5 Things Dance Teachers Say in Every Rehearsal

We know that dance is its own world, complete with its own language.  The language of ballet is French and the language of classical music is Italian – and that’s before we add in the things that dance teachers find themselves saying in every single rehearsal.  Here’s a fun look at the things our teachers find themselves repeating over, and over, and over as we prepare for our recital!

1. “Focus on the counts!” (and then making sound effects instead of counting out loud over the music)

2. “5, 6, 7, 8!” Dance phrases are most commonly counted in 8 – even though most musicians count in 3, 4, or 6.  Want a dancer to start something?  Ready-Set-Go is less likely to get them moving than a good, strong, “5, 6, 7, 8!”

3. “From the top!”  Repetition is the mother of learning – and that means we’ll take the routine from the top hundreds of times before it ever reaches the stage.

4. “Full out, please!” Dancing with full energy, doing every skill to its max, not skipping on performance quality or anything is called going “full out” in the dance studio.  Teachers often remind dancers to keep going full out even at the end of a big rehearsal.  Repetitions full out lead to endurance and stamina that shows on performance days!

5. “One more time!” (this is never, ever, ever accurate!) Dance teachers are famous (infamous?!) for saying “one more time” and then needing to see a section three more times.  Or five.  Or eight.

 

We hope you enjoyed this fun glimpse into a day in the life of a dance teacher!  We love working with our students and helping them prepare for recital SO much – even when it’s a little crazy.

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