I have had both ends of the bell curve: the super nice, yet often ineffective and the nasty tormentor.
I think those that are degrading or demeaning to students are probably insecure. In my opinion, an ideal dance teacher has a fiduciary duty to maintain a safe environment where she may consistently provide honest caring communication to students in all things without fail. For the one or two hour class, a teacher needs to set aside any personal funks or grungy emotional clutter that might induce her to mistreat some unsuspecting student. If she can’t do this, she shouldn’t teach!

I have seen teachers sneer and roll eyes and be so terribly mean to some new baby dancers and for what? Are they angry frustrated artists, who would maybe rather be dancing themselves?

On another note, I think sometimes communication might be misunderstood. Maybe, a student misinterprets a teacher’s direction,. This is the time when teachers really need to pay attention to body language and physiological responses to their words And students should be forthright with the teacher and address their concerns ASAP (in person after class or via telephone call for real time discussion)

If the comments or behavior is just beyond atrocious, one could stop, look the teacher right in the eyes, and question/address the abusive attack simultaneously right then and there. A brief and pointed stop, stare down, and sharp, “excuse me? ” Pause and wait for her response and she will either get the hint and cut it out or fight with you., If she seems combative, simply ask her to meet with you outside of class, or simply walk away.

Sharon, would you mind sharing your blog link so I can read your ideas about how to deal with receiving criticism?

I look forward to both of your responses.

I just wrote about criticism last month on my blog, and how there is well-meant and not-so-well-meant kinds, and how to deal with them. But aside from the practical consideration, if I were on the receiving end of such criticism as you describe, I wouldn’t stick around a moment longer. There is no reason to put up with abuse, and that’s what that kind of language is: abusive.

I would hope that all teachers would be committed to learning how to be compassionate in their instruction so that there are less permanently scarred creative people running around. Lord knows our inner critics are damaging enough without the “help” of teachers!

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it beneficial? Is it the right time?

I think many times, if we observe “Is it true?” with real honesty, we find that maybe it is a strong impression or personal opinion and it takes a lot more digging to find the truth of the statement.

For me, the last gate takes the most effort. There are some times I can see in a student’s face that he/she is just to beat-down to be pushed with a lot of adjustments. Likewise, a student may not be physically able to achieve the fullest expression of an adjustment. In these cases, it’s important to praise the effort to help build students to the point where they are able to advance more completely.