Pondering Effective Feedback
A Different Perspective on Feedback
I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me as a teacher:
I give feedback and a correction.
They try to apply it.
Maybe something shifts… a little. But not really.
So I say it again—just a different way.
Still not landing.
What if it isn’t a communication problem?
What if it’s a feedback problem?
Most of us were trained to think feedback is what we say. That was certainly true for me.
But the nervous system doesn’t change because it understands something.
It changes because it experiences something different.
Clear awareness drives change.
A dancer can listen, try, and still not improve.
Because:
👉 You can’t coach what they can’t feel.
What’s Actually Missing: Sensory Awareness
Movement is built on what the brain can sense:
joint position (proprioception)
touch
vision
balance
If those signals are:
unclear
low-resolution
or inconsistent
👉 the brain fills in the gaps.
And what it fills in… isn’t always accurate.
What This Looks Like in Class
Here’s a common example:
When working on turnout, dancers often think that if they don’t feel their rotators working, they aren’t doing it correctly.
But many are already gripping those muscles—often because they’re standing in a first position they don’t yet have.
So when you give a verbal correction…. nothing changes. They still feel the same thing.
That’s the key:
Their sensation hasn’t changed.
One simple shift I often use:
Decrease their first position
Ask: What do you feel now?
When they say, “I don’t feel like I’m working,” ....that’s the moment to teach.
Because what’s actually changed is their sensory feedback.
From there, you can gradually build back toward a larger first position—but now with better organization, less gripping, and more balance around the hip.
What Counts as Feedback (Beyond Words)
Feedback isn’t just verbal. It can be:
Tactile
a light touch cue
a hand on the body
Environmental
wall
barre
floor
Proprioceptive (this is often the most powerful)
slower movement
smaller range
altered position
Visual
mirror (used intentionally)
quick video
👉 Anything the body can’t ignore.
A Simple Teaching Framework
You can build this into class quickly:
1. Assess
What is actually happening?
2. Add feedback
What helps them feel it more clearly?
3. Re-test
Did anything change?
This can take less than a minute.
Keep It Simple
The most effective feedback usually includes:
one clear task
one clear sensation
one comparison
Not five corrections at once.
The Big Shift
Instead of asking:
“How do I explain this better?”
Start asking:
“What would make this easier to feel?”
Because at the end of the day:
You can’t coach what they can’t feel.
Clear awareness drives change.
To your success,
Deborah