If I don’t get a routine to choreograph, I plan to say that I won’t be coming in on Sundays to help with rehearsals.

Is it fair to be a little upset about not being prioritized? I feel like I’ve made my ambitions pretty clear and haven’t been given any sort of feedback on the quality of my work not being up to par. Is there something I should do to better communicate or position myself?

I really want the opportunity to grow as a choreographer and explore new styles but I feel like I’m not given a chance or acknowledged for my work. During the year, I teach classes with a wide range of abilities and ages within one classroom, so I’m proud of how my recital dances turn out and get many choreography compliments, but the routines don’t look ~amazing~ because I only have a handful of really strong dancers who take multiple classes a week. Whereas, one of the prioritized teachers gets lots of praise from the director for a cool dance with all the most advanced dancers.

Any idea on how to make a big little program better on my team? There’s a disconnect between our older dancers and littles because they dance on different days. How can we build that bond better?

Like many others, I grew up as a comp dancer and dance was my first love. But now I’m 30 years old and I feel like I have no part in this community.

I got hip surgery going into my senior year of high school. This isn’t a “I could’ve gone pro if I didn’t get surgery” I was decent, but I wasn’t amazing. Because of these factors, I didn’t dance in college or audition. I even moved to nyc post college (degree in public relations) and didn’t do anything dance related. It’s my biggest regret.

Life happened and I had to move back home where I started teaching full time at 25 years old and not being in the dance scene since I was 18. I’m now 29 and have gotten PBT certified and landed my niche in leaps and turns, but I feel so utterly behind, lost, and not good enough. I don’t have the resume others have, I’ve never auditioned nor have I trained under anyone of note.

I know we’re not in it for the finances, but it is a factor. I used to have about 15 hours of private lessons a week with 15 class hours, now I’m in a new city and I only have one consistent private with only 7 hours of teaching. It’s my first year here, but it’s hard to not let this get to me.

Basically what I’m asking is, how do you keep your confidence up when it feels like you’re not doing anything good enough.

Hi! This may be a dumb question; I'm a new teacher and was wondering what the general etiquette/consensus is around posting photos of your students online? (specifically on your personal account, not a studio account.) If it makes a difference, they're 5-7 year olds. Do you blur their faces? Refer to them without photos? What's considered okay?

(I'm genuinely asking to try to understand, I'm not saying that I feel one way or the other about what SHOULD be done.)

Thank you!

Sincerely,
A careful teacher

I teach ballet at a competition dance studio, where ballet is not the focus. Very few of these students have ever performed choreography to classical music. I have chosen a relatively simple piece of music to count (Fauré’s Sicilienne), but even the students who know the choreography don’t seem to be listening to the music or dancing to the music. I want to try some things this week to help them connect more with this beautiful piece, so they have more graceful flow as opposed to robotically hitting the steps… and I’m just looking for as many ideas as I can find. TIA.

We had very full dance classes this Spring, which is a great thing! We are trying to figure out how to open up more space for more dancers next year. We will likely add some classes, but only have so much space, so another option is increasing the class sizes. Currently, we have a max class size of 12 for 3-4 year olds and 14 for 5-6 and 7-8 year olds. There is typically one teacher and two high school assistants for a full class. What are your ideal and max class sizes for various ages? Would 14 3-4 year olds be a nightmare? I am hesitant to increase class sizes, but if others find it doable, I might consider it as an option.

I HATE half soles (turners) for lyrical/contemporary but my dancers seem to love them. I’d pretty much rather them wear anything else (socks, barefoot, foot undies) but they’re pretty standard at our studio and also on the dance teams that many of our students dance on. Anyone feel the same?

I completely understand the 3-6 year olds are NOT going to be perfect. Again I get it. However what tips or tricks have you found to get these dancers to be slightly better or better performers? I know I cannot expect them to be amazing but what could I do to help them to be more confident on stage ?

Hi everyone,

I've been a dancer for 8 years now (I'm 13), but people still ask me, "What is contemporary dance?" I just sit there and watch them, trying to come up with a sensible answer. So far, the best definition I've found is:

Contemporary dance is a style of dance that, unlike other styles (like classical or Latin, etc.), isn't so much based on movement form, but rather on a message it wants to convey.

Do you have any ideas?

(Sorry for my bad English, I'm from Italy)

Hi! Our SO decided that we would hand out invitations to join our competitive to recreational dancers this year. Do you have any advice on how to make the other kids not feel left out?

One class almost everyone is getting invited, and feeling unsure how to broach the situation

TIA!!

What are your favorite ballet studios in the East Valley? We are new to Phoenix and just moved to Queen Creek. I have looked on Google and social media but you know how the internet can be biased. My daughter just turned 8 and has been dancing competitively for years. We came from a well known competition dance studio but she wants to focus all of her attention on ballet now.

I am both a dance teacher and work in the office for a studio. I have been here for over 5 years and teach the most amount of students. I’ve been very involved in the studio this whole time.

I have the opportunity to move back to my home town (about three hours away) and told my boss this 5 months in advance.

She will not be telling anyone (staff, students, families) that I am leaving until one week before. She has also already told families who have asked about it I am leaving “no she is not”

This is putting me in a weird position of not getting a proper goodbye with my students I have had for years and the program I have built. It also makes it seem as though I am leaving last minute when I gave so much notice.

How do I navigate this? I should be allowed to share this with at least people in my life but it’s been very apparent that no one is allowed to know. These are families and people I have known for years.

Thanks in advance.

Update: I should add the biggest issue I am having is that I am being expected to lie. If someone asks if I am leaving, her saying no and having me also not disclose that information feels like I am being asked to be dishonest.

Hi all. So I have always been a dance teacher and am wondering about what to do next.

In high school, I assisted taught at the studio I grew up in. I graduated from college with a degree in dance. At one point my childhood studio owner basically offered for me to take over after college but I had to get out of that town so I moved to a big city (Chicago).

Ever since, I’ve only been a dance teacher. I’ve worked at a couple studios and right now have four of my roster, teaching about 20 classes a week. In total, I’ve worked probably 5 years professionally and 3 years pre-college as a dance teacher.

My dream is to open my own studio, but my partner is worried about viability and income. I’m confident that if anyone can do it, I can but I can tell my partner is nervous. My partner has a typical 9-5 and makes a decent salary so we aren’t in a bad spot but it’s hard to contribute a lot financially.

I’m just shy of 30 so I’m in a weird position of wanting to do it soon but need time to figure it out.

I guess my questions are:

- How long can I realistically only be a dance teacher (only source of income)?

- How much could I realistically earn as an owner?

- If I wanted to change jobs to a more typical job (ideally not a corporate 9-5), what could I do? Can I make a good salary? Do I need to do more training or school (I didn’t love school outside my dance classes)?

I know those are a lot of questions and there might be harsh realities, but I’m hoping anyone here has some gentle guidance. I want to put my partner’s mind at ease. Thanks all!

Dance Studio Owners — Looking for Feedback on New Studio Software

Hey studio owners,
I run a ballet academy in Orange County and after years of dealing with different studio systems, we started building our own platform called StudioFlow.Dance.

We’re still early, but the goal is simple: make studio management easier, cleaner, and less fragmented.

We’re looking for 10 studio owners who’d be open to testing it, giving honest feedback, and helping shape the platform.

If you currently use Jackrabbit, DSP, WellnessLiving, etc., I’d especially love to hear:
what frustrates you most

what you wish your current software did better
what would actually make switching worth it

No pressure, no hard sales pitch — just looking to connect with studio owners and learn.
Comment or DM if interested.

— Ivan
Founder, Pryntsev Ballet Academy / StudioFlow.Dance

I am holding a dance recital on a small stage. They only have a row of lights shining from the front. No lights in back or wings. The last two years they used clear gels on the can lights. Should I use colors and what colors?