Being a dance parent can be a challenge. Standing at the windows, you become accustomed to attempting to lip read, using hand signals to remind your dancer to pay attention to the teacher and not stare (or wave) at you during class, and are constantly trying to decipher body language and generally what exactly is going on inside the classroom.

You have to fight your instinct to rescue your child when you see them struggling or correct them when you think they’re not behaving and you fight for good reason. It is really hard to tell whether or not your child is actually struggling or misbehaving, and you know the teachers inside that classroom are up to the challenges that the students may bring their way.

I have a really good example of how things may be very different from what you see “through the looking glass”. My daughter was in the midst of her class on a Saturday morning and I noticed a parent at the window who seemed distressed. “She’s having a difficult day today. She just doesn’t seem to be focused. Now she’s sitting all the way on the other side of the room from the rest of the class.” I know that every parent has those moments where every muscle in your body tightens as you watch your child in the midst of less than perfect behavior in public, so I assured this parent that her teacher could definitely handle anything that happened in class and that if their dancer was having a behavior issue that needed to be addressed the teachers will always let you know. After class, we found out that the dancer in question was following directions and wasn’t nearly as disruptive as her parent thought. She was sitting across the room because they were given their recital spots, and there were people in between that were missing. Needless to say my husband felt a lot better after speaking to the teacher!

Every one of us can misinterpret the classroom goings on when we have no way to hear what is being said. The best way to clear up any confusion or concern is to speak with your teacher (after class is a good time), or even one of the Reception staff. Most of us are also dance parents or dancers ourselves, and we will be happy to try to put everything into perspective or get you the answers you need.