A Day in the Life of a Dance Teacher

When people think of a dance teacher, they often picture the fun bit: being in the studio, surrounded by music and movement, teaching passionate students. And yes, that part is amazing. But it’s only a small part of the job.

The truth? Being a dance teacher is a full-time life, not just a job.

While it might look like we only "work" during class hours, our days (and often nights) are packed with things you might not see. From the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed, there's always something that needs doing.

Messages never stop – Emails, DMs, WhatsApp messages from students or parents asking about class times, uniforms, payments, show info... the list goes on. These come in at all hours and we do our best to respond quickly and clearly.

Behind the scenes prep – Classes don’t plan themselves. We spend time putting together lessons that are age-appropriate, safe, fun, and challenging. Then there’s choreography to create and rehearse, music to cut, and sometimes even lighting and prop ideas to brainstorm for upcoming performances.

Show & Comp Planning – Organising a performance is massive. Costumes have to be chosen, sized, ordered, chased up. We work through legal paperwork like BOPAs (Body of Persons Approval), try to find enough licensed chaperones to keep everyone safe, and make sure all safeguarding measures are met.

CPD & Training – On top of teaching, we take regular courses in safeguarding, first aid, and CPD (continued professional development) to stay up to date with dance syllabi and ensure we’re giving the best to our students.

Social Media & Promotion – Yep, that’s us too! Posting updates, highlighting student wins, sharing timetables and important info. It takes time, planning, and often some creativity.

And through it all, we do it because we love it. Seeing a student nail a step they’ve worked so hard on, watching their confidence grow, or seeing their joy on stage makes all the hours worth it.

So next time you see your dance teacher, know that what you see in the studio is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a whole world of work happening behind the scenes to make each class and performance happen.

Thank you for being part of it ❤️