Why you should take every guest workshop possible

Myself attending a workshop as a preteen.

Dancers are no stranger to busy schedules, so when an invite or advertisement of a new guest workshop or masterclass pops up it can be easy to ignore it. Here’s why you shouldn’t!

You’ll Leave the Guest Workshop Feeling Inspired

Different dance teachers have different focuses and methods. Being exposed to different methods is exciting and inspiring. A great teacher will leave you feeling inspired after just one class. It’s easy to feel stuck with your dancing. Working with a new teacher or style helps work past those feelings.

Networking at a Guest Workshop

Guest workshops are often attended by dancers from multiple schools. This is a great opportunity to make new connections. Networking is incredibly valuable, especially in the dance world. The dancer you meet at this workshop could be your coworker one day. Bottom line is that connections and networking is valuable.

Access to New Styles

Guest workshops often showcase specialized styles. These are perfect opportunities to try a new style and all it has to offer. Even if you can’t regularly train in the style you can learn knew movement patterns and qualities to implement into your own artistic sensibilities. Attending guest workshops as a dance teacher allowed me to start learning flamenco, a style I really enjoyed dancing.

Guest Workshops Bring Fresh Ideas

Every dance educator is different. Each workshop teacher brings new perspectives that provide fresh feedback for you to implement into your dancing. Even one piece of usable feedback can make attending the workshop worth it. I recommend keeping a dance journal to write down the feedback you get.