1. This one is first because it’s the most important: we care about you. We ask how your day was because we really want to know. We refer to you as “my kids” outside of the studio. We give you corrections in class because we care about your progress and want you to succeed. We enforce dress code because we know that we’re teaching you important life lessons that extend beyond the studio doors. We don’t put you on the side, or in the back row because we don’t think you’re good enough. If you don’t get the level placement you were hoping for, or a special part in choreography, it’s not because we don’t care about you-it’s the opposite. It’s because we care ENOUGH about you to make those hard decisions that we think will help you succeed long term.

2. Class is the tip of the iceberg.

You might think that the 45 minutes we spend in class together is the only time we spend thinking you. But you couldn’t be more wrong.

We spend so much time every week planning for each class, plus all the other things that go along with the job! It’s inescapable. We could be watching a movie and hear a song we love, and before you know it, we’ve whipped out our phone, Shazam-ed the song, and are starting to jot down notes for choreography. Safe to assume, when we’re not dancing or teaching, we’re thinking about dancing or teaching.

3. We’re real people.

Have you ever seen your dance teacher at the supermarket-hair down, wearing jeans and a nice shirt and thought “wait a second, I think I know that person….”? We’ve been there!

Guys, we’re real people. Sometimes we’re tired, and stressed, although we try to never show that to you. We have anxiety, health issues, things going on at home that you might know nothing about. And you know what? It feels incredibly vulnerable to put your choreography out there, sometimes up to 6 times a day depending on how many classes we’re teaching! That choreography is a piece of our soul that we created for you, and it can be hard to put that out there! And when we’re met with silence, or we’re trying something new or something silly and we get crossed arms and judge-y eyes, it hurts our feelings! You don’t have to love everything we do. But please, come on the ride with us! No one likes to ride an (emotional) roller coaster by themselves. Especially not 20 times a week.

4. We were teenagers once, too.

We know how hard it is to juggle school, clubs, sports, friends, and dance. How? Because we did it! We get it. We know that sometimes your just plain exhausted, or you can’t get your mind off something that happened at school. But we know two things-first, that dance will help! Take your mind off the rest and be present with us in the studio. And secondly-every moment that you don’t give your all is a moment you’ll regret. When you’re older and you can’t kick up to your ear any more, or you can’t get back up if you do your split, you’ll think “dang, I wish I’d appreciated this more when I was younger!” So dance your hearts out. I promise you won’t regret it.

5. We’re here for you. We care about you (did you read #1?) and we’re here for you. Always. Whether you’re our student, or you’re an alum of our class. Whether you dance 6 times a week, or once. Even if you’ve stopped dancing. We’re here for you.

We’d love to keep the conversation going-so tell us-what’s the #1 thing you wish your dance teacher knew? Did any of these strike a chord with you? Dance teachers, anything to add? Comment and let us know!