Geek Out, Don't Freak Out: My Treasure Trove of Lessons Learned

How are you introducing pirouette to your dancers? And when? Unless you are the only teacher in your school, clear communication about how

We've all heard. It there is some step that dancers really want to learn and you know they aren't ready for it. So what do you do?

In this second post exploring teaching frappé we look at the flexed foot, wrapped, and fully pointed options.

To brush or not to brush? More importantly, are all you teachers teaching frappé the same way? If not, why not? A clear plan is critical to

Do you ever feel like your class is behind? Of course you do--we all do. But "behind" requires us to compare our class with someone else's

Most ballet teachers cover the steps. But a top-quality ballet education needs to include steps and concepts--and not all

People with ADHD are often hyper-sensitive to criticism. They aren't being dramatic--their brains genuinely react more strongly. So how can

I know "turtle" is not the animal most dancers would like to be described as. Most of us would prefer to be called a swan, or a gazelle, or

An invitation to teach at a new-to-me studio led to discovering one of the healthiest, growth-oriented cultures I've seen in a while.

Two different lesson plan models to help you best prioritize what you want to teach and what will best connect with your students.

Some teachers are really gifted at creating combinations that feel like choreography but also contain needed repetition. For the rest of us,

A welcoming ritual helps set your class time apart from other distractions during the day and fosters learning.

Three tips to help make ballet class more recuperative for when dancers need rest but are not in a position to stop, like the week of a show

Nine simple craft ideas to explore elements of artistry with young dancers

The Geeky Ballerina curriculum is full of tools to help make your teaching and student evaluations easier. The expectations to advance show

Summer ballet is very different from regular-season dance classes. It tends to either be more intense (more hours per day, more days per...

Another great idea from Daniel Coyle's book The Culture Code is the idea of Sneak Previews to help build images of success for your students

Teaching beginning dancers is an art, but teaching young beginners and teaching older beginners are very different arts. With the little...

I'm sure he didn't mean to, but Kurt Cobain perfectly summed up my approach to adult beginning ballet: "Come, as you are, as you were As...

I love teaching adult classes! It's a completely different vibe from kids and teens. Adult classes are gaining in popularity (yay! Ballet...