Hi all!
I haven't posted on here much but have been a lurker for quite a while. I've been teaching improvisational tribal style for a few years now and have gone through a variety of class formats to find the one that works best.
I started with doing a 6 week session of beginner and then moving students into beyond beginner. But that didn't work well for me because I felt that beyond beginner was too general.
Then I got ULTRA specific (too much so) and created 5 6 week sessions: Tribal 1, Tribal 1A, Tribal 2, Tribal 2a and Tribal 3 (tribal 3 was an ongoing session).
The problem there was that students felt either rushed to learn the stuff in a 6 week session, or felt that if they completed a 6 week session they could move on even though they weren't necessarily ready (which meant I had some students with crappy technique moving up the ranks).
So then I implemented ongoing classes: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. This has worked out well for the most part. It means that students can join at any time and can't move up the ranks without permission. However, it is difficult because as I teach new moves, I want to incorporate other moves into the class when we actually practice the improv stuff...but some students (specifically those new to the class) don't know many moves (or any!)
That being said, I've recently had to make a hard decision to close my dance studio and take a full time job to support my family. This means I'll only be teaching one or two classes/week. I've decided to teach an intermediate/advanced tribal improv class because most of my students who are dedicated are now advanced and they are willing to follow me to my next location.
So...my question (after that LONG intro) is...how do I set up this class? I'll have advanced students who know lots of funky combinations, formation changes, leader switches, etc etc. And I'll have intermediate students who just get through with beginner improv. Any suggestions to help me make this work are VERY appreciated :-)!
Thanks!
Phoenix