Before you can teach, you must first create the conditions where learning can take place. All the previous sections have led us now to this point. You may be thinking that business practices and class descriptions don’t have much to do with the learning environment. I strongly believe they are interconnected and parts of the same whole.

We have explored how accurate marketing and clear business policies help to build trust, attract the right students and create a positive first impression, which in turn transfer to the classroom learning environment.

Once you have reassured your prospective students that your business is run efficiently, they are one step closer to signing up or returning for more. What happens in the dance classroom will solidify the trust and respect that you have built and will magnify the positive feelings already associated with you and your business.

Here is where your dance and teaching skills and style will be the culmination of your business vision and values.

Just as students want to know the business is organized and run well, when it comes to learning, they want to be reassured that the teacher is a qualified professional, indicating:

• Professional knowledge and understanding of the art form and the industry
• Professional practice in field
• Professional values, relationships and engagement in associations, shows, and the community, nationally and locally

In addition, students want to know that they are in a safe place to explore movement. They want to know that their mistakes will not be judged and that their efforts will be rewarded.