Effective Teacher Traits:

• Eye contact: All students appreciate eye contact, but little dancers especially need this individual focus to help them stay engaged and create a positive relationship with the teacher. Eye contact and a warm facial expression creates a caring, positive bond. Eye contact can also be used for behavioral management when paired with a more neutral facial expression and a flatter tone of voice.

• Facial Expressions: Toddlers and preschoolers mimic adult facial expressions. They are learning how expressions are related to emotions. In general, a pleasant or happy expression creates the best classroom atmosphere and helps students to bond with the teacher. A flat affect, a very neutral facial expression, can help when guiding behavior challenges, but can otherwise make connecting with students very challenging.

An extra note: Make it a point to observe parent/caregiver expressions as they bring their dancer for the first class. An anxious parent face will most often bring anxious behavior in the child and a happy, relaxed face will bring a happy, relaxed dancer. When approaching a new adult and child, try to bring a happy, confident expression to the situation. Children will mimic you almost immediately and adults will slowly do the same as they see their dancer relax.

Ineffective Teacher Traits:

• Lack of eye contact or a distant gaze: Teachers who don’t make eye contact with little dancers have more difficulty holding their attention, creating a warm environment, and managing classroom behavior. Studies prove that we perform better for teachers that we like, and it is difficult for dancers to build a relationship with a teacher who doesn’t make eye contact.

• An angry or disconnected facial expression will often sour the mood of your dancers. Even though children in this age range can present challenging behavioral issues, a teacher should never show anger towards a dancer. A firm tone and flat affect are very effective in dealing with behavior, but an angry expression can actually be counterproductive as it can break the bond between teacher and student and diminish a child’s desire to perform positively in class.