Why
I started the dance retreats for two main reasons:
I wanted to attend classes designed for someone at my experience level. I still take regular classes all the time but most of the time it is like pulling teeth to learn something new or find a class that allows me to work on basics in more advanced ways. The retreats require that everyone attending teaches something that will most likely interest and/or challenge the other attendees.
I wanted to hang out with friends and people that enjoy talking about all aspects of dance. The retreat attendees are these people.
I have continued to organize these retreats for several more reasons:
One of my main goals is to keep improving dance & to do that, I feel the teachers need to keep improving too. This retreat has been one of the best ways I have seen for teachers to improve.
Many good dance teachers are struggling to survive off of dance and many more that could be great don't even try because they feel that it wouldn't be financially possible for them to make enough to live comfortable and healthy lives. Through the years, I have learned that a little business knowledge combined with your dancing experience can dramatically improve your lifestyle. I have seen everything from teachers making $35,000 per year by working just 1 night per week to millionaire dance teachers and I want to share these possibilities with everyone!
There are many good dancers that haven't perfected their teaching and many good teachers that haven't perfected their dancing. Plus, there are also some that are good at both, but are still not as good at running the business. The Teacher's Retreat is designed to help improve all of these aspects, the dancing, the teaching, & the business.
I believe that the world needs more dance teachers & organizers (especially more good ones)! The potential demand is way higher than the current supply.