Congrats! You are a Wellness Wizard! Your students’ mental and emotional health is a top priority and you strive to set a healthy example. You believe that dance teachers can and should provide more than just a dance experience in their classes. You take your responsibility as a dance educator seriously, and ensure your classes are a place where students feel safe to take risks and express themselves. You are thoughtful about your approach to teaching, including how and when you deliver feedback to your dancers. Your students are motivated to learn, have a growth mindset, and believe in themselves.
Your dance class might look a bit different as a Wellness Wizard. You are probably the type of teacher who will begin class with a centering exercise such as journaling or meditation. You encourage the dancers to tune into their bodies during the warm up by giving anatomical cues, and always ask permission before giving a tactile correction. You also encourage and celebrate your students' strengths and differences, allowing each dancer to feel successful in their own way. You keep your ego in check and allow the students to define their own success.
We love Wellness Wizards at Dance Ed Tips and believe you are a vital part of a child's dance education. We have designed many resources to support your unique values. One of our favorites is the Emotional Wellness Bundle (separate Elementary and Middle/High School versions available). Inside, we include posters, activity sheets, and a set of 100 emotion cards. The ability to express emotions in a healthy way is an important life skill that we know can be learned and/or reinforced in dance class. We saw a significant gap in our industry since there aren’t many resources available on emotional wellness for dance teachers. We decided to be the change we wanted to see in the world and created these materials for dancers ages 5-18. We believe that dancers of all ages can learn about emotional wellness in a productive and meaningful way. The same goes true for our Feedback and Resilience Posters and Workshop, which are centered around giving and receiving feedback and approaching self-talk from a resilience point of view. This 60 minute workshop plus 5 colorful posters will help to keep mental wellness in the forefront of your teaching year round.
As you plan for the upcoming dance season, we charge you to continue being a Wellness Wizard! We know the work can sometimes be hard and tedious, but the outcome is worth it! We at Dance Ed Tips are always ready to be part of your teaching journey and support you as you impact your dance community.
