10/10 Highly recommended! The course material is highly relevant, intelligently sequenced, and will lead to rapid improvements in the quality of your dance. The progressive skill building nature of this course makes progress easy and long lasting.

When I signed up for this program, I expected a what-to-do training session; how to teach the basics, and in what order. To my surprise, they didn’t give us any of this information. Yes, there was a metric ton of materials provided, but they gave us the tools to answer these questions for ourselves.

This was not a lesson in how to replicate Myles & Tessa in dance, or in teaching style. In fact, they avoided preaching subjective, personal opinions like the plague. This was a lesson in how to break down complex material into manageable building blocks, and how to scaffold learning in order to give the student the best possible shot at retaining the material.
 I learned to question everything, myself, and *why* something works or does not work. I learned that while a student must experience success to feel compelled to learn more, there are alternatives to teaching pattern footwork to a beginner in order to give them a manageable task. Many alternatives!

I learned how to shape a more credible WCS dancer in their first 15 minutes, and how to convey the key underlying WCS techniques with relatable analogies and simple drills. This is the tip of the iceberg. Myles & Tessa, you are truly masters of your trade. I am so grateful to have you both as my coach, mentor and dance project manager. Thank you!

I really enjoyed the Swing Literacy Teacher Development Program and strongly recommend to anybody who wants to get even more professional as a professional teacher - and even as just a dancer - the lessons helped a lot to gain a deeper understanding of how to approach a West Coast Swing Dance class - thanks to Myles and Tessa for their efforts, especially the almost instant feedback to questions and assignment gradings.

I had a wonderful teaching experience last night with a group of dancers I only get to teach a few times per year. After giving them some of the core Swing Literacy skills, I noticed a dramatic difference in their quality of movement right away; and so did they! Their eyes were wide, and those 'aha moment' smiles ... The students were blown away by how differently the dance felt to them. I'm still getting messages this morning ..lol. Talk about positive reinforcement as a teacher ❤

It's like having a world class teacher - who happens to be a dancer - give you the secrets you need to know to be an effective, creative, inspirational, and inspiring teacher.  It isn't just about dance... its the science behind teaching others.

“On a personal level, Tessa and Myles have both personally helped me move beyond my limits.  They are encouraging as teachers, their collective knowledge of movement and dance, and sheer experience shines through in their interaction.  Their private lessons are effective, but be prepared to work: their analysis and attention to details leave no stone unturned.  They move beyond the monkey-see-monkey-do by presenting the concepts behind the ideas, reinforcing the foundations beneath the help you want.  Be prepared to walk away from these guys a better dancer!”

Last week a young man, who had participated in the beginner class sat off to the side intently watching as the social dance began. I could see that he was literally “drinking it all in”!
When I heard a song with a simple clear beat come on I asked him if he would like to dance.
He was nervous & concentrating SO hard while using the “step back lead and step out of the slot” techniques he learned in class. But then he began to relax, then smile- then break out in a big grin!

This is where having Swing Literacy training and insight led to ME having MY BEST dance of the evening!
Because this young man was “on top of the world” & had a complete change of demeanor at his success.
His eyes shone and he began to talk to others sitting near him.
What a treasure it is to share someone's first real social dance.

I immediately saw results after taking the SLDM. For the first time, I had a coherent and structured approach to learning dance. It felt like I had gained knowledge and skills that would have taken many years to develop learning through other methods. As an instructor, the breakdown of the physics of West Coast Swing and progressive pedagogical methods allow me to clearly articulate the fundamental skills of the dance and ensure my students have a strong foundation for their dance education. Each new topic in the SLDM felt like a revelation, impacting my classes, as well as my own dancing, significantly and immediately. Teaching was easier because I understood lesson planning more thoroughly and what people need to know in what order. I still refer back to the SLDM all of the time. My own dance practice is a lot easier now that I have this Swing Literacy language. I've noticed my progress has definitely sped up after doing it. And I started doing a lot better in competition, too!

Best teaching method I've ever experienced (and I've completed 22 years of formal schooling!) It's like having the reference book on everything WCS PLUS the physical drills, feedback and supportive learning community! 

I recently completed Myles & Tessa’s “How to Teach WCS in 15 minutes” and wanted to give my feedback. As a longtime member of the WCS community, I also have a degree in education and spent almost 20 years in Educational Technology. I know how difficult it is to create content for an online platform that is not just e-text or a video demonstration, neither of which are educationally beneficial to most people. 

This program is refreshingly different. It incorporates sound teaching techniques in both the design and in the delivery of the material. Videos are scattered throughout the program at different points in different lessons, sometimes introducing a concept and sometimes as a summary. Teaching strategies such as KWL and Scaffolding are used to help the learner. Content is delivered in short, easy to digest chunks with clear instructions on how to complete simple tasks that will move your learning along. 

The program introduces and encourages teaching dance through an exploratory/discovery method…. all while using the same exploratory/discovery method to teach you how to teach! With almost 20 years of experience working with educational technology (McGraw, Pearson, Blackboard, etc), I can honestly say that this is an incredibly well-designed program, and I can’t wait to start the next series!

Myles & Tessa’s Swing Literacy Program is the gold standard of teaching to me. It’s so much more than a workshop - it’s a complete package that I can’t imagine teachers teaching without. They don’t teach you “their style”, or any style for that matter: they train you in actual pedagogy and how to build a solid foundation of physical skills (not just patterns) that gives students the best possible shot at “getting it” quicker and getting addicted. It helped me get over my imposter syndrome - I feel more confident in my teaching and I see massive improvement in the dancers in our community.

“What I love about lessons with Tessa is her really interesting way of teaching. She never says : “Stop thinking, just do this shape like that because I told you to”. Instead, she takes the time to ask you the right questions to guide you to think for YOURSELF about your dance. This self-analysis makes me understand my own body mechanics, and learn even faster! Now every time I leave the ballroom, it’s always with a big smile because I had a lot of fun and also because I discovered something new about my way of dancing. It’s always like a revelation.”

Before the retreat, I was really frustrated - I didn’t know what or how to practice. But thanks to the systematic and cooperative coaching from M&T, I could feel improvement after my first hour on the first day. Instead of guessing what they think I am asking about, M&T are patient in trying to figure out what I’m confused about, and accommodating for my learning style and level of understanding. I now feel clarity and confidence in knowing what’s possible: what I can do and where I can go.

I loved it. I thought the way it was presented and how it flowed was good for how I learn. I think it took me longer to complete because I would read articles and then mull over them and try to think how that worked or changed the way I would teach. It was very rewarding to me and my students did notice the change overnight. It’s helped me learn to engage my students more and organize my thoughts with a more natural progression for the dance. I get so tired of lecture type teaching with zero questions. I want my students to think more for themselves and know earlier about the hows and whys.

“I absolutely love Myles and Tessa’s approach to teaching. In just the first hour I spent with them, so many light bulbs were set off that I had to stop so I could start trying to keep track. They have a sincerity about them that I really appreciate. They’re really intent on helping me not just become a better dancer, but to understand what makes me a better dancer. It’s some of the best stuff you could hope to get from a teacher.”