To complement the dancer survey, I also gathered insight from a dance teacher to understand the challenges from an instructional perspective. This helped highlight limitations within class environments and provided a more balanced view of how feedback is currently delivered.
One of the strongest points raised was how closely technique and injury prevention are linked. The teacher explained that correct technique plays a key role in protecting joints and ligaments, especially in movements that place a lot of stress on the body. Repeating movements with poor technique over time can lead to injury, which reinforces the importance of proper correction and strength development. However, it was also acknowledged that not all injuries come from technique alone, and that rest and conditioning also play an important role.
Monitoring a full class was described as manageable, but still challenging. The teacher explained that they often break the class into smaller groups to better observe each dancer. This also encourages peer learning, where dancers can help identify corrections in each other. While this approach is effective, it still highlights the limitations of having one instructor trying to observe multiple dancers at once.
Giving individual feedback in a class setting was identified as particularly difficult. The teacher noted that it can feel repetitive correcting the same student multiple times, and that feedback is often first given to the group rather than individually unless there is a risk of injury. This suggests that individualised feedback is not always immediate or consistent, even when needed. In contrast, in a one-to-one setting, more detailed and constant correction is possible, which further highlights the gap between ideal and realistic teaching conditions.
The teacher perspective reinforces many of the findings from the dancer survey. While technique is critical for both performance and injury prevention, delivering consistent, individual feedback in a class environment is challenging. Even with effective teaching strategies, there are natural limitations when working with multiple dancers at once.
This supports the idea of a tool that can provide additional, individualised feedback outside of class. It also highlights the importance of focusing not just on improving technique, but also on supporting safe movement and injury prevention within the design.