We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Estudillo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Melissa, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I am a big believer in “fake it until you make it”. In the beginning of my journey of being a dance instructor, I definitely felt like a nobody. I had just moved back to Denver from moving away for college, I didn’t really know anyone in the dance community and I didn’t have an extensive dancing history like a lot of other dancers. I was lucky to get 3 people in a class. Despite that, I was consistent and slowly grew my classes until it became what it is today. Recognizing my own growth as an instructor has helped me gain confidence in my abilities to teach others. What made me realize my value even more was hearing the positive feedback from my students on the impact I’ve had on their lives. It doesn’t cross my mind that I could be making such an impact on someone in the moment of me teaching but when people share their stories with me, I’m reminded of why I keep teaching my classes after all this time. Am I the best out there? No. I can acknowledge that I still have room for improvement. Am I happy with what I’ve accomplished so far? Absolutely. Confidence is about recognizing your growth and your value!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a dancer/ dance instructor and I have been officially training for about 4.5 years now but I’ve loved dancing since I was a kid. I currently teach beginner hip hop and beginner heels classes. My classes are all about having fun and feeling good about yourself. I always strive to have a very welcoming energy during class from both myself and my students. Being that I teach beginner classes, there are a lot of students that come in who have never even taken a dance class in their life. I know it gets scary to be in a vulnerable position while learning a skill that is completely new. I know how it feels because I was in that same position during my first handful of dance classes. This is why a welcoming and supportive energy is always a requirement for anyone that wants to take my class. Anyone is welcome to come and as I said before, no prior experience is needed.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The 3 most important qualities to have as a dance instructor is to be patient, have good energy and be prepared.
Patience is an essential skill to any teaching job. Not everyone will learn at the same pace and some may have a million questions before they learn what is being taught. Having patience makes the students feel safe to make mistakes, ask questions and try again.
With this business, good energy is key to growing class size. People want to be around other people that make them feel good. I’ve often been told by my students that they want to come back to my class specifically for my good energy. Good energy doesn’t only mean being friendly. It also means showing that you care, cheering on the class, making people laugh, inspiring others to want to be their best and so much more.
Lastly, being prepared is, in my opinion, the most important skill to have as an instructor. This is what separates the instructor apart from the students. It is the instructor’s job to be able to teach the class to their best ability. This is not possible if we are not prepared. A student could ask a question about anything at any given moment and we need to be able to answer those questions. The level of preparedness determines the success of the students.
What’s your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge has always been keeping a consistently larger class size. My class size usually fluctuates. Some days, my classes are fully packed and other days there are only 2 students. I’d say the average is about 6-8 people in a class. While I’m not unhappy with my class size, I’d like to continue growing it so that it’s consistently around 10-15 students. I know the weather has a big effect on class size but other than that, it’s quite a mystery to me. My hope is that if I keep being consistent with my classes, it will continue to grow like it has in the past.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dancesbymeli.com
- Instagram: @dancesbymeli
- Facebook: @Choreo by Meli
Image Credits
Sonora Photography The G Shot
