When taking a dance class, it is essential to practice good etiquette to respect the other dancers in your class as well as your dance instructor. Following the rules is crucial to make sure that you’re getting the most out of every lesson so you can improve and grow in your personal abilities and talents. In this post, we’ll detail some rule and etiquette that you should always be following every time that you step into the studio. At Skyra Studios, we’re dedicated to providing incredible and excellent performing arts classes for our students. If you’re interested in enrolling your child in our kids dance classes, give us a call today!
Prepare Before Class
Don’t arrive without your shoes, leotard, tights, or skirt. Check your dance bag to ensure that you have everything that you need, including any tape, ribbons, or warm-ups. It’s also important to make sure that you have extra bobby pins and hair ties in case you need a few back-ups. Once your bag is prepared and ready, keep in by your front door or in the car so that you don’t accidentally forget it when leaving for class.
Arrive Early
As the old adage goes, “To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late.” Respect your teacher and classmates’ time by arriving at least 10 minutes early before your class begins. This way, you will be ready to enter the studio and begin your warm-up. Arriving late will only delay your warm-up and ability to enter into the class lesson for the day, which can cause injury due to your muscles not being fully warm and limber.
Take Your Shoes Off
It’s extremely rude to walk on the studio floor with street shoes. Dance studios usually have marley floors, which can be easily scratched, scuffed, and ruined by anything other than dance shoes. You can purchase a pair of soft slippers that are appropriate for walking on dance marley that will keep your dance shoes clean.
Do Not Enter Class After It Has Started
We all experience traffic jams, alarms that didn’t go off, and other life issues that cause us to be late to dance class. However, it’s extremely rude and disruptive to enter class once barre has started. It can be difficult to wait outside the studio, but it’s best to wait to enter the room until the combination has ended and there is a break. Check with your dance instructor about his or her late policy so you know the expectations if you do happen to arrive to class five or 10 minutes late.
Food and Drinks (Other Than Water) Are Off Limits
Chowing down on a tuna fish sandwich during a break will definitely be frowned upon, as will arriving to class with a giant coffee. Make sure to finish your snacks and drinks before entering the studio, and only consume energy bars and drinks outside of the studio. No one wants to pirouette through cookie crumbs or slip on a soda spill.
Be Respectful
Dance class is not the time to catch up on what everyone did last weekend or the latest gossip. Keep chatter reserved for the locker room or waiting area outside of class. Listen to your instructor and complete the combinations that he or she has planned without discussion or back talk. Also, stay on the sides of the room if you’re not participating in a combination or have already completed it so your classmates can use the mirror.
Work Hard
The most important etiquette to follow is to give each lesson and class session 100 percent. Slacking, arriving unprepared, or just going through the motions won’t benefit you at all and will hold you back from achieving success and goals that you have set out for yourself. Exerting all of your physical and mental energy will help you to work hard and will motivate your classmates to work hard as well.
Practicing proper dance class etiquette will show respect for your teacher, classmates, and the art of dance. If you or your child are interesting in enrolling in a performing arts school in Longwood, give us a call today!