As teachers, we all love when our students excel and have a stellar performance year. A year where we see the student blossom and have that “A-HA” moment when everything starts to click for them in class. It’s wonderful to see their hard work pay off as well as our own and is the moment every teacher waits for. However, what happens when those students come back to class and are getting, shall we say, a little “overly confident?”
You might have noticed this behavior as well, you know, where the ego is a little too inflated, the dancer starts to think they are a little better than they actually are because they’ve received some accolades and praise and they even get so bold as to interrupt and start correcting you in class or questioning your methods or choreographic choices? Or you may have experienced it where they possibly even blurt out unsolicited suggestions, etc? Yep…I’m sure you all have seen it once or twice, and let’s be honest…it can be infuriating and extremely disrespectful.
While some dancers with the large ego seems to test the waters every once and again, it’s important for teachers to remember there is a fine line and balance we have to maintain. We have to keep our cool, not let it phase us or take it personally. While we don’t want to stifle their achievement, we also want to remind them they can’t ride on their glory…they must continue to work hard and fly right. As we already know as professionals, you’re only as good as your last gig! But, we are dealing with tender ages here, so there is a delicate sensitivity that needs to exist. However, when this behavior starts to get out of line, we must authoritatively make it known that this behavior is not acceptable. Whether this be with a private chat after class or meeting with student and parent, nipping it in the bud and giving the student a chance to become aware of their actions first is important. Remind dancers that humility and grace are necessary qualities for any great professional and in order for people to want to work with them, they require a good reputation.
These lessons can and should start in the home-studio where it’s a safe environment to endure these growing pains, make some mistakes and learn from them before heading out into the big world.
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