Everyone is always talking about which Zumba teachers are good. Which ones are good depends on what you are looking for. Just because your best friend likes one, doesn't mean you will like the same one. What I've noticed is that students don't realize why they like one teacher more than another. They'll say they get a better workout from one, or one is more fun, but they can't exactly pinpoint what the difference is.
Some positive teacher attributes are obvious. This teacher cues really clearly. She always points which way she's going to go next or shows with her fingers how many steps we have left. She even uses her eyes and her facial expressions to cue.
She smiles and yells out crazy motivational pep talk the whole class. She gets us going in a conga line or divides the room into a battle; she's just fun!
Some teachers are the mother hen. They make it around to everyone in class and memorize all the names and know something about each student and call out their names and encourage them.
Many teachers have lost their reputation because of where their eyes are pointing. "That teacher always faces us. She's too hard to follow; I wish she'd just face the mirror." I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. For us teachers it's hard to absorb because at Zumba certification we learned we're supposed to face our participants.
I've also heard, "She's so stuck up. She's always staring at herself in the mirror. She doesn't look at her students; she doesn't even notice that we can't follow her."
Before I started teaching, I went to a class with a very friendly, energetic, enthusiastic teacher. She did very easy, repetitive choreography, so it was super easy to follow her class, too easy for me. But she could move her body well and was fun to imitate. But I went to her class three times, and each time she picked me out and asked me to come to the front and dance. As a student, I had mixed feelings. Of course, it was a compliment. She liked my dancing and wanted me to serve as an example. But I wasn't a teacher yet, so I didn't have that "let me teach the class myself" attitude yet. I just wanted to be the student and observe and learn; I didn't want to be a role model.
Some students don't want to be in a battle or in the middle of a circle and feeling the pressure of having to come up with a cool move. Some students don't want to be put in the front of the class for everyone to watch. They just want to melt into the class without too much attention on them.
Here's the main reason that I think students like or don't like a teacher, even if I've never heard a student say this herself: You'll like the teacher who feels the music the same way you feel or want to feel the music.
I'm a teacher, so when I take another teacher's class, I always think "What would I do to this part of the music if I were teaching?" Sometimes I think, "Well I definitely wouldn't do this." Then I'm wishing I were up front and taking over the class at the moment. Other times I think, "wow I do this same song in my class but I use different moves, but this teacher's moves are fun and go with the music too." Maybe I picked a move that went with the lyrics, but she is picking a move that goes with the rhythm or a particular instrument in the background. Other times I think, "wow, I've never used this song, but I'm really getting into this and the moves the teacher has selected for this song just make the song feel so right. I feel like I'm part of the music!"
As a Zumba teacher who sometimes plays the role of a Zumba student, that's what I love the most about being a student. It's that moment in the middle of class when you say to yourself, "Wow! I'm feeling the music and I'm so into this. This move is so fun and goes with the music so well! I am the music!" When I'm teaching, that's my goal all the time. I have control over the choreography. I'm trying to make my students feel the music too!
Some teachers mix their music to make each section longer so s/he can repeat the same move longer. That makes the choreography easier to follow because there aren't as many cues and changes to pay attention to. But it can also make the workout more boring for the same reason. Some students want the routine that's easy to follow. Others want a challenging routine with more changes and shorter sections. You may not know what you want till you've tried several different classes!
Some teachers do more aerobic moves and less dancey moves. There can be multiple explanations for this. First, aerobic moves are easier to learn than dance moves. They're designed to be easy. Second, aerobic moves can get your heart beating faster because you're more likely to do them correctly. But doing dance moves with oomph can be so much more rewarding.
I've heard students say that they won't take a Zumba class from a teacher who doesn't look good. If the teacher's body doesn't look fit, then why should that class be able to make the student fit? These students need visual motivation. "The teacher's body looks good; so maybe this will make me look good."
I've heard other students say that they like a teacher because she has a real body and she's not all skinny perfect. Those students are thinking, "Hey, her body looks a lot like mine and she looks good doing all these moves, so I can learn to do that too."
I've had other teachers give me advice, "You need to build an image- do something to make students like you- wear lip gloss or makeup or style your hair a certain way." Maybe that works for some teachers, and maybe some students are attracted to an instructor for non-dance or leadership reasons. just lip gloss or hair style! But I believe students come to me because they like my dance style, my choice of dance moves and my choice of songs, the fact that I change songs frequently, and the time, location and cost of my class.
Personally, when I was learning ballroom dance, my favorite teacher was the one whose body type was the closest to mine. When I watched the teacher do the moves, I could more easily imagine what it was supposed to look like on me. I'm a petite woman and 5'1". It's a lot harder for me to imagine what a move should look like on me if I'm learning from a man or a tall, voluptuous woman.
One tall female student who came to my class once, asked me after class, if I knew any tall instructors. I asked her why. She said she thought that it would be easier for her to take a class from a tall instructor because "it's hard to move fast when you're tall." She believed a tall instructor would do slower moves. I explained to her that tall instructors would also use fast music and move fast. Of course, she didn't believe me and still sought a tall instructor. But I understood, what she really wanted, like me, was a body type she could identify with and imitate.
At the same time, sometimes it's fun to take a lesson from an attractive person of the opposite sex. Male Zumba teachers are extremely popular, and most of the participants are women! My favorite hip hop teacher was a man. My body couldn't imitate his exactly, but he was fun and entertaining to watch! I can see how a woman whose husband doesn't dance would love to take Zumba with a male instructor. A live man in front of you dancing and making eye contact with you!
Another student told me that she used to take class from a Zumba teacher who knew how to do all the moves but looked the same doing them all. This student told me the teacher was so nice and friendly that everyone liked her anyway. Now, it's hard for me to imagine a teacher who does all the moves but looks the same doing them all. Perhaps she just did the same steps in cumbia and salsa and even in flamenco and merengue. But I always listen to this type of input from my students because I'm trying to learn everyone's opinion about what makes a good Zumba teacher, so that I can become the best I can be. If you have other ideas about why students favor one teacher over another, please share them in the comments!
Some positive teacher attributes are obvious. This teacher cues really clearly. She always points which way she's going to go next or shows with her fingers how many steps we have left. She even uses her eyes and her facial expressions to cue.
She smiles and yells out crazy motivational pep talk the whole class. She gets us going in a conga line or divides the room into a battle; she's just fun!
Some teachers are the mother hen. They make it around to everyone in class and memorize all the names and know something about each student and call out their names and encourage them.
Many teachers have lost their reputation because of where their eyes are pointing. "That teacher always faces us. She's too hard to follow; I wish she'd just face the mirror." I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. For us teachers it's hard to absorb because at Zumba certification we learned we're supposed to face our participants.
I've also heard, "She's so stuck up. She's always staring at herself in the mirror. She doesn't look at her students; she doesn't even notice that we can't follow her."
Before I started teaching, I went to a class with a very friendly, energetic, enthusiastic teacher. She did very easy, repetitive choreography, so it was super easy to follow her class, too easy for me. But she could move her body well and was fun to imitate. But I went to her class three times, and each time she picked me out and asked me to come to the front and dance. As a student, I had mixed feelings. Of course, it was a compliment. She liked my dancing and wanted me to serve as an example. But I wasn't a teacher yet, so I didn't have that "let me teach the class myself" attitude yet. I just wanted to be the student and observe and learn; I didn't want to be a role model.
Some students don't want to be in a battle or in the middle of a circle and feeling the pressure of having to come up with a cool move. Some students don't want to be put in the front of the class for everyone to watch. They just want to melt into the class without too much attention on them.
Here's the main reason that I think students like or don't like a teacher, even if I've never heard a student say this herself: You'll like the teacher who feels the music the same way you feel or want to feel the music.
I'm a teacher, so when I take another teacher's class, I always think "What would I do to this part of the music if I were teaching?" Sometimes I think, "Well I definitely wouldn't do this." Then I'm wishing I were up front and taking over the class at the moment. Other times I think, "wow I do this same song in my class but I use different moves, but this teacher's moves are fun and go with the music too." Maybe I picked a move that went with the lyrics, but she is picking a move that goes with the rhythm or a particular instrument in the background. Other times I think, "wow, I've never used this song, but I'm really getting into this and the moves the teacher has selected for this song just make the song feel so right. I feel like I'm part of the music!"
As a Zumba teacher who sometimes plays the role of a Zumba student, that's what I love the most about being a student. It's that moment in the middle of class when you say to yourself, "Wow! I'm feeling the music and I'm so into this. This move is so fun and goes with the music so well! I am the music!" When I'm teaching, that's my goal all the time. I have control over the choreography. I'm trying to make my students feel the music too!
Some teachers mix their music to make each section longer so s/he can repeat the same move longer. That makes the choreography easier to follow because there aren't as many cues and changes to pay attention to. But it can also make the workout more boring for the same reason. Some students want the routine that's easy to follow. Others want a challenging routine with more changes and shorter sections. You may not know what you want till you've tried several different classes!
Some teachers do more aerobic moves and less dancey moves. There can be multiple explanations for this. First, aerobic moves are easier to learn than dance moves. They're designed to be easy. Second, aerobic moves can get your heart beating faster because you're more likely to do them correctly. But doing dance moves with oomph can be so much more rewarding.
I've heard students say that they won't take a Zumba class from a teacher who doesn't look good. If the teacher's body doesn't look fit, then why should that class be able to make the student fit? These students need visual motivation. "The teacher's body looks good; so maybe this will make me look good."
I've heard other students say that they like a teacher because she has a real body and she's not all skinny perfect. Those students are thinking, "Hey, her body looks a lot like mine and she looks good doing all these moves, so I can learn to do that too."
I've had other teachers give me advice, "You need to build an image- do something to make students like you- wear lip gloss or makeup or style your hair a certain way." Maybe that works for some teachers, and maybe some students are attracted to an instructor for non-dance or leadership reasons. just lip gloss or hair style! But I believe students come to me because they like my dance style, my choice of dance moves and my choice of songs, the fact that I change songs frequently, and the time, location and cost of my class.
Personally, when I was learning ballroom dance, my favorite teacher was the one whose body type was the closest to mine. When I watched the teacher do the moves, I could more easily imagine what it was supposed to look like on me. I'm a petite woman and 5'1". It's a lot harder for me to imagine what a move should look like on me if I'm learning from a man or a tall, voluptuous woman.
One tall female student who came to my class once, asked me after class, if I knew any tall instructors. I asked her why. She said she thought that it would be easier for her to take a class from a tall instructor because "it's hard to move fast when you're tall." She believed a tall instructor would do slower moves. I explained to her that tall instructors would also use fast music and move fast. Of course, she didn't believe me and still sought a tall instructor. But I understood, what she really wanted, like me, was a body type she could identify with and imitate.
At the same time, sometimes it's fun to take a lesson from an attractive person of the opposite sex. Male Zumba teachers are extremely popular, and most of the participants are women! My favorite hip hop teacher was a man. My body couldn't imitate his exactly, but he was fun and entertaining to watch! I can see how a woman whose husband doesn't dance would love to take Zumba with a male instructor. A live man in front of you dancing and making eye contact with you!
Another student told me that she used to take class from a Zumba teacher who knew how to do all the moves but looked the same doing them all. This student told me the teacher was so nice and friendly that everyone liked her anyway. Now, it's hard for me to imagine a teacher who does all the moves but looks the same doing them all. Perhaps she just did the same steps in cumbia and salsa and even in flamenco and merengue. But I always listen to this type of input from my students because I'm trying to learn everyone's opinion about what makes a good Zumba teacher, so that I can become the best I can be. If you have other ideas about why students favor one teacher over another, please share them in the comments!
Learner Always Try to Learn New Steps by Zumba Dance Teachers
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