DanceFit Biz Builders

Ever been in a class where the instructor yells, “RIGHT GRAPEVINE!” just as they’re moving right, while half the room is still going left?

Yep. We’ve all been there.

And as an instructor, if your students are constantly a few steps behind, your cueing might have something to do with it.

In this episode, I’m getting into one of my FAVORITE teaching topics: CUEING! And why timing matters.

If your students are always a few steps behind, maybe it’s time to look at how you’re cueing.

I’d love to work with you! Contact me at [email protected] or visit www.sharqui.com.

Have you ever worried that your students are getting bored because you’re repeating the same combination over and over?

Well, here’s a question. Are THEY bored, or are YOU?

In this episode, I’m talking about one of the most underrated teaching tools we have: repetition. And why our obsession with keeping things fresh and exciting might actually be getting in the way of our students learning.

But how often do we rush past that moment because we’re afraid our classes will feel boring?

I think instructors need to rethink what repetition really does for our students and why constantly introducing something new isn’t always doing them any favors.

You can work with me by doing a Mini Class Audit, Success-First Coaching or joining the SharQui Instructor Academy. Go to www.sharqui.com for more info.

In this episode, I’m talking about one of the most important skills an instructor can develop: reading the room.

Because great teaching isn’t about getting through everything you planned. It’s about noticing what’s happening with the actual human beings standing in front of you and knowing what to do next.

Because your job isn’t to prove that your lesson plan worked. Your job is to help your students succeed.

You can work with me by doing a Class Audit, Development Coaching or joining the SharQui Instructor Academy. Go to www.sharqui.com for more info.

What actually makes someone want to come back to your class?

Is it the music? The energy? The community? The instructor? How you make people feel?

My guests Barry and Shay Kostabi of FitCarma have built their work around creating intentional class experiences that keep people coming back. And you KNOW I had some thoughts about that.

Because I believe you can create an amazing atmosphere, have a room full of smiling people, and be incredibly charismatic... and still not be a great teacher.

So where does student success fit into the experience?

In this episode, Barry, Shay, and I get into what actually makes a great class, why retention needs to be intentional, what the first-time student experiences that regulars may not, and whether our industry sometimes confuses charisma and energy with great teaching.

We also talk about something studio owners and instructors don’t always want to hear: people rarely tell you when they felt lost or unsuccessful.

They just don’t come back.

So if we really want to create classes people want to return to, we need to look beyond whether they had fun.

Did they feel successful? Did they feel capable? Did they feel like they belonged there?

Now THAT’S an experience worth coming back for.

To learn about or work with FitCarma, go to: https://www.fitcarma.com/

For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at [email protected] or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info.

Do your students seem to get it while they’re watching you... but the second they look away, everything falls apart?

That might be telling you something about the way they’re learning.

And one of the things that helps bridge that gap is something that doesn’t sound particularly exciting:

Predictability.

When students understand the structure of your class, recognize patterns, and begin to anticipate what’s coming next, they stop thinking so damn hard.

And eventually, they don’t need to stare at you every second just to keep up.

In this episode, I’m talking about why predictability creates confidence, the difference between students following you and actually learning from you.

Predictability is part of great teaching.

For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at [email protected] or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info.

The industry spends a LOT of time teaching instructors what to teach.

But what about how to actually teach another human being movement?

Because knowing movement and knowing how to teach movement are two completely different skills.

In this episode, I’m talking about the teaching skill that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in our industry: how to communicate clearly, how to know what information your students need and what can wait, how to cue before your students are already lost, and how to recognize when the problem isn’t the student.

Sometimes they don’t need more practice.

Sometimes we need to teach it differently.

Because teaching isn’t about showing people what you can do.

It’s about helping them discover what they can do.

And I think it’s time our industry talked a whole lot more about that.

For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at [email protected] or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info.

You can be an incredible dancer and still not know how to teach someone else to move.

Because doing a movement and understanding what another person’s brain and body need in order to learn that movement are two very different skills.

In this episode, I sit down with Deborah Vogel, a dance educator who has spent more than five decades studying movement through the lens of anatomy, biomechanics, and neuroscience.

And we get into the stuff I absolutely geek out over.

Why can a student do a movement perfectly until you add arms or change direction? How do you know when someone is ready for another layer? Can the words we use when cueing actually change how the body responds? And when a student isn’t getting something, how do we know whether they need more practice or whether we need to teach it differently?

We also talk about what instructors really need to understand about anatomy, what applied neurology actually looks like in a class, and why simply saying, “Let’s do it again,” isn’t always the answer.

This conversation gets right to the heart of something I’ve been talking about a lot lately:

Being able to perform movement and being able to teach movement are not the same thing.

If you’re a dance or fitness instructor who wants to understand your students better, not just learn more choreography, this is an episode you’ll want to hear.

* For more info and to learn about her course go to - https://www.deborahvogel.com/

I’m usually the one asking the questions. This time, I’m the one answering them.

In this Podcast Flip episode, with Tirra Omilade of the The Soulful Goddess Living Podcast: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Women, I’m sharing a conversation where we get into something I think women don’t talk about enough: our bodies change, so why do we expect the way we exercise to stay the same?

What felt good at 25 may not be what we need at 45, 55, or 65. That doesn’t mean we stop challenging ourselves or start treating our bodies like they’re fragile. It means we get smarter about how we move.

We talk about how movement can shift through different stages of a woman’s life, why strength matters, what bellydance offers that I think is incredibly unique, and why I created SharQui to make dance feel accessible to women who may never have thought of themselves as dancers.

And yes, we also get into why I still believe the best kind of movement isn’t necessarily the hardest or trendiest. It’s the one that makes you want to keep coming back.

Because your body changed. Your movement should too.

🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online (https://sharqui.com/online)

🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach (http://sharqui.com/teach)

🔹 Email me at [email protected]

Have you ever walked away from a class feeling amazing because someone complimented you... only to question yourself the next week when nobody said anything?

As dance and fitness instructors, we can become more dependent on validation than we realize.

A full class. Applause. A compliment from a student. Likes on a post. Being asked to teach again. Getting recognized by someone we respect.

And when those things happen inconsistently, we can find ourselves chasing the next little hit of approval.

In this solo episode, Marisa Guastella explores intermittent reinforcement, why unpredictable validation can keep us hooked, and how that pattern can show up not only in our dance and teaching, but in our lives and relationships too.

She challenges us to look at where our sense of worth is coming from and what happens when we stop allowing someone else’s response, attention, or approval to determine how we feel about ourselves.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I good enough?” because the applause wasn’t there, the class wasn’t full, or the recognition didn’t come, this conversation is for you.

Because the goal isn’t to stop enjoying validation.

It’s to stop needing it to know your worth.

🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online (https://sharqui.com/online)

🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach (http://sharqui.com/teach)

🔹 Email me at [email protected]

Hey Instructors! So, your students had the move… until you added arms, direction, travel, or a turn. So what happened? In this episode, we’re talking about cognitive overload, why “easy” movement may not actually be easy for your students, and how to layer movement in a way that helps people follow, succeed, and actually enjoy the class. Because great teaching isn’t about giving students everything at once. It’s knowing what to give them next.

🔹 Grab your seat for my FREE training, How to Teach Classes Students Come Back To Without Spending Hours Memorizing Choreography Every Week, https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBB

🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online (https://sharqui.com/online)

🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach (http://sharqui.com/teach)

🔹 Email me at [email protected]