You’ve heard it before – maybe even believed it at some point:
“If you’re a good dancer, you’ll be a great teacher.”
It’s one of the most common assumptions in the dance world. But here’s the thing – dancing and teaching are two entirely different skill sets. Being able to demonstrate a beautiful pirouette doesn’t automatically mean you know how to teach someone else to do one. That’s where pedagogy comes in – and why it’s your secret weapon.
You might have seen the word pedagogy floating about and thought, “That sounds very academic – not for me.”
But if you’re a dance teacher, pedagogy is 100% for you. In fact, it’s the magic behind your magic.
Let’s break it down.
What is pedagogy? (And side note – how do you say it?)
First things first – it’s gogy like stodgy not gogy like doggy!
Think of it like biology or psychology – that gives you a clue to what it means.
Put simply, pedagogy is the art and science of teaching.
It’s all about how you teach – the strategies and methods you use to deliver your dance
classes, and the theories behind them that explain how your students learn. It’s your craft as a professional educator, and it’s how to get the best out of your dancers.
Pedagogy isn’t about ditching your syllabus or style – it’s about understanding what’s going on under the surface so you can teach more effectively. Every time you walk into the studio, you’re shaping how your students learn and feel. Pedagogy gives you the tools to do that with care, clarity, and confidence.
Think about your last class. Did it go exactly as you planned, or did you have to switch it up in the moment?
Maybe the content wasn’t landing, and your dancers couldn’t quite get it. So you changed tack, broke it down, worked in small groups… whatever it was, you didn’t change the content – you changed the way you taught it.
That’s pedagogy in action.
Why should Dance Teachers should care about pedagogy?
Pedagogy is educational theories that sit behind your choices in class – how you structure your lessons, how you explain movement, how you manage behaviour, how you help students improve. It’s not just what you teach, it’s how and why you teach it that way.
Pedagogy is what turns a dance class into a learning experience.
Great pedagogy helps students develop in all areas – not just technically, but emotionally, socially and even cognitively.
• Physically, it supports progression and safe practice
• Emotionally, it builds confidence and motivation
• Socially, it creates inclusive, respectful learning environments
• Cognitively, it helps dancers understand what they’re doing and why
It’s the difference between students doing steps because you told them to… and students understanding, connecting, and growing through what they learn.
Teaching vs. Delivering
You can deliver a class by showing up and running through your plan.
But teaching requires intentionality – making conscious decisions about how you explain, demonstrate, adapt and support your dancers. It’s responsive in the moment, knowing you have teaching tools in your toolkit that you can draw on to get the best from your dancers.
Too many dance teachers fall into the trap of ‘delivery mode’ – especially when they’re stretched thin or repeating familiar material. Pedagogy helps you stay in teaching mode –rooted in purpose, not just habit.
When you are a reflective, professional dance teacher who understands pedagogy you can:
• Reach more students – including the ones who don’t ‘get it’ the first time
• Plan with purpose – instead of just filling time or repeating exercises
• Spot what’s not working – and know how to fix it
• Build confidence in your teaching – especially when things go off-track
It helps you show up as the kind of teacher who inspires, uplifts, and makes a real difference, because you already know teaching dance is about so much more than just the steps.
The Dance Teacher as an Educator
There’s no denying that the major educational theories were developed with classroom learning in mind. Some of them go waaay back – as far as Socrates in ancient Greece!
As dance teachers, we’re not just there to count music and clean routines. We’re educators.
Yes, we’re more likely to be leaping across the studio than writing on a whiteboard, but there’s still so much we can take from these theories to help our dancers reach their potential.
We have the power (and the responsibility) to shape not only our students’ dance skills, but their learning experience as a whole. When we approach teaching with a pedagogy mindset, we become part of something bigger – the wider education landscape.
And that’s exactly where dance belongs.
Wondering where to start?
Then I have good news!
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to take you through some of the key learning theories that sit behind brilliant teaching. You’ll see how they apply to you as a dance teacher – and you’ll probably spot things you’re already doing in the studio.
Because when you understand why something works, it becomes so much easier to do it on purpose.
Time to reflect
Ask yourself this: how intentional is your teaching? Do you make conscious choices in how you teach, or are you repeating what you were taught?
Quick Win
Pick one class this week reflect afterwards, with a cuppa in hand.
Write down three decisions you made about how you taught something.
• Why did you make them?
• Did they work?
•Would you do anything differently?
This is your first step to becoming a more intentional, reflective teacher.
Want to keep growing?
Make sure you’re following along each week as we explore different approaches to teaching and learning – from behaviourism and constructivism to neuroscience and beyond. I’ll break it down in a way that’s easy to understand and ready to use in your studio straight away.
And if you’d love to connect with like-minded dance teachers who are passionate about TEACHING as well as dancing, come and join us in the Facebook group: Dance Teachers: Raising the Barre
Let’s make teaching feel as joyful and purposeful as dancing.
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