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TOCA TEACHER · Lesson 04 · Teaching

Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class

Students cannot process ten corrections at once. A beginner's attention is a small cup and it overflows fast.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class

So choose one clear cue. Let them move. Wait before adding another instruction. Then ask what did you feel, before you explain again, because the answer tells you whether anything landed.

Silence gives the body time to learn. Say less, and make every word useful.

A kizomba class moves when the bodies move, not when you talk.

Talk less, teach more, step by step

  1. MORE EXPLANATION CAN CREATE LESS LEARNING.
  2. Students cannot process ten corrections at once.
  3. Choose one clear cue.
  4. Let them move.
  5. Wait before adding another instruction.
  6. Ask: what did you feel?
  7. Silence gives the body time to learn.
What is your clearest teaching cue?

The full carousel

Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 1 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 2 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 3 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 4 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 5 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 6 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 7 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 8 of 9 Talk less, teach more. Why explaining kills a dance class, slide 9 of 9

This lesson comes from the book

Page 190 of The teacher's guide by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The teacher's guide · page 190

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.