Hi Everyone!

At ABDC, we have a fantastic team of teachers who love and support you, and are jazzed (see what I did there??) about seeing you in class every week!  Behind the scenes, they are spending hours editing your recital music, choosing costumes, coming up with choreography and planning lessons.  The time you spend with them in class barely scratches the surface of all the time they put in to making sure you have the best possible dance experience!  Here are a few ways to make them smile 🙂

• Be prepared for class!  Nothing makes us dance teachers happier then when you come into the studio dressed to dance-hair up, shoes on, and positive attitude at the ready!  Running a few minutes late?  It happens!  Please take off your coat, put your hair up, and shoes on in the lobby and then sneak into class as quietly as possible!  Running full speed into the studio yelling “sorry I’m late” while running across the room to throw your Starbucks cup in the trash distracts everyone (and usually makes us teachers forget what we were doing….oohhhh I remember!  Pliés, guys)
• Show us that you’ve practiced!  The new step we’ve been working on, your recital choreography, even just remembering where you stood in that last formation we did.  It makes us SOO happy to see that you took the time to practice at home, because guess what?  We did too!
• Move with purpose!  We can get so much more done if everyone does this.  (Meaning more time for freeze dance, you little Monday maniacs!) . This means if your teacher says “okay guys, can you go to your first spot for your dance?”…..you go there!  With purpose.  Not like “first I’m going to tell my friend what I had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day this week and then I’m going to retie my shoe six times and then I’ll show you my impression of a sloth.”
• Listen while we’re talking!  We have some knowledge to share.  Plus some funny stories, I promise.
• Answer our questions!  Please?  There is nothing harder than trying to guess what a room full of teenagers is thinking.  Well, maybe herding cats.  Or trying to get your dog to sit still for a photo.  But still, it’s hard.  So if we ask “any questions?” it’s because we want to know if you have any questions.  If you don’t, a simple “nope” is grand!  But staring back at us without saying anything while we try to Jedi-mind-trick our way into your brains makes our brains hurt.
• Please tell us before class if you have a headache, a stomachache, are having a horrible day, or broke your foot.  We promise we won’t be mad.  But if we don’t know, we’re going to tell you to point your feet, and then when you finally tell us “I can’t, my foot is broken” we feel really bad.  You understand.

Last, but not least…..the number one way you can make your teacher smile?  Say “thank you!” after class!  It doesn’t go unnoticed, I promise you!  Jazz hands are good too.

Happy Dancing!