Last year, Vitality Dance Teacher Conference at Victorian Dance Festival (VDF) introduced free online professional development sessions for dance educators to keep them feeling ‘refreshed’ between conferences.
This year, Dance Teacher Refresh returns with a duo of sessions focussed specifically on you as dance educators. Following a recent survey conducted with educators in partnership with Comdance, Dance Informa and Discount Dance Costumes, Vitality at VDF discovered the single thing that keeps most dance educators awake at night is their own health and wellbeing.
As professional educators, dance teachers are always focused on their students, giving every bit of themselves to ensure that their students thrive and reach their potential. But at what cost? Many educators report their own aches and pains and injuries usually come second to ensuring their students are healthy and strong and rehabilitated in case of injuries. Their priority is also to ensure the studio feels welcoming, nurturing and positive for the student base, often without considering the impact this has on their own mental health and wellbeing.
Vitality and VDF want to ensure you are at your teaching best, so they’ve enlisted the help of two leading industry professionals direct from the UK to give you expert advice and tips for self-care mentally and physically this spring.
Sally Harrison is a renowned dance physio and was a big hit with teachers at Vitality Dance Teacher Conference earlier this year. Harrison will be taking the first of the two FREE ONLINE SESSIONS hosted by VDF on Sunday 8 September at 4pm AEST. Those who know Harrison know her warm sense of humour, and she has rather cheekily titled her session “Be sure to place the oxygen mask over your own face first” – a nod to pre-flight instructions on a plane but an important reminder that if we are not at our best and taking care of ourselves, then we are not giving our students our best as teachers.
Harrison will be giving teachers practical tips and advice to retain their own mobility and ensure they are focusing on self-care as well as student care physically! Be sure to register online and protect the future of your career as a teacher.
The following week, Counsellor and Life Coach Will Centurion will be focusing on teachers’ mental wellbeing and encouraging you to seek and hold professional boundaries with your studio community. He’ll also be ensuring you have strategies to keep you mentally strong through challenging moments and situations where lines can become blurred or overstepped.
Register for Centurion’s session on Sunday 15 September at 4pm AEST.
Thanks for this timely reminder, Vitality! Teachers, your body is not only your vehicle, but it is your tool, and you must look after it to preserve your career and lengthen your service to your students!
Find out more about Dance Teacher Refresh on the VDF website and be sure to lock in your place at next year’s Vitality Dance Teacher Conference at VDF25 to invest in more professional development.
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