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WHEN? 14–16.08.2024

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VENUE: Skalski Dance Spot – BUMA

address: ul. Wadowicka 6, Kraków, Poland

LINK - Google Maps

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We warmly invite you to the next edition of Teachers Training! The training will be held in English (if international participants join 🙂).

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We have been teaching dance for about 27 years (including 12 years of West Coast Swing). In Kraków we built, within just a few years, the largest WCS community in Eastern Europe (around 500 regular students — from Newcomer to All-Star — attend our classes every year). Earlier, we achieved the same in social ballroom dancing. Marcin was also a successful coach in competitive ballroom dancing, while Kasia chose to teach dancers with disabilities and to run charity classes. From the very beginning we have focused on teaching adults, so we’ve gathered a lot of knowledge and experience. Every year also brings new insights, so you can expect new things in every edition. (More about us below.)

From previous editions we know what needs more time and what is worth doing differently, so (quoting one of our fellow trainer friends), “as always, you can expect the best edition in the history of the workshops.” 😉

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WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR? We invite:

• People who currently teach West Coast Swing
• People who plan to teach West Coast Swing in the future
• Everyone who wants to go deeper into West Coast Swing knowledge
• People who want to get more out of classes by better understanding their needs in the learning process </aside>

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REQUIREMENTS (to register):

• If you are from Poland:
  • Minimum 3 years of dancing WCS and participation in Polish events such as Karnawał we Wrocławiu or Nadmorska Integracja in the TWO HIGHEST GROUPS.
• If you are NOT from Poland and you do not compete:
  • Minimum 5 years of active WCS dancing
  • Or you already teach WCS locally
  • Or you have danced WCS for over a year but you are a recognized instructor in another style
• If you are NOT from Poland and you do compete:
  • You compete in WSDC Jack & Jill at least at Intermediate level </aside>

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If you are NOT SURE whether you can register — message Marcin or Kasia (Messenger preferred).

NOTE: ONLY 30 spots!

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Program

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BLOCK I (Friday/Saturday)

Teaching methodology — approx. 8 hours:

• Andragogy vs pedagogy — how to teach adults effectively
• What makes people come to class and why they stay
• How to identify problems that hold students back from progressing as fast as they’d like
• How to motivate students
• Instructor — interaction with the group
• What instructors should know about themselves to teach others better
• How to build and grow a community
• How we teach West Coast Swing without intimidating beginners
• Q&A — discussing the questions you send us before the weekend, plus any other questions you’ll have </aside>

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PRACTICE — approx. 1–2 hours (This is part of Block II - look at the schedule))

• Practical part — this time we decided to extend the technical/exercise/repertoire topics as much as possible (we were always short on time to share what we wanted). At the same time, we’ll keep the practice part shorter and show you some teaching elements using our own class as an example. There will also be time to discuss everything with you calmly — something that was also missing in previous editions. </aside>

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BLOCK II (Saturday/Sunday)

General — dance — approx. 12 hours (methodology–technique):

**We expanded this block by 4 hours compared to previous editions!! [**This time we want to have much more time to discuss specific technical topics]

• What “fundamentals” mean to us
• Are basic patterns enough to learn the ABC of West Coast Swing?
• The order of introducing patterns so they form a logical whole
• Music — song structure and rhythm — how to teach it
• Key technical topics and musicality
• Differences in technique between different teachers and how to integrate it all
• Exercise ideas that help even people without a dance background
• What to do to make a given element achievable
• What to point out to students so everyone can dance in the way they feel inside
• What to do so everyone develops at a steady pace
• Why dance progress differs from person to person (physically) and how to work with it — a bit about how our bodies work </aside>

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You will receive a summary:

• Additionally, you will receive a summary of the whole training so you can use your notes more easily later (we assume you’ll be taking notes 😉). </aside>

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1:1 session (in person or online):

• You will also be able, within up to one year after the training, to book a one-hour individual consultation with us (for one person — easier to schedule) — to discuss your reflections on the topics covered, your experience teaching groups, or to ask about specific challenges on your instructor journey. </aside>

Logistics

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MEALS: You’ll be able to order a meal during the day so you don’t lose time looking for food.

SURVEY: Before the event we’ll share a survey where you can send specific questions you’d like us to cover during the weekend.

ACCOMMODATION: There are many apartments nearby (e.g., on Booking.com), but we recommend Hotel Galicya — more of us stay there, which creates more opportunities to connect.

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SCHEDULE:

• Expand the schedule (Friday–Sunday)

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