And so it begins…
Why Free Lessons Aren’t Really Free
I had a friend ask me the other day whether they should charge for lessons in their dance organization.
My answer is almost unanimously “Yes!” and there are very few reasons to not charge for a lesson.
“But dance should be free for all,” or at least such-and-such dance should, is generally the response to charging for lessons.
The debate over free has raged along especially in the rise of digital tools, communities and services that are free or nearly free; what that means and so on has been of much discussion and vitriol on all sides. Something I don’t intend to delve into (regarding digital media).
The thing most people don’t realize is that free lessons are never free, as in gratis. Hosting a dance lesson requires work that take time, effort and skill.
- Dance Expertise
- Teaching Expertise
- Organizational Work
- Promotion Work
Dance instruction does not materialize out of thin air, even if you teach on a street corner to a group of friends (which is usually not the case).
Someone has to perform the instruction, hopefully with years of dance experience, while someone needed to have organized the space and time and managed the responses to promotion and inscription, while promotional materials had to have been created and distributed.
This work is not free, even if it is not paid for in dollars it is paid for in time, skill and effort. This is the cost of a free lesson even if no one gets paid.
Even if your lesson is free for the students, they are not free for everyone. Someone is paying the cost.
This is just one reason I nearly always advocate charging for lessons.
People are more invested when they pay for something, thus more attentive students who are more likely to continue on. Teachers and staff feel compensated for their time and effort which gives them the freedom to invest more into creating an exceptional class. Invested students, teachers and staff means better classes for everyone.
Unless you are willing to teach, organize, promote and dance as charity, which is valuable in its own right on occasion, I recommend sticking to charging for your lessons.
Teaching @ Cat’s Corner August 11th, 7pm
I’m really excited to return to Montreal and teach for a night at Cat’s Corner next Wednesday, the 11th of August at 7pm.
It was where I cut my teeth as an instructor and worked in an amazing community. I hope to give back a little bit with this class on solo jazz inspiration and choreography.
All are welcome so long as you have experience with solo jazz and charleston, including line routines like the shim sham and big apple, people of all levels will get something out of it.
I will also be out dancing and available for private lessons from August 10th to the 14th. Contact me directly to book.
Master Class: Solo Jazz Inspiration & Choreography
Delve deeper into your solo jazz and dance with this master class. Tools and ideas to go from doing cool moves to having good movement. Carl will walk you through his process that makes choreographing and solo jazz a journey that reveals itself as you go.
With experience choreographing multiple solo and duet jazz pieces like this routine with Davis Thurber at Midwest Lindyfest 2008, Carl’s take on choreography is one of exploring narrative and structure from a birds eye view.
Experience in solo jazz & charleston highly recommended.
Class 20$, Wednesday 7pm, pre-registration encouraged.
Register:
info@catscorner.ca or 514-874-9846
PayPal: info@catscorner.ca
Classe Maître: Inspiration Solo Jazz & Chorégraphie
Plongez plus profondément dans vos solos jazz et votre danse en générale avec cette classe maître. Vous développerez les outils et les idées pour passer de gestes “cool” à l’exécution de bon mouvements complet. Carl vous accompagnera à travers le processus qui rend la chorégraphie et les solos jazz une démarche qui se définie au fur et à mesure que l’on progresse.
Avec sa grande expérience en tant que chorégraphe jazz en solo et en duo, telle que cette routine avec Davis Thurber at Midwest Lindyfest 2008, Carl défini la chorégraphie comme étant l’exploration d’une structure et d’une narration vue de haut.
Il est grandement recommandé d’avoir une expérience en solo jazz et en Charleston.
Cours 20$. Mercredi 7PM. Il est recommandé de réservé en avance.
Pour s’inscrire:
info@catscorner.ca 514-874-9846
PayPal: info@catscorner.ca
The Virtual Private Lesson Giveaway Results
The results are in and I’m really late at getting to this.
There were 9 entries for the contest and I picked six using Random.org and a spreadsheet of the entrants.
I will be contacting them shortly to schedule a virtual private lesson.
Winners are:
- Shortyjoy
- Carla Heiney
- Danielle Jacobowitz
- Olivier L
- Glenn Katzen
- David Lau
As a followup to the Giveaway I’ll be opening up shop for Virtual Dance Lessons shortly, so stay tuned.
Experiments in Online Dance Instruction: Skype Lessons
Ever had an online class… in dance?
Probably not. Online instruction is generally reserved for academics or non-physical activities.
Those dance instruction sites that do exist are usually just collections of non-interactive videos where instructors explain and walk through a specific move or concept with different breakdowns, but that’s not really a very personal learning environment.
Yet there are interactive possibilities usually reserved for the conference room that could easily be applied to a personalized online learning environment for dance, and they are widely available and nearly free.
Skype, probably the best known video and audio web telephone software, has a lot of potential for applications in online learning environments.
Students can call in from all over the world so long as they have an internet connection. While the possibilities for direct physical feedback are less available, the array of potential students is vastly increased as the constraint of physical proximity is removed.
The Experiment
I’m offering free 30 minute private lessons via Skype as a test of the potential and limitations of online dance instruction.
If you’re interested contact me and we’ll set up a time that will work with both of us.
The only things I require are:
- You provide your own webcam, skype, and internet connection.
- You have a partner to work with on your end for physical feedback.
- You understand that this is an experiment in learning and may have some glitches.
What I Hope To Learn
The benefits of reaching a global audience for private lessons is untold, however the limitations for video conference lessons are only partly known. A few of the things I hope to learn are below.
- Learn the limitations of the media (Skype & Video conferencing software)
- Learn what types of material and topics are most accessible in this format
- Learn what types of material and topics are least accessible in this format
- Learn how to explain technique and material without resorting to physical feedback
I will be asking those who participate in this experiment to provide me feedback on the sessions, media and information presented and will be sharing that here.
Is Your Classroom The Teacher Show?
Your goal as a dance teacher is not to show that you can do it, rather to show the student that they can do it and how they can do it.
One of the greatest downfalls of teachers, especially new teachers, is a propensity to attach imparting knowledge with showing knowledge. I know it was one of my biggest challenges to overcome as a young teacher.
As a teacher it is important to show the students the desired outcome or movement so that they have an outline over which they can lay what they learn, so an initial showcase to provide the visualization of a successful outcome is useful. However, repeating this showcase, as an act of performance, is all too often for the teachers benefit and glory.
There is a distinction, often made, that great dancers do not equal great teachers.
The reason is that great dancers can show a student the movement, over and over again, with amazing precision. They are able to show the nuances physically that differentiate doing it the correct way from doing it the incorrect way. Yet they fail to mobilize the student to believe they are capable of performing the movement themselves.
The student may attempt to mimic the movement yet without the guidance of a skilled teacher, it is more or less the same as watching a YouTube video repeatedly. There is no student-teacher relationship, there is no interaction from which the process of inquiry is accelerated and guided.
The great teacher engages the student with exercises, examples, metaphors and visualizations to help the student discover their own process to acquire the movement. This accelerates the process of inquiry by providing constructive feedback for the student upon which they can build the next steps of their learning process.
For great teachers, it is about the students learning process over and above all else.
The classroom is not the domain of the teacher but of the student.
To make the classroom the domain of the teacher’s needs is to prioritize the ego of the instructor. If the ego of the instructor is the priority then the classroom becomes a stage for the instructor to show off. It becomes The Teacher Show.
To make the classroom the domain of the student’s learning is to prioritize the relationship of guidance and feedback. It empowers the relationship and the student while placing the ego of the teacher out of the equation. This empowerment places the learning process in the hands of the student. It becomes a Learning Show.
Is your classroom a Learning Show or The Teacher Show?