When to recommend private lessons for students

By Vanina and Dennis Wilson

Many dance schools offer private lessons; for some students the increased attention is indispensable. But judging whether to offer one-on-one training to particular students requires a clear understanding of the benefits and potential risks.

Advantages of classroom instruction
Group dance classes offer numerous advantages, including economic ones (cheaper for students and a better return for the school), compared with private lessons. But more than mere economy drives the popularity of class instruction. Most students do feel a degree of “safety in numbers.” They are not under the constant, potentially stressful scrutiny of an instructor and can relax a bit when instructors shift their critical eyes to others.

Another plus is that students may apply to themselves the corrections given to others (if they can recognize the same errors in their own dancing). Moreover, students who hear others being corrected learn that they are not alone in making mistakes, reducing their insecurity.

Inexperienced students quickly discern which students in the class are the best and try to emulate them. Working alongside students who are better than themselves may challenge and motivate some students to improve their own technique, although it may discourage and demoralize others.

And finally, the social interaction among the students before, during, and after the lesson adds to the enjoyment of attending class.

Susan McCullough, a School of Dance faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, works with student Pattersen Floberg. (Photo by Richard Calmes)

When to recommend private instruction

Despite the advantages of group instruction, in some situations dance instructors and school directors may justifiably recommend private lessons.

Addressing specific flaws
The classroom environment is not well suited for students with technical flaws who need close observation and careful correction. In group classes, instructors must limit the time they spend with individual students and devise exercises that result in the greatest good for the greatest number. In private lessons, by contrast, instructors can design exercises that enable student and teacher to analyze specific problems and devise remedies for them.

Coaching for competitions or other solos
In private lessons, instructors can focus on a particular student’s routine and offer suggestions for improvements, whether for the entire routine or only the portions that pose unusual difficulty. Coaching is, in fact, almost a necessity for dancers who wish to become professionals.

Shy or fearful students
Private lessons can be beneficial to certain types of students; for example, motivated students who began dance instruction (particularly ballet) later than usual can speed their progress considerably with private lessons. And students who are recovering from an injury may also profit from private lessons, since the instructor can devise exercises that take into account their physical limitations.

Excessively shy or apprehensive students may do better in private lessons than in group classes, although some students might be more intimidated in a one-on-one situation with a teacher than they are in class. While shy students must eventually transition to the classroom environment, a series of private lessons designed to build confidence may ease the transition.

Adult students sometimes fear that they will be lost and embarrassed in a group class, which they might envision as packed with former professional dancers and gifted amateurs. If these newcomers start their studies with a few private lessons, they will have much greater confidence when they move to the classroom environment.

Who should give private lessons?
Ordinarily the same instructor who teaches the student’s class will give the private lesson. Consistency in instructors reduces confusion for the student, especially for the beginner, and the instructor is already aware of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, the regular teacher might resent a change in instructors, seeing it as a financial loss and a vote of no confidence.

But the right combination of instructor and student is, if anything, more important in private lessons than it is in class, and sometimes private lessons should be given by someone other than the student’s regular instructor.

Some teachers are less effective in a private setting because they enjoy the attention that they receive in a class—they “turn on in a crowd.” If they do give private lessons, it might be simply for the money. Meticulous and detail-oriented teachers, by contrast, may be more valuable as private tutors, especially in working with students who are already fairly well accomplished but need additional coaching to be even better.

Finally, it may simply be beneficial to subject a student’s dancing to scrutiny from another pair of eyes than those of the classroom instructor.

Determining need
Parents and students (especially teenagers) may ask about private lessons, or instructors may recommend them. However, since instructors stand to profit from private tutoring, it’s important to be aware of the potential for a conflict of interest.

To ensure that private lessons are justified, school directors should require that all instructors clear requests and recommendations for private lessons through the school administration, not only for facility scheduling but also to ensure that the lessons are justified. The director may want to consider a different instructor for the private lesson, for the reasons discussed previously.

Practical matters
Private lessons must be worked in around the school’s existing schedule, mostly before or after regular classes. A school director with a high demand for private lessons will have to balance the short- and long-term advantages of group versus individual instruction in deciding whether a studio should be available for private tutoring during normal class times.

Private lessons should only rarely exceed an hour and a half, since the attention of both teacher and student will likely flag more quickly due to the intensity of the session.

Also, school directors and instructors need to recognize the potential for allegations of sexual or other harassment during private lessons. Holding the lesson when and where there is some possibility of being observed will reduce the likelihood of allegations of harassment.

When to say no
Sometimes instructors or school directors should decline to give a private lesson, even if it means losing revenue. Some students do not make progress because they are uninterested or unfocused in class; their parents may suggest private lessons as a remedy. In such cases, the students will likely not profit from the lessons and may even become resentful, since all the criticism that they hear will be directed at them. Parents’ expectations, moreover, will rise in proportion to their increased expenditure, and they may blame the school when their children fail to improve under the more expensive regimen.

Another problematic issue arises when parents wish to sit in on the lesson to see (among other things) if they are getting their money’s worth. For private lessons given to a well-adjusted student as coaching for a competition or role, limited parental attendance may not be a problem. But when the student is struggling, the additional pressure of parental presence can make the entire experience a waste of time and money. Explain to parents that their children will make the most progress in private lessons if the parents show them that they trust the instructor to teach appropriately.

Most dance instruction will be given in group classes. There are times, however, when the benefits of the “splendid isolation” of the private lesson justify the increased cost. Knowing when to recommend private tutoring, and the circumstances under which it can best be given, will result in lessons that lead to genuine progress for students and an enhanced school reputation.

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