Dancing through lockdown 2020 – a guide to helping dancers through lockdown and the impact it has had on young dancers.

Lockdown 2020 has had a profound impact on young dancers around the world.  Many young dancers spend hours at their dance studios every week and they become not just a place of learning but a home away from home.  The vibe of being in a studio, of working as a team, and of dancing with friends is a feeling like no other.  Students attend dance studios for so many reasons.  Some look to make a career, others find a social outlet through dance, many enjoy the process of perfecting an art form, many love the thrill of performing and others find solace and a safe space within their dance studio.  Adapting to remote learning has been challenging for dance teachers and students alike. Without the energy in the studio, without the connection and with no clear goals to work towards such as performances or exams, many students have found themselves disconnected from an integral part of their being.  A dance year has a rhythm, learning new skills, learning routines, working towards exams, competition season, performance season, there is a comfort in that rhythm and that predictability.  As we continue to navigate lockdown and post lockdown in the studio, it is important to consider methods for helping dancers through lockdown. I have just come off 8 months of teaching on Zoom and over that time, a few things became very clear.

• A student’s motivation to dance plays a huge role in how well they cope with online learning.  Obviously, no student is motivated by only one factor, it is a combination of things that an individual loves about dance.  However, broadly speaking, students who are more extrinsically motivated, for example, by being in the studio, by being with their friends, and those that are motivated by displaying their dancing to others, whether that be having other students watch and admire them in the studio or in competitions, struggle on Zoom.  Without the camaraderie and the feedback and the feeling of performing, dance became a very different prospect. By contrast, those that are more highly motivated by intrinsic factors such as perfecting their art and by trying to become a better dancer, thrive on Zoom.
• Space to dance also plays a huge role.  Some students can avail themselves of empty rooms with plenty of equipment at their disposal whilst others have to make do with a kitchen bench and their little brother watching television next to them.  In the studio, every student can enjoy the space and facilities, at home it is a very different matter.  If motivation is waning, not having the space to dance can really start to impact.
• Attitude to Zoom.  I think we can all agree that the first time we logged onto Zoom, after getting past the thrill of seeing our students again, we all felt a mixture of disappointment, stress, and anxiety at our new teaching tool,  The way we as teachers feel about Zoom can have a huge impact on the way our students receive our lessons.  There are several great tips for getting the most out of Zoom classes here but the main message is to look for what can be achieved and focus on that.  Rather than looking at Zoom classes as a regular class that is now held online, it is an absolute game-changer when you start to view Zoom as a different way of teaching.  Whilst some aspects of dance class are difficult or impossible to achieve on Zoom there are many many things that can be achieved.  By focussing on this, the entire experience is totally different. And the good news, after 8 months I got back to the studio and I could absolutely see what we had achieved on Zoom.  Every student had improved.  I could see them applying corrections we had worked on in our Zoom class and some aspects of their technique had improved immensely.  After all those pirouettes in challenging locations, the kids could turn like tops!

In terms of helping dancers through lockdown, there are many, many resources that you can use on Zoom over in the store.  Why not spend a class working on growth mindset or goal setting, it offers not only a welcome change of pace but also introduces valuable life skills.  Meanwhile, please enjoy this worksheet to help your students process their time on Zoom.  Whether they are back in the studio or still learning remotely, talking about motivation, about how they feel about not being in the studio and looking for the lessons and positives they can take from their time away from the studio is incredibly powerful.  Just enter your email address below.  This sheet is from the Success Mindset journal for students which you can purchase here.  The teacher version is available here.

You can find more great Zoom resources here.

Halloween Preschool Dance class plan & coloring pages

Halloween is such a fun time for dance class – so many great spooky songs to use and all sorts of great dance activities to enjoy.  Make sure you are all set for your Halloween Preschool Dance classes with the mini class plan which focuses on fine and gross motor skills, directions, sequencing, levels, tempo, and of course, imaginative play.  And as a special treat please also enjoy these Halloween Dance coloring pages.

This Halloween Preschool Dance class plan is based on the Preschool Ballet Blueprint, a downloadable class plan currently being used worldwide to deliver fun, popular, well-organized Preschool dance programs. You can learn more about the Blueprint here and grab the full range of Seasonal Preschool Ballet coloring pages for girls and boys here. In the meantime, grab your free downloadable Halloween Preschool Dance Class plan and coloring page by entering your email below.

Covid Safe Dance coloring pages

Help your students feel comfortable with new studio rules with these free Covid Safe Dance coloring pages featuring boy and girl dancers with face masks.  The pages, promote handwashing and good hygiene in the studio.  These pages are free and you can download them by entering your email below. Once downloaded you can print them out as many times as you would like or share them online.  For those on Zoom, you can find Welcome back to Zoom coloring pages here.

You can find the full range of coloring pages for ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop over in the Resources for Dance Teachers store. These coloring pages are based on the Ballet Blueprint series – a downloadable curriculum which takes dancers from their first steps as a Preschooler through to their first year of formal training. if you want a class of superstar minis then you need to start early and the Blueprint system of training allows you to do this.  With the Blueprint, you can rest assured that you are providing a quality ballet program for your youngest students which will fully prepare them for their formal dance training.  Students trained with the Blueprint start their formal ballet lessons 12-18 months ahead of their peers and it’s an advantage that stays with them, so the rewards for your studio just keep coming as they progress.

To download your Covid Safe Dance coloring pages enter your email below.

Zoom Ballet Games and Activities

With most of us stuck on Zoom for a while longer, finding ways to keep our students motivated and engaged is more important than ever.  This selection of Zoom Ballet Games and Activities is an absolute HIT with my students.  Each game or activity comes with a variety of versions so that you can adapt them to your students.  There are Zoom Ballet Games for beginners through to advanced students.

The Zoom Ballet Games and Activities pack include

• Younger children love the Ballet Terms scavenger hunt which includes tracing exercises and a variety to levels of Scavenger Hunt to suit age and theory knowledge
• The Ballet in a picture exercises are an absolute HIT with intermediate to advanced students  with a range of adaptations and suggestions
• Princess Pandemonium is designed for beginner to intermediate students and provides an opportunity to connect favorite Princess stories with Ballet terms – fun and laughter-filled scavenger hunt activities follow.
• Famous Ballets – Activities based around Famous Ballets are popular for intermediate to advanced students and work very well in Breakout rooms.  Once again different options allow for adaptation to different levels
• Choreography challenges are also a fantastic activity for intermediate to advanced students and another great chance to work in breakout rooms.

You can learn more about the Zoom Ballet Games and activities pack here.

Keeping motivated with online classes can be a challenge at times, but these activities certainly help keep students engaged and having fun whilst brushing up on their ballet theory. There are 14 pages of Zoom ballet games and activities, designed especially to engage your ballet students while we engage in online learning.

You can find more resources for Zoom classes  here and other studio shutdown resources here

Zoom dance class resource kit

Are you looking for some Zoom dance class resources for your online dance classes?  Are you trying to find ways to keep your dancers motivated during lockdown?  Please enjoy this Dance at Home survival kit. Included in the kit are a range of Zoom dance class resources for you to share with your dancers.  These are designed to help you connect with your dancers, to help keep them motivated, and to use as a springboard for more activities. 

Worksheets include

1. Online Dance Timetable – this is perfect for keeping track of online Zoom dance classes.
2. Class Reflection – dancers can fill out their class reflection after each Zoom or Online class.  This is also something that you can discuss together as part of the class.  Depending on the size of your class, dancers can share their reflection or you might like them to email it to you.
3. Motivation – again, this is a great online Zoom dance class resource that can be incorporated into a Zoom class or given as homework. This worksheet challenges dancers to reflect on what motivates them.  This is ever more relevant in our current situation as dancers struggle to maintain their motivation in an online environment.  There are several suggestions which can be explored further.  For example, you may challenge your dancers to create a vision board or share Spotify Playlists with each other.  
4. Weekly Stretch Chart – being at home is the perfect time to work on flexibility.  You can fill in the chart with stretches you would like them to do or have them work on their own stretch program.  Once again this could be done as a group exercise on Zoom.
5. Stretch Tracker – this is a great visual representation to help dancers stay motivated to keep working on their flexibility.  It comes with built-in rewards and extra little motivation.  Have your dancers share their Stretch Tracker at the end of their online class.
6. Dedication to Dance – This worksheet works with the Don’t Break the Chain theory of motivation.  The more days in a row that a dancer demonstrates their dedication to dance, the less likely they are to lose their motivation. Dedication to Dance might be taking a zoom dance class, it might be practicing stretching or for younger children, coloring a picture, or doing a dance-related craft.

All these Zoom dance class resources are perfect for incorporating into your classes and are designed to help keep our students motivated during this challenging time.   You can download your free copy by entering your email address below.

For more online Zoom Dance Class Resources, check the mega studio shutdown worksheet bundle, the “We miss you” coloring sheets., or the range of Ballet Activity Packs available here.

Studio Shutdown Resources

As lockdown continues around the world, we as dance teachers are finding ourselves increasingly challenged to stay in touch with our students.   These “We miss you, see you soon” ballet coloring pages for boys and girls are perfect to share with your students. Whether you share them by email or even regular post, they are just a little something to help brighten their day and let your students  know you are thinking of them. You can download your free coloring pages by entering your email below.   If you are looking for more dance teacher resources to help keep connected with your students, including more coloring pages, activity packs, theory packs, growth mindset packs and more you can find the Resources for Dance Teachers store.

You can find more Studio Shutdown resources, including a mega bundle of worksheets to share with your dancers here.

Download Ballet Activity Packs for studio shutdowns

Due to popular demand, Resources for Dance Teachers is pleased to present a second ballet activity pack. Studios have found these packs so useful to stay connected with their younger students. (Though just quietly, some of my not-so-young students have enjoyed these as well!) These activity packs were first conceived as a resource to keep little hands busy backstage at competitions and recitals and as a dance camp resource. However, with the 2020 Covid-19 studio shutdowns, these activity packs have really come into their own.  They are the perfect way to keep in touch with your youngest students, keep them connected with the studio, and connected with dance.  The activities included are designed to be fun and distracting for young children and to appeal to their love of ballet and dance. This Ballet Activity pack includes 11 pages of activities including

• Coloring pages
• Mazes
• Spot the difference
• Tracing activities
• Join the dots
• Word scrambles
• Counting
• Sorting

The downloadable Ballet Activity pack comes as a complete booklet along with a link to download individual sheets if you prefer.  This makes it even easier to share online if you would like to space out sending the sheets.  If you would like to download a free sample to test the pack out, just pop your email below and receive this counting activity.

If you are looking for more activities to keep your dancers engaged we have got you covered.

You might like the original

Ballet Activity Pack

or the range of Growth Mindset and Goal setting packs designed for older students

The Mega ballet theory activity pack has a huge range of activities from theory match, crosswords, word searches, flashcards, and more for your students of all ages to engage with their theory studies.  This is one of our best-selling resources and I know from personal experience, I have turned my theory-hating students into a bunch of total theory nerds!!!

Dance Studio shutdown resources

For many of us it has happened, rather sooner than we thought -dance schools have had to close their doors due to Covid-19.  Aside from offering online classes, what else can you do to stay connected to your students and keep them engaged with dance during this dance studio shutdown.  Resources for Dance teachers is committed to helping to provide dance teachers with resources that enhance and promote best practice dance teaching, however that may look in these challenging times. In this spirit, please enjoy this range of FREE dance teacher resources that you can use to stay in touch with your students during dance studio shutdowns and help keep them focussed, hopeful, and entertained.

Included in the free Dance Studio Shutdown resource kit is

1.  The Power of Yet from the Growth Mindset Resource kits, helping dancers understand that just because they are struggling with a certain skill now it is only a matter of time and effort before they achieve it.  Adding YET to the end of can’t sentences has an amazing impact.
2. SMART goals, an introduction – from the Goal setting for Dancers resource pack, this worksheet helps scaffold the process of setting SMART goals and breaks down the latest research into goal setting for young dance students
3. My Goal Setting worksheet – also from the Goal setting for Dancers resource pack, this worksheet is perfect for younger dancers to start exploring the goal-setting process
4. Failure versus Wisdom – this worksheet is from the Success Mindset for Dancers resource pack and looks at the concept of failure versus wisdom.  It helps introduce the concept that failure is just another stepping stone to success, something we can learn from.  After a failure we can choose to focus on the failure or the wisdom, that is the lesson we have learned, a powerful concept framed just for dancers
5. The every popular Ballet Theory Quiz, test your budding ballerinas with this cute quiz – based on the Mega Ballet Theory activity pack
6. Color and Trace – delightful for younger ballet students and part of the Ballet Activity pack
7. Stretch Tracker – what better way to utilize time off than to start working on flexibility – this cute stretch tracker will keep your dancers on track.
8. 2 cute Preschool coloring pages from the Preschool Printable pack to help you reach out to your tiny dancers while the studio is closed
9. Dance competition reflection – why not use the time to reflect on a previous dance completion and learn valuable skills for the next one.  This is part of the Success Mindset for Competitive Dancers Resource Kit – one of our bestselling kits.  This kit offers a complete mindset reset and has a tremendous impact on young dancers, giving them the skills to turn up week in, week out and not only deal with but thrive on the rough and tumble of the competitive dance circuit.  Change the mindset, change EVERYTHING!

To download your free Dance Studio Shutdown kit, just enter your email below.

You may also be interested in some of these articles.

Growth Mindset for Dancers – turning can’t into can

What to teach 3-year-olds in dance class

5 tools every Preschool Dance Teacher needs

3 ways to become a better dance teacher

Are your words hurting your dancers?

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will cut me deeply. In order to become a better dance teacher one of the most fundamental changes we can make is in the words we choose when we address our dancers.  Common corrections, given with the best of intentions can really start to hold dancers back. The way we speak to our dancers is in large part habit.  Habits built up over our own teaching careers and habits that we have internalized from our own years of dance training.  How many times have you been teaching and the words of your own teacher suddenly comes flying out of your mouth? It always makes me smile but now and again it has given me pause for thought. This type of reflection is crucial in order to become a better dance teacher. Not everything I was taught and certainly not necessarily the way I was taught it, is something I want to carry on to the next generation of students. The power of our words, especially when it comes to impressionable young dancers has the power to hold a dancer back or help them soar to new heights of success.

Become a better dance teacher with a Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck’s research into Growth Mindset clearly illustrates the importance of the way we phrase praise.  You can read more about Growth mindset and Dance here but in summary, when a child is praised for ability they can become risk-averse.  They start to believe that their talent is fixed, something out of their control, and as a result, start to avoid trying new things because it might disprove their talent.  This is known as a fixed mindset. Unfortunately in the world of dance, messages about natural facility and natural talent ABOUND! From having beautiful ballet feet to being a natural turner, messages that you either are or are not are all around.

It is, therefore, even more, important that the messages we send INSIDE the studio don’t back these messages up.  What we want to create are dancers that see the value of effort, that are faced with hard things but are willing to try to master them. We want our students to not be afraid of trying new things or of failing but to see this as all part of the process of learning.  Developing as a dancer is all about pushing beyond the comfort zone, to see what is possible.  It is also about the grind of hard work, about doing little things each day that whilst not the most exciting, all slot into place as the years pass by.  This is known as a growth mindset.

Praise the Process, Not the Person

How to become a better dance teacher

So, how do the words we choose impact our dancers?   Carol Dweck’s research shows that to help create a growth mindset it is important to praise the PROCESS not the PERSON. Here are 3 tips to help with this. You can also find a range of resources designed especially for dance teachers which promote growth mindset in dance here.  Using these Growth Mindset kits in conjunction with your newfound knowledge of how to choose your words more carefully is a POWERFUL combination that will not only help you to become a better dance teacher but will help lay the foundations for new levels of success for your dancers.

1. Praise Effort not Facility

 It is easy to get carried away with natural facility.  The child that comes to class, sits down and their toes touch the floor when pointed, the child who puts their legs in a straddle and without any prior training achieves a near flat split.  We are human and seemingly effortless ability is beguiling.  We are excited at what this child could achieve.  It’s ok to be excited but what is not okay is constantly praising the child for their innate abilities. In order to become a better dance teacher, we must pay particular attention to how we praise our dancers.

Praising for facility sends a harmful message that dancers are the sum of their natural talent, that they don’t need to work and that effort is unimportant.  The damage extends to the rest of the class. They see you constantly praising a child for something they just have. It doesn’t take the other children long before they come to the conclusion that they will never be as good as their classmates.  After all, they know that they don’t have good feet or flat turnout, or advanced mobility.  Instead, it is important to focus on effort.  Rather than talking about beautiful feet or a flexible back put the emphasis on how a student is using their feet or working hard to control their back.  

2. Praise Practice AND Ability

In order to become a better dance teacher, always be on the lookout for evidence of practice – of a step that was once challenging that is now being mastered.  Remind your students of how far they have come.  Praising practice doesn’t mean you don’t praise the students who might be finding new steps easy and are performing well, just make sure that you give praise for attributes other than ability.  Another way to think about this is to think about is to make your studio into a safe zone.  There is a big emphasis in dance on perfection, on perfect execution of technical steps, of the ‘flawless’ performance.  However, when this level of performance is expected during class time we can run into problems.  Class time is a time to experiment, to push the boundaries, to fall down and get up, and to try again.  It is just as important to praise and encourage these ‘failed attempts’ as it is to encourage mastery.

3. Praise Application not ‘the win’

Winning at a competition is wonderful and should be celebrated, just keep in mind that it is important to celebrate other kinds of wins too.  Focus on individual mastery, achieving personal goals, personal best performances etc. Though it is easy to get carried away with competition wins, in the general scheme they don’t necessarily represent what we are trying to encourage. A student may win for a variety of reasons.  They may simply be the best there on the day and yet not have performed particularly well or even put in a great deal of effort. Conversely, they may not win even though they have put in 100% effort.

I always find it useful to look at competitions in terms of what can be personally achieved.  If you have given 100% to your preparation, if you went on stage and did your very best, if you achieved some small goals that you set for yourself during your performance then that is what really matters, a trophy is just the icing on the cake.  If you as a teacher go into competition with this mindset and pass it onto your students, if your whole team is looking at achieving personal bests and setting and reaching goals you will be well on your way to getting the very most our of the dance competition experience. Check out the Resources for Dance Teachers Success Mindset kit to learn more about this shift in mindset.

You can learn more about Growth Mindset and Dance and how it can help you to become a better dance teacher in these articles.

Dancing with a Growth Mindset – how to set goals

How to get more out of your dancers

Success Mindset

Free Christmas ballet coloring pages and activity pack

These Christmas ballet coloring pages and activity sheets are such hit with my students – perfect for those last few weeks before the Christmas break. The full Christmas ballet activity pack includes

• Christmas ballet coloring pages for boys and girls
• Copy to draw
• Help the dancer find his pas de deux partner maze
• Help the dancers find their Christmas surprises maze
• Sugarplum Fairy spot the difference
• Ballet theory color and write
• Nutcracker scramble
• Help the dancer find her Nutcracker maze

No more scouring the internet for quality Christmas ballet coloring pages and activity sheets,  everything you need is right here in one pack – buy once and print out as many time as you need.  Resources for Dance Teaches aim to produce inclusive resources so both boy and girl dancers are featured in the pack.  You can check out the activity pack here.  These are great for popping in the foyer, giving out at the end class or emailing to your students over the Christmas break or offering as an incentive for early enrolment.

In the meantime please enjoy these free Christmas ballet coloring pages.  Just enter your email to download now,

If you are looking for more Preschool Dance resources, check out these free mini class plans.  All of these resources are based on the Preschool Ballet Blueprint, a full Preschool curriculum currently being used worldwide to deliver successful, well organised and popular Preschool Dance classes – you can learn more about the Blueprint here.