The Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast

Welcome to the Casual Dance Teachers Podcast. I'm your host, Maia. No matter who, what, or when you teach, I'm here to share all my best tips and tools, along with real and practical conversations with fellow dance educators to help you be the very best dance teacher you can be. Let's talk about it.

Hey everyone, I am doing something a little bit different today. So if you're listening on just one of the podcast platforms, I am actually doing a video podcast for this episode only, which might seem super weird and like self-serving because it's just me.

It's not an interview. And honestly, I have so many interviews where I was video chatting with the guest and wished that I would have recorded the video to share with you guys, but I only recorded the audio. So this seems really weird to do because it's not going to be an exciting video by any means.

However, it's a total departure from what I normally do on the podcast. And I felt like the nature of this particular episode just required me to be a little more transparent, literally. So here I am on video with you.

And this episode also, if you're new to the podcast, probably not relevant to you. Most of my episodes are tips and advice and conversations that really pertain to dance teachers and particularly casual dance teachers like me. So with my background being primarily teaching in smaller rural studios, not having like huge class sizes and not teaching full-time as my career, I consider myself a casual dance teacher.

And I try to keep the podcast really relevant to helping dance teachers grow in their journey as educators. And today's episode is not really about that. It's about me, but just bear with me because I think it's really important for me to provide context about where I'm coming from, right?

And I do have a trailer for the show where I talk a little bit about my background, why I started the podcast, which I just kind of reiterated. And I'll often bring up, you know, little slices of my own experience in my interviews or just in my episodes that I record to share my own expertise with you.

And I just wanted to let you guys know going into this new season that where I'm coming from is changing a lot. It's changing a lot right now. And I'm not going to get like super personal because again, I just am very focused on having this be a podcast that is helpful and serves the people that are listening.

So it doesn't need to serve me. It doesn't need to be about me and what's going on in my personal life, but I have a ton of changes happening in my personal life since the end of season one. So things, even within the timeframe of season one, which was less than a year, things changed in my life quite a bit.

And then since then things have changed in my life quite a bit more, which is crazy. Like you just, I'm such a control freak and there's not one thing in my life that I've been able to control over the past year. And that's fine.

Maybe that's what I needed. And that's why I'm here. So I just want to let you guys know, I'm like relinquishing control to all of you on the future of this podcast.

But with all of the changes happening in my personal life and really wanting to prioritize, number one is honestly like my son, my family is so important to me. I'm obsessed with dance and I love dance and I'm passionate about it, but like it's not going to come above my family, Right?

So that's number one. I really have to prioritize my time with my kid. And there were some things with the changes in my personal life and with teaching in a studio setting that were making it really hard for me to do that.

Now, obviously I feel like for any parent, if you're having this push and pull between like, I love dance, I'm so passionate about it. And I love my kid and I'm so passionate about him. And they're a little bit at odds with each other.

You're going to have some mental, like, I don't want to say crises, but it's going to be very challenging mentally. And I felt like even at the end of my last dance season, as much as I love my students, and that's been a huge thing for me, I felt like I was spending more time with my students for a period and more mental energy on getting my students to the level where I wanted them to be at for recital and all of these things than I was on helping my son with the things that he needs to progress on. And I'm going through all these other changes and like trying to not be such a control freak in my own life.

And the mental burden was super exhausting for me. And it kind of came to a head. And I realized that at this point in time, I'm not able to continue teaching regular weekly classes in a studio setting.

And that was so, so hard for me to admit, because I love it. I love my studio, love my students, love everything about teaching in that setting, like such a hard decision. So it's even tough to say now.

And then the other layer on top of that is I have this podcast that I love and is also so fulfilling to me, and works in a such a different way, because I do it from my home, literally sitting in my house. And I do it when I do have free time. So I don't have that mental load like I did with the dance classes, where I felt this huge strain.

So with the podcast, I'm like, I can absolutely continue. It's totally fulfilling me creatively and fueling me. And I love having these conversations.

And I love the whole network that I've built and the people that I've connected with. But how am I going to be the host of the casual dance teachers podcast, if I'm not even regularly teaching dance, like I already had imposter syndrome of being like, I'm just a girl, like from this small random town that teaches dance once in a while, and I have this podcast. And now I'm not even going to be teaching every week.

And I'm going to be the host of the casual dance teachers podcast. So the mental gymnastics was rough, and probably will still continue to be. At this point in time, I am 100% still committed to completing season two of the podcast, even though throughout that time, I will not be regularly teaching dance classes.

Now, you can see right now, I don't know why I didn't think to like look nice for the one video podcast that I'm going to do maybe ever. I should have like, put myself together, but I was literally dancing and sweaty and working on stuff. And I was like, I gotta, I gotta come clean to the casual dance teachers network about what's going on.

So I am still teaching occasional classes here and there. At this point in time. Now, I don't know exactly from what I'm recording, because everything like I said, I'm not even planning on anything at this point in my life.

Because every time I say this is what I'm going to do. And here's my plan. And here's how I'm going to do it.

It's not happening. Okay, God has different plans for me. So I'm not even gonna say like, between the time that I'm recording this and the time that it comes out that this is exactly what's going to happen.

But at the time that I'm recording this, I do still have a few classes, like workshop style classes planned for the studio that I was teaching regular weekly classes at, as well as a couple of other guest classes. And I would be open to doing other things in the future. It's just commitment right now is a really hard for me, because everything's so up in the air.

And with weekly classes, like you're committing, like I'm going to start at the beginning of the season, and I'm going to make those kids so darn good by the end of the season, when they step on stage for the recital, they're going to have choreography, they're going to have all these new skills, technique, I can't commit to that right now. So it's not like I'm like, I'm quitting being a dance teacher, I'm done with that. I really hope and I'm trying to I'm really channeling this interview that I did with Audra Queen, if you haven't listened to it, go listen to it, because it's gonna give you some more context for this conversation as well, where she's talking about an abundance mindset.

And she taught me a lot of things about just being open to saying no to something that's not serving you. And just being open that something that does serve you better is going to come along. So that's the phase that I'm in right now is like, okay, I'm trusting that something that fits within the framework of what I am available to do, and what I have the capacity to manage right now is going to come into my life and be wonderful and fulfilling.

And I feel like the podcast is a component of that. Now, me sitting here recording this podcast, not the same as dancing or teaching dance, right? That's very different. So it's not going to be the end all be all.

But this is a component of it. Because having conversations and sharing those conversations with other dance teachers is still fulfilling that part of me that is super excited about just getting dance education out there the best that we possibly can. So I also had already done a lot of groundwork for season two at the time that this whole decision kind of came to pass, which was pretty quick.

And again, kind of scary situation that happened in my life. So at the end of season one, I had no idea I already had started working on season two at that time. And it wasn't until I had already put in quite a bit of work for season two, that I came to this realization that I wasn't going to be able to continue teaching weekly dance classes.

So I was like, well, I'm still going to be the host of the casual dance teachers podcast, at least for another season, because a lot of that work is already set up. And I just love sharing it. What happens after that? Truly, I don't know.

I have no idea. I would really love to hear from you guys genuinely, just what your thoughts are on this situation. Like what, this is like a very existential question, but what makes someone a dance teacher? Do you have to actively be teaching class all the time? You have to have a full schedule? Do you have to have, you know, things booked? I know there's a lot of conversation about what constitutes a master class and a master teacher, which is also something that I find very interesting.

So you can weigh in on that, but not just that, but like, am I a dance teacher if I'm not actively teaching? Like if I'm putting my name out there, but I don't actively have work, what's my identity? And spoiler alert, but we're going to be having some conversations within that realm in the coming weeks on the podcast. There's a lot of the very practical nuts and bolts stuff. Cause I know you guys love that.

Like I can see what you listen to. And a lot of times the highest numbers, as far as what you listen to are the ones that are like, here's a list of this, this, and this activity that you can do in this class. So I know you guys like that.

And that's what, trust me, that's what I'm here for because that's really what I started the podcast about. I didn't realize that I was going to make so many amazing connections and relationships through this show when I started. So I was thinking it might be more of like me just talking to you guys, like do this, this, this, and this, and to achieve your goals as a dance teacher, which it's, it hasn't been that.

I know those episodes are very valued. They will still be part of season two for sure. They will also be interspersed with the conversations that are not just like, Hey, what do I do in this situation? Hey, how do I do this? Hey, what are some ideas for this thing that I'm struggling with? That's all there.

But then there's going to be that added layer interspersed with that of like, hold on, even though that's all helpful when we step back, what is it that we're doing this all for? What is it that shapes our identities as dance teachers? And how can we maintain that and feel secure in that and feel comfortable and fulfilled and happy and not be doing it out of like a feeling of obligation or like the sunk cost fallacy of like, well, I put this much work into it. So if I quit now, what was it all for? Right? So those are all things I'm contending with. And let me tell you, I have some people way smarter and better equipped to handle those questions coming onto the show to talk to me than I am to just like I'm doing right now.

So I think I'm going to wrap it up there. That's what's going on in my life. Lots of changes.

I'll keep you posted if there's anything that I feel like is relevant to share on the show. But for right now, just know, I'm coming at this as a place of I have over 10 years of experience as a dance teacher. I've obviously handled a lot of different situations and learned a lot and I still feel like I can share a lot from that experience.

I also will be continuing to explore the realm of dance and dance education in different ways. But right now, that's not going to be weekly dance classes. And I think it's probably going to shift and evolve and I'll have various different ways that I'm exploring dance as a part of my life in the future.

So just know that. And maybe that will give you a little bit of a different perspective. Maybe it won't.

And you're like, I literally could not care less. Let's get back to actually helping me teach dance, which I will do. I promise.

Okay, that's going to be the main thing that we talked about on the show. A little bit of other, you know, a little mental health stuff, a little bit of self care in there, you know, all those other things. Because if you don't have that, you're not me teaching dance very well.

Okay, take it from me. So thank you all very much for supporting me. Of course, I hope you continue to support me throughout this next season of the show and share your feedback so we can kind of shave where it goes together.

And yeah, hit me up on the casual dance teachers network on Facebook. That's a Facebook group. We also have the casual dance teachers podcast Instagram page.

And do not forget to leave a review for the podcast, wherever you're listening. This is a new format for the show. What did you think? I know it was weird doing a video of just me talking when I should have been doing videos of all the interviews all along.

They're a pain in the butt to edit. I am not trying to do all that because I'll quit this too. If I'm spending that much time editing video, I'll quit this too.

And I'm not really trying to quit another thing in my life right now. Okay, I need something consistent. So that's not a threat.

I just want to hear your feedback. I love you all. Thank you very much.

Thank you to Gibi mystical for the theme music. And oh, shoot, I did not think of a quote to share. Yes, I did.

I have another tab on my computer and I forgot. Okay, just found it on Google. So I don't have a name attached to this to share with you.

But I thought it was pretty good considering the circumstances. Don't be afraid to start over. This time, you're not starting from scratch. You're starting from experience. Thanks, guys.