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TOCA TEACHER · Lesson 13 · Teaching

The teaching triad: where, what and how

Three questions decide everything before a single movement.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. The teaching triad: where, what and how

Where. The context you teach in. A private, a weekly class, a bootcamp, a festival workshop. Each one gives you a different amount of attention per student.

What. The nature of the content and the level in front of you, chosen for this room on this day, never fixed in advance.

How. The role, and the channel this student learns through. A great teacher changes the how without changing the what.

Every dance class decision comes back to context, content and channel.

The triad: where, what and how, step by step

  1. IF A STUDENT IS LOST, ONE PART OF YOUR INSTRUCTION MAY BE MISSING.
  2. WHERE. The context you teach in changes everything.
  3. A private, a weekly class, a bootcamp, a festival workshop.
  4. WHAT. The nature of the content and the level in front of you.
  5. Chosen for this room, on this day. Never fixed in advance.
  6. HOW. The role, and the channel this student learns through.
  7. A great teacher changes the how without changing the what.
Where. What. How. Which one do you skip?

The full carousel

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This lesson comes from the book

Page 50 of The teacher's guide by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The teacher's guide · page 50

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.