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TOCA TEACHER · Lesson 23 · Teaching

How to handle a difficult situation in a dance class, calmly

Wherever there are people there is friction, and a school is made entirely of people. Avoiding a problem does not make it disappear, it lets it fester.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. How to handle a difficult situation in a dance class, calmly

Address it early, privately and directly. Describe the specific behaviour and its effect instead of attacking the person. Listen fully before you conclude. Aim at a shared solution, not a verdict.

Protect people's dignity even when you are firm, because how you handle conflict teaches the whole community what your standards really are.

Prepare one calm boundary sentence in advance, before you need it.

A dance teacher sets the boundary before the room has to.

Clarity is kinder than avoidance.

Handle difficult situations calmly, step by step

  1. A DIFFICULT MOMENT DOES NOT REQUIRE A BIGGER EGO.
  2. Address problems early, privately and directly.
  3. Small frictions handled quickly stay small.
  4. Describe the specific behaviour and its effect. Do not attack the person.
  5. Listen fully before you conclude.
  6. Aim at a shared solution, not a verdict.
  7. Protect people's dignity even when you are firm.

The full carousel

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This lesson comes from the book

Page 320 of The teacher's guide by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The teacher's guide · page 320

The student’s book takes dancers from the first foundations to real feeling. The teacher’s guide gives instructors the structure to pass it on. Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.

The student’s book The teacher’s guide

The method

T O C A

Two bodies. One connection.

TTouchThe connection with your partner. Feeling through contact, never through force.
OObservationListening to your partner’s body, energy and tempo.
CControlMastery of your own movement. Precision without tension.
AAwarenessFull presence: with yourself, your partner and the music.