What teachers are saying

“Overnight results”

“I loved it. I thought the way it was presented and how it flowed was good for how I learn. I think it took me longer to complete because I would read articles and then mull over them and try to think how that worked or changed the way I would teach. It was very rewarding to me and my students did notice the change overnight. It’s helped me learn to engage my students more and organize my thoughts with a more natural progression for the dance. I get so tired of lecture type teaching with zero questions. I want my students to think more for themselves and know earlier about the hows and whys. ” – Jessica W, Huntsville, AL

“Gave my instincts a logical structure”

Up until this course, I had a mish mash of information and concepts drawn from various teachers and from my own experience, but I didn’t have a logical, consistent structure to provide a framework for it all. This is absolutely going to me give me more confidence (much needed), as now I feel like I know what I’m talking about. -Lily H, Comox, BC

“I never imagined it could be like this!”

When I signed up for this program, I expected a what-to-do training session; how to teach the basics, and in what order. To my surprise, they didn’t give us any of this information. Yes, there was a metric ton of materials provided, but they gave us the tools to answer these questions for ourselves.
This was not a lesson in how to replicate Myles & Tessa in dance, or in teaching style. In fact, they avoided preaching subjective, personal opinions like the plague. This was a lesson in how to break down complex material into manageable building blocks, and how to scaffold learning in order to give the student the best possible shot at retaining the material.
 I learned to question everything, myself, and *why* something works or does not work. I learned that while a student must experience success to feel compelled to learn more, there are alternatives to teaching pattern footwork to a beginner in order to give them a manageable task. Many alternatives!
I learned how to shape a more credible WCS dancer in their first 15 minutes, and how to convey the key underlying WCS techniques with relatable analogies and simple drills.
This is the tip of the iceberg.
 Myles & Tessa, you are truly masters of your trade. I am so grateful to have you both as my coach, mentor and dance project manager. Thank you!” –Advanced dancer and SLDM Graduate, Jen M, Vancouver

Way better than “winging it”

I felt like this program gave me a very solid way to break down concepts, and gave me a solid sequence which is easy to stick to in each lesson.  This also helped increase my confidence as a teacher a lot, because I used to just try to “wing it” and teach based on what I saw, and this program helped me have a good idea for what elements I should be teaching right away.  It also encouraged me not to shy away from more advanced concepts for beginners, which I felt like has allowed me to teach better, keep students interest better, and produce students that are doing the dance better. – Matt WSDC Intermediate, Arlington, MA

The Eureka Moment

“The SDLM course for me was like a eureka moment, finally understanding what I had been missing.  As a WCS dancer, so many long-time outstanding questions were immediately satisfied.  Having a path connecting the common ideas together, often in logical causal ways, creating real understanding, gives a real level of confidence to build my dance on.  I couldn’t recommend this course more highly, to both existing teachers and students alike: in the hope that future dancers find their feet more strongly, more rapidly, avoiding much of the uncertainty as a beginning dancer.  The ideas and concepts in the material are so effective and make so much sense, one might wonder why this isn’t the standard for all.  For me, after a long time being in a plateau, it gave a new sense of satisfaction, and paved the way to a better more enriching dance experience.” –Ian Manson, New Zealand

I owe it to my students

“That was a very thought provoking class to say the least.  Learning how best to convey these concepts to students was golden. The exam was very demanding as you actually have to _apply_ what you learned instead of simply regurgitate it. I’d recommend this to anyone wanting to teach WCS and give your students the best possible chance of coming out of the series with solid fundamentals that make sense no matter what direction WCS takes down the road. If I only had access to these concepts back when first I started I wouldn’t be in the position of having to retrain my body to unlearn years of reinforced bad habits. I feel I owe it to my students to give them the best available information and convey it in the most understandable way I can. I strongly recommend this course.” –SDLM Graduate and Advanced dancer Greg V, Vancouver

The Core Fundamentals behind all styles

“Myles and Tessa’s extensive experience in teaching and competing in this dance gives them an authoritative insight into the questions of:  “What is WCS and what is the best way to teach it? Their approach unifies the worlds of contemporary and classic WCS by identifying the essential core of the dance and the best ways to teach those core skills.  Once students have mastered these core principles they can easily learn both classic and contemporary WCS patterns while maintaining good technique.” –Paul D, Oregon

Most comprehensive program available

Myles and Tessa emphasize the need for a serious, professional approach to teaching dance.  The stakes of teaching dance are at least as high as being a physical trainer or coach because the student’s ego and emotional well-being are even more at risk in dance than in other non-dance physical training.  Therefore they advocate and teach a caring and professional approach that includes correctly given feedback, lesson plans, syllabus, and continuing education. To support that vision, Myles and Tessa have created extensive material to aid the WCS teacher, including an extensive syllabus, an online discussion forum, and an invaluable bank of planning and assessment materials.  All of these tools are available to empower the aspiring dance teacher to grow the dance community by recruiting and retaining new dancers. –Paul D, Oregon

Not just for new teachers

“I really enjoyed the online Theory Module and strongly recommend to anybody who wants to get even more professional as a professional teacher – and even as just a dancer – the lessons helped a lot to gain a deeper understanding of how to approach a West Coast Swing Dance class – thanks to Myles and Tessa for their efforts, especially the almost instant feedback to questions and Lesson Quiz gradings.” — Falk Bothe, Germany

About Online Learning

“Online trainings usually feel impersonal because quote often everything is automated. However, with SLDM, there are plenty of opportunities for interactions with the teacher/coach. As a result, it felt more personal, and I felt more naturally motivated to pay attention and do well. I had a great deal of opportunities to interact with Tessa online, and she was there to be my guide when I needed it.” –Koichi T, Seattle

In a nutshell

“It’s an intuitive ground-up approach to teaching that doesn’t spoon feed you what to say and provides some useful tools  and perspectives for planning your own lessons.” –Phoenix G, Portland

“It’s just such a logical way to approach teaching dance, you want to kick yourself for not having thought of it.” –Emily F, Northern California

“It’s like having a world class teacher – who happens to be a dancer – give you the secrets you need to know to be an effective, creative, inspirational, and inspiring teacher.  It isn’t just about dance… its the science behind teaching others.” –Wren N, Seattle