Starting Your Dance Education

Today there are a wide range of dance classes available for people of all ages. Whether you want to learn modern dance, tap, ballet or belly dancing, there'll be a class out there full of likeminded people who want to learn too. There are several steps that you will need to consider when choosing which kind of class suits your individual needs.

Firstly, think practically about which kind of dance you wish to learn, the desire to dance is usually a strong passion, and you may be absolutely devoted to one kind of dance. If this is the case, then you should probably follow your instincts - dancers need to love their art. If you want to dance as a more fun form of exercise, and to meet new people, think about your tastes in music and the level of activity that will be right for you.


Once you have chosen your kind of dance, it's time to find a good dance school, class or tutor. Looking online for information is a good starting point, or looking in a local directory. Looking at user reviews of potential classes can be extremely revealing about the quality of tutoring provided, and about customer satisfaction.

If you cannot find out much information about a certain class, but are interested in finding out more it is a good idea to ring up and ask for details. It can be very useful to go and see the environment where lessons take place. Ask if you can watch a dance class to see if a tutor's method of teaching is to your liking. You don't want to purchase a lesson only to find that you do not enjoy it and that the tutor is not encouraging or does not provide enough individual support.


There is a temptation to start your dance classes as soon as possible once you decide to go ahead, but be patient. Make sure you have considered all your options, and studied the schools rigorously before finalising your decision. When you have found the ideal dance class, prepare all the things you will need. Most schools or classes require a certain dance uniform. This will vary between styles of dance as well - you may need a tutu for ballet, but are unlikely to need one for tap dancing! Some schools may be very particular about the style and colour of the dance uniform required.

If this is the case, you may not absolutely love your dance uniform, but at least you know it is practical and suitable for what you will be doing. As you gain more experience you should be able to vary your dance clothing more. Your school or class should be able to provide you with information on where to purchase your dance uniform, if you prefer to shop around for better value online, check the style, sizing and brands and find a bargain!

When you start your classes it may be hard at first, but keep at it and your passion and drive will shine through!

Education Today and Economy

More and more everyday we are seeing that the unstable economy is affecting people in America at an alarming rate and many individuals are coming up with new ways to protect themselves against such an economy. While almost every American can see the effects, those that are creative in their ways of providing enough income for themselves or their families are the ones that are still living somewhat comfortably.

Some people have decided to work from home as a second or main income in order to increase their household budget. And some individuals have decided to return to school in order to obtain a competitive education in hopes to succeed in a competitive job market. And the best thing about this is that it is getting easier and easier to go back to school not only because now prospective students have the option of taking classes online but also because there are multiple financial resources out there for both the young and the mature who wish to return to school.

The first place to look for help with paying for your education is the federal government. By going to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid website you will be able to apply for both federal financial aid but in many cases your individual state's aid as well. The application is fairly simple and not that long and if approved you could be provided with a good portion of what it will cost for you to return to school. And the best part about the federal aid is that they are grants that pay for your schooling so you never have to worry about paying them back.

The second place to look for help is the school you wish to attend. Many schools have work-study programs that will help students pay for their education. This program will put the student to work at the school and use some of the earned income from the position to be put toward the cost of your education.

Since your education will actually be being paid for by you, you will not have that portion of your education to pay for later so this is a really great way to pay for school.

Scholarships are also a great way to pay for an education. There are a number of sites online that list the many scholarships that are out there with instructions on exactly how to apply. Many scholarship applications require you to write an essay about a specific topic and some require a certain level of academic standing for those that are presently in school. But if you are granted any scholarships that is an additional portion of your education that you will not have to worry about paying later.

Finally, and often a last resort for many, there are school loans. School loans are great when you have run out of aid or if you may have lost your job or can't work when returning to school but other options are better off explored first.

With so many resources out there there is little reason not to return to school and protect yourself from this unstable economy.

Education Versus Training

Many people don't understand the difference between education and training. Education is giving out information and communicating to your trainees. Training is about practice and building skills. Today's younger generation of employees wants to be trained, not educated.
Problem is, if we don’t educate them before we train them, it could lead to problems. Think about how you learned to drive. You need knowledge of the laws and then the actual training of getting behind the wheel. Same can be said for learning about the birds and the bees--if the education part isn’t done effectively, the training could lead to undesirable results!
Mark Flores, director of ops for Chuck E. Cheese’s, uses the macaroni-and-cheese example to demonstrate the difference. We’ve all made mac & cheese plenty of times in our lives, but if we don’t follow the instructions exactly, we might get macaroni soup, crunchy macaroni, or something else other than what we intended. So how do we deliver education and training to ensure consistency?
Manuals. Boooooooooring! We do need documentation, but make it fun! Include tons of photos and minimal text so it’s more of a comic strip look. People are more likely to remember what they see versus what they read, so retention of information is better. Additionally, it’s easier to translate into other languages.
Videos. Better than reading for most employees, but they need to be short segments (3--5 minutes maximum) with tons of visual image changes. Our employees today are used to watching CNN with talking video, a crawler message along the bottom, and the weather forecast on the side--all while having four online chats with their friends. Long, drawn-out videos lose their attention quickly. Watch a segment and go practice what you learn. You can watch the next segment after that.
Online. Golden Corral, White Castle, Sea Island Shrimp House, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chuck E. Cheese’s are all using or testing e-learning. Since it is self-paced, it goes at the speed of the learner. Be careful: As we’ve seen with e-books, it’s not too comfortable to read a book on a PC, so keep the text to a minimum. Review questions can be built in as a checkpoint for the learner to advance to the next section. Great way to replace video and print, but it’s still not "training."
Tests. We all hate tests! To ensure consistency in tests, keep them simple and visual (use as many pictures as possible), and use multiple-choice, ordering, or true-false format to ensure consistency in grading. Most of our employees no longer take fill-in-the-blank or essay tests. Ensure they have the basics down. Do all your trainers actually grade tests the same way?
All the above forms of "training" are really just education, yet most managers think it’s training. We didn’t get our driver’s license after reading the book, watching the video, and passing a test--we had to demonstrate our skills to the authorities before we received permission to drive. Education is the necessary evil that must come first, though.
Do we follow the same format with our employees? Many companies do not--we just memorize a bunch of useless information the guest cares little about and then we’re ready. You need to be validated on the skills it takes to do the job and re-validated periodically in the future. Knowing the job and doing the job are two entirely different things--and the guest notices.
Skill Validation
Having the new employee demonstrate skills for a manager shows you two things: how good the trainer was, and that the employee can do the functions of the job. We all might think we have the same definition of "greet the guest" or "suggestive sell," but when we see our employees in action, we find it’s all across the board. If we don’t coach them through the skill, they will simply do what they see at other restaurants (which often isn’t good). Conduct these validations every 90--180 days to keep standards top of mind.
People train people. Just because someone is a good employee doesn’t mean they will be a good trainer. The proper tools to educate will help, but the payoff is in the trainer demonstrating, coaching, and validating the skill of a new employee. To illustrate this point to your team, ask your trainers to train you on how to tie your shoes or put on a shirt. Act like you know nothing about it. Point being, it’s a simple task we can all do in our sleep--like ringing up orders or making burgers--but it’s incredibly hard to train someone else how to do it.
Macaroni and cheese anyone?