Thread: successful techniques for teaching mixed levels

I'm looking for advice, any special tips or techniques for teaching a mixed level class that those of you who do this regularly might have and be willing to share. Or if this has been discussed here in the past, the link to that/those thread(s). I normally teach beginning level classes through the academic year, but will be teaching a mixed level class for the summer here in about 2.5-3 weeks. I'm interested in ways to keep the continuing (intermediate level) dancers engaged and challenged while at the same time not scaring away any of the beginners that will be in the class.

When I am teaching a mixed level, I will often:
- While the beginner students learn a basic move (like a hip lift), I will make the intermediate students do the same movement in releve' or high releve'
- I will teach a vibration to beginners and introduce layering to the intermediate
- As a general rule, it is always good to revisit your roots so the intermediate should also re-visit the basics. This time around, they should really focus on the mechanics of the body.

Interested to hear what other do :-)

The problem is keeping the beginning students from trying the more complicated tasks you're giving the continuing students.

I think if you are going to have them do two sets of tasks you have to be willing to be firm about telling the beginners not to do the intermediate tasks, and if some start doing them, telling them to stop and do the beginning task.

Maybe separate them into two clusters to reinforce this.

Also, lots and lots of individual comments. When you do fundamental movements, hold the continuing students to higher standards based on their abilities. The only way you can do this is with individualized comments.

The layering thing bombed on me in my mixed classes.... I have beginners who are really eager to learn more and rush to take on new things they are not ready for. Makes it tough... but would be ideal if they all listened to the instructions.

I offer a lot of individual instruction in class... I go around and quietly speak to each person telling them how awesome they're doing, but where they can improve. For more advanced dancers, this is a nice time to fine tune or slightly change or layer the movement if I feel they can handle it.

I operate via sessions for all classes, and the first 2-3 classes are always very slow as we go over a lot of foundation movements. I speak to the more advanced dancers about this opportunity to review the stuff they're learned and invite them to practice moving their arms or shimmying with the movements we work on in class. Heck, I find it useful to go over the basics so it won't hurt them any. Still, I ensure that every class we learn at least one new thing.

The possibilities for movement are endless when it comes to keeping things simple. So long as the more advanced girls continue to learn something new, they remain interested and challenged and I will give them little assignments on the side regarding rhythms and making up combinations.

We also work on improv quite a lot. We get in a circle and we will take turns varying a specific movement or on transitioning one move to another. The beginner's movement vocabulary is small, so they're welcome to use the same movement as often as they like but I challenge the more advanced girls to come up with different moves, and even create their own if so inclined.

We don't just work on Oriental though... we also play with folklore, so that always gives more options and they really like it.

I teach a mixed level Tribal class that's focused on group improv. I have students in the class that have been taking classes for 2-3 years alongside baby beginners. Honestly, there is so much ground to cover working on ATS and similar group improv stuff that it hasn't yet become ridiculous for the students pushing 3 years to continue with the class. It takes a really long time to get used to and feel comfortable with group improv. The students who are new are focused on just getting the moves, while the students who have more experience can focus on refining their improv skills. So in that way my experience might be different than, for example, someone teaching mixed level Egyptian classes. But I'll go ahead and share my experience anyway.
I don't use any complicated tricks. Like the people above I've found the "If you feel comfortable with this move, try layering a shimmy!" approach doesn't work, because the new students just as often as not try to go for the advanced stuff way before they've begun to grasp the basics.
I try to integrate a lot of time for individual feedback. I have a teaching assistant that leads the class while I go around and watch each of the students individually while they work on the move we're learning. If I see a student has already got a move down cold, I show them a more advanced or difficult variation they can experiment with while I finish making the rounds with the rest of the students. I've found that works better than demonstrating advanced variations in front of the entire class.
I make sure new students are aware that some of their neighbors have a sizeable headstart on them to hopefully make them a little less likely to get frustrated when they see these same people pick stuff up faster than they do.
Each time I teach a basic move, I try to teach different variations on it (or at least ones that I haven't taught for several months), and I try not to always use the same exact same wording, visualizations, etc. when describing the basic moves, so that returning students don't feel like they're listening to a broken record.
Most of all I just try to pay attention to the students and really try to feel out what each of them need (which again goes back to the necessity of individual interaction). So far this strategy has worked for me.

My former instructor faced the class away from the mirror and had the beginners come to the front. I have no idea what went on in the back tho' as I moved before I could find out... It's been several years and while I've passed that intermediate level I still don't know what was going on -- and I still wonder... hmmmmm...

Lotsa good advice here but here's my 2c...

- Find the mid range skill level in your class and raise or lower difficulty from that benchmark
- Change up the exercises you do in class so they are not just learning technique but may explore improvisation or spacial exercises or if you are doing a choreo, design different parts for different skill levels but make the process of learning and creating a choreo an interactive experience for the students so that they all work together... you can do that be playing with formations and teaching them how to use the dance space (it does not necessarily have to be "stage" focussed)
- When you do teach technique or do drills just reinforce the idea that even basic moves are something that a dancer will always have to go back to and refine (last workshop w/ master teacher I attended we "learnt" how to do hip drops! and I've been dancing for 15+ yrs!)
- Even if a lower skill level students is struggling with a particular technique and you need to break it down, make it seem like the instruction is for the whole class and try to break it down in a slightly different way each time or do different exercises to drill it so the more advanced students aren't thinking that they have done this before and instead of polishing their basics they get bored and frustrated.

Try starting from a base/core skill set....but work in a context of a music/rhythm based class, stage presence, emotive expression, etc.

Best example...Teach a Hip lift/drop...now teach the same move in the context of say a Saidi rhythm...Add dynamics (short, long, held, quick, sharp, smooth)...use the rhythm as a tool for the higher level students. (not just 1-2-3-4... 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+...finding the accents or Doums)

This is hard to explain, but worked well for me...

Also expression and intention in dance is something that not everyone teaches...it can be appreciated at any level of experience.