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Today's generation of men and women are being conditioned to believe that quicker is better. That instant is the answer and no one has time for anything that isn't immediate. It also follows that this generation are the unhappiest because their expectations are scarcely met.
Putting this into the context of learning to dance may be a tougher dose of reality to swallow for some of my couples. Before you get discouraged entirely there is a pot of gold at the end, so come and taste the rainbow with me for a minute.
Dancing is a professional skill that people get paid to do, it is like any specialty that people train for a decade and yet still have more to learn. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. There are so many components that make up a 'good' dancer but let's face it, if I don't get to the point 2 minutes ago you'll be bored already.
The challenge that myself and every other dance teacher faces these days, is delivering a solid product in a short amount of time. We want to make the couples happy and give them want they want in the form of a first dance, yet produce something that resembles quality dancing. In my case, I want to put forward not just any old dance, but a routine that I am proud to showcase, as it is a direct representation of my passion.
Now I am a teacher at the end of the day I am not a magician, and the final product (the first dance) is left in the hands of my couple to hopefully pull off a magical routine that exceeds everyones' expectations and becomes a YouTube viral video. 😳.
I aim to deliver an entire routine in 6 hours, which is reasonable depending on the length of the song, the difficulty of the steps, and the ability of my students. However, when I find myself having to re-teach almost an entire lesson because my couple haven't practised or have forgotten or just expect miracles to happen, the journey takes a detour.
I provide my couples with video of each lesson so they can practise in between their classes. Each dance is generally less than 3 minutes in length so I find it hard to believe there isn't 3 minutes spare once in a week to go over what was taught. In the words of Nutrigrain "you only get out what you put in". This is so true!
So as an educator perhaps it is my duty to teach this lesson with grace and clarity. Dancing is a language of it's own. It takes time, persistence and practice. Your teacher can only give you the tools, but ultimately the students have to put in the hard yards.
Expect the results to reflect your commitment.
Like the journey of marriage my couples are about to embark on, learning to dance is so very rewarding when it is given the proper attention. Teachers like myself really love what we do, and love seeing our students achieve! We are on your side, we want you to be the best you can be! So please for the love of dance, help us, help you!
Happy dancing!
Kylie - Wedding Dance Diva
