Roll-Over Bridge Breakdown: The Four Step System for Roll-Over Bridges
Roll-over Bridges (Tinsica’s) are one of the most technical tricks to teach and spot. Starting from “knee-to-knee), we break down Roll-over Bridges into 4 easy steps to help your students achieve it in a simple and logical way: Step #1: “Bridge Inside Out With a...
Perfecting the Handstand in Acro Dance
Handstands are the cornerstone of almost every Acro trick and making sure your students master them is fundamental when developing a strong base of technique for your Acro dancers. There are two ways to teach a proper Handstand; the gymnastics way and the Acro...
How To Teach The Perfect Aerial
Ask any student: what is the number one trick you want to learn? The answer is always the same – an Aerial! The Aerial is one of the most challenging Acro tricks to learn, despite the fact that it is actually NOT one of the most difficult tricks to execute once...
How To Become an ADTA Testing Day Examiner And Increase Your Freelance Services
How do you achieve a reasonable amount of progress with your Acro Dancers when you only get them for one or two hours of training per week…? How do you keep track of them all while working at an efficient pace each year when you have so many of them, and they are all...
Keeping Your Energy High For Your Students Right Now
Going into week 8 (or 9 or 10!) of your studio closure, couldn’t be a more important time for you to keep your energy high for your dancers. But online classes are VERY draining, and it’s becoming more and more challenging to keep students engaged. I know this to be...
How To Help Students With Shoulder Flexibility – At Home!
Do you have students who have tight shoulders and might be struggling with tricks like Bridge Recovers and Back Walkovers? In these tricks, shoulders need to be stacked over wrists - if you’re tight in the shoulders, this can be hard to accomplish! Luckily,...
Avoid Student Injuries – Include A Warm-Up And Cool-Down In Your Class
We all want our students to be successful in acro class - and that includes preventing injuries! By ensuring a proper-warm up and cool-down each class, you can avoid injuries in your students, and make the entire class more successful. Start Of Class Warm-Up Each...
Why Students NEED The Basics Of Acro Dance To Progress To Advanced Tricks
We, as dance teachers, want our students to reach their goals. Our students are keen to be their very best and want to progress as far as they can in their Acro Dance tricks. We would love to have them performing impressive tricks and wowing the crowd onstage....
How To Introduce Acro To Your Recreational Teen Dancers
If you have a class full of recreational teen dancers, you know that they are taking your class because they LOVE to dance. Sometimes these classes can be challenging to teach, and even more so when the style is Acro Dance. But, when you understand both the strengths...
How To Help And Prevent Sore Wrists In Acro Class!
Acrobats spend much of their training upside down, which mean their body-weight is usually resting on their wrists! ADTA students are taught to lift up and out of their shoulders/back to reduce pressure on their wrist joints. However, with the Winter break coming...
Soreness vs. Pain: A Great Article to Share with Students!
As a studio owner or dance teacher, it’s important that your dancers understand the difference between being sore and being in pain; if what they are feeling is something that is okay to “push through” or needs to be rested. Many dancers who have never faced an...
How To Cut Your Workload Down By 50% WHILE Getting Better Results!
Teaching acro is A LOT of work. It takes time to come up with lesson plans, time to find new things to do, and time to figure out how to teach and spot each trick! On top of it, we only have an hour a week with our acrobats, maybe two hours if you’re lucky. How do you...
When Hard Work And Technique Come Together
As acro teachers, we look forward to working with that student who has IT ALL! Strength, flexibility, grace… this student is not just a privilege to teach, but is a dream to work with for choreography! But, have you ever had a moment (or many moments…) where it feels...
What Is Acro Dance?
So, what is Acro Dance exactly? Why does It matter? Is it just about the tricks? I can tell you - if Acro Dance were about the tricks, we would be gymnasts. Acro Dance is definitely NOT about turning dancers into gymnasts! If acro dancers were gymnasts, they would be...
How To Get a Strong Boys Acro Program at Your Studio
If you are like most acro teachers, the opportunity to have a boy in your class is not a common one. When one does come along, you might be wondering how to nurture your boys as they develop into an older, more masculine, male acrobat. Maybe you are not even sure how...
Acro vs. Gymnastics: What’s the Difference?
This a question we encounter often and the answer is: YES there is a difference, a very BIG difference! Have you ever watched a gymnastics floor routine in person or on television? Those hard-hitting, advanced tumbling lines, executed with power and precision, and...
The Pressure You Should NEVER Give Into as an Acro Teacher
As a dance teacher, you’ve likely felt pressure to push your students ahead too young and too quickly. Whether the pressure came from students themselves, their parents, or your studio owner, here are the reasons you need to stand your ground, and move at the pace you...
This Five Minute Exercise Will Make You a Better Teacher in 2019
We do a lot to improve ourselves as teachers: like continuing our education, searching for artistic inspiration, and keeping our own instrument as healthy as possible. That's great, but are you forgetting one simple exercise that...
The Do’s and Don’ts of Additional Acro Training
Are you a student who’s eager to get more acro training, above and beyond your regular weekly class? That’s great: it means you’re excited about your acro education, and want to put in more work to get more results! However, it’s not just about how much you train –...
Why We Don’t Let Students Skip Ahead to the “Big Tricks” In Acro Class
We want our students to be successful and reach their goals. We want them performing impressive tricks and wowing the crowd onstage. In order to make the “big tricks” happen, however, our students must master the arts of patience and persistence. Acro is...
Avoid the “Studio Flu” with Proper Acro-Class Hygiene
The cold and flu season can feel like the plague in your dance studio – one student gets sick, then their whole class gets sick, and then the whole studio gets sick. While some element of “studio sickness” is inevitable, there are absolutely things you can do to...
Selecting Acro Costumes: Tips for Teachers
The world of acro costuming has come a long way... even five years ago, you would be lucky to find a handful of acro-suitable options in a costume book, and would often be forced to pick between a clown or snake-print unitard... On the flip side, we're currently in a...
Why Acro Dress Code is so Helpful in Acro Class
We get it: it can be a lot to keep track of dress codes for each of your dancer's classes, and make sure you have the right gear for each class. If you're wondering how to set your dancer up for success in acro, it really does start with dress code - read on and we'll...
The Damaging Effects of Pushing Too Fast Too Soon In Acro Class
It’s fun to have a little group of hotshot acrobats – they’re young and ready for a challenge, and YOU’RE ready to show them off at competition! However, even with these superstar students, it’s still so important not to push them too fast too soon. Why not? Well,...
Make Your Life Easier with an Assistant Teacher!
You already know that teaching AcroDance, or any genre of dance, requires much more than just talking students through exercises: Spotting, demonstrating, correcting, answering questions, and selecting music; plus dealing with things like bathroom breaks, missing hair...
How To Teach The Perfect Aerial!
Ask any student: what is the number one trick you want to learn in Acro class? The answer is always the same – an Aerial! The Aerial is one of the most challenging Acro tricks to learn, despite the fact that it is actually NOT one of the most difficult tricks to...
Smaller Than Your Student? Learn How to Spot Them Safely!
Isn’t it fun to spot your smallest students? It’s so easy, and you don’t have to strain your own body to help them achieve a trick! Well, I’ve got good news… spotting all of your students can, and should be, just as easy; You should never put unhealthy strain on your...
Your Back Handspring Problems Solved!
Back Handsprings are a huge, exciting milestone for your students to achieve! But, like anything in acro (and dance in general), there is a big difference between a student achieving a trick and mastering it. There are still a bunch of funky things that may happen...
Simple At-Home Shoulder Stretches
If you have tight shoulders, you might also be struggling with tricks like Bridge Recovers and Back Walkovers. In these tricks, shoulders need to be stacked over wrists: if you’re tight in the shoulders, this can be hard to accomplish! Luckily, there are some simple...
Your Students Will (Finally) Master Their Back Walkovers When You Apply This Secret!
You’ve worked on drills, used mats and other heights, spotted what feels like 10,000 back walkovers, and your students are still struggling to get this trick on their own. Before we give you our secret answer, remember that repetition (yes, a lot of repetition!) is...
Soreness vs. Pain: A Great Article to Share with Students!
As a studio owner or dance teacher, it’s important that your dancers understand the difference between being sore and being in pain; if what they are feeling is something that is okay to “push through” or needs to be rested. Many dancers who have never faced an...
Warm Up and Cool Down Outlines to Avoid Student Injuries
No one likes seeing a student get injured, especially if you feel it could have been avoided. By including proper warm ups and cool downs into your weekly classes, you can prevent injuries in your students, and make the entire class more successful. Each class should...
AcroDance for Your Recreational Teens
Teaching a recreational teen how to dance may seem challenging; teaching them acrobatics even more so. However, as long as you maximize on the strengths, and understand the challenges, of your recreational teen acrobats, your classes with them can be a very fun and...