Minute Masterclass Episode 34

Welcome to your one-minute masterclass. I’m Katrena Cohea, CEO of Different Drummer Dance. Let’s talk self-care for your students. Right now, during this pandemic our students have a special set of needs in regards to their mental and emotional health. And we can help support them in the dance classroom with self-care practices. 

Keep in mind that your dancers are dealing with lots of big feelings right now. We can help them navigate this, and show them how to deal with those big feelings in a healthy way. It is so important to meet students where they are emotionally first, before we even begin to attempt a dance class with them. If you haven’t heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I highly encourage you to check that out. Before any learning or progress can begin, we have to support dancers with basic needs like safety, love and belonging. 

Consider beginning class, not with a physical warm-up, but with something like a 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, muscle testing, making a gratitude list or deep breathing while scanning the body for sensations and feelings. And, if you find that difficult, remember to manage your own expectations about what your students are going through right now…and what’s really important in their education. Because remember these are children first and dancers second. Tending to their emotional wellbeing first is the most supportive and helpful thing we can do for them as their teachers. 

For more information, please visit DifferentDrummerDance.com…or come find me on Instagram: @DIFFDRUMDANCE.