Main Guidelines

The classes we have at the Rent Party are about welcoming in new dancers and helping experienced dancers achieve new heights. We hire a diverse set of teachers and we are interested in what each teacher has to offer, but there are some fundamental principles that our teachers all support:

Be Kind

Happy, kind and even funny teachers will leave a better impression on students and will facilitate learning. But more importantly, (and as much as I wish this didn't need to be said) we will not tolerate teachers who belittle or attack students.

Everyone Can Be A Great Dancer

We feel strongly that all students have the potential to become great dancers. Talent may speed up someone's learning curve, but anyone with a passion can get there, and we want to be open and welcoming to all students.

It's Always The Lead's Fault

We follow this guideline in general at TRP, and in the case of classes, the teacher is the "lead."

If the students aren't getting it, then it's your problem, not theirs, so don't go pointing fingers at the students. Figure out how to get them to become the great dancers they can be.

Social Dancing Foundations!

If you're trying to choose between teaching foundations such as lead-follow connection versus teaching something clever, then err on the side of social dancing and foundations. We are creating an army of social dancers, and you're one of the Generals at the head of the attack!

Dance!

We teach social dance, so if you're not a social dancer, then what are you doing here? After class we have a strong expectation that our teachers will dance!

Lindy Classes

The Int/Adv classes are mostly teacher's choice, following the guidelines above. This is your chance to show the students what you know!

The beginning classes will eventually be following a curriculum that is under development. As long as the students learn the basic curriculum, you can add whatever spin or extra material you like. More info on this later.

Blues Classes

Like Lindy, the Int/Adv classes are mostly teacher's choice, following the guidelines above. This is your chance to show the students what you know!

The beginning classes are drop-in, and it's important that the students get the foundation material that they need to be ready to dance that night.

We will be coming up with a simple set of required skills that we expect the students to have after any beginning Blues class (such as posture and connection), but after that it's up to the teacher!

It's okay to repeat material if you teach the beginning Blues class again, beginning students often appreciate working on the material again, and will stop taking the beginning classes long before they're ready anyways!