Interview
Inspiring growth through dance Lynsey van Aswegen’s higher teaching qualifications journey.
Being an ISTD member shows you are dedicated to getting the best out of your dancers.
Lynsey van Aswegen embodies the transformative power of dance education, blending her love for teaching with an entrepreneurial drive that has seen her create opportunities and inspire others to do the same. With a decade of teaching experience and a wealth of qualifications, including those gained through ISTD, Lynsey has stepped into a career that she clearly loves, helping fellow educators explore not just what to teach, but how to teach. Her story is a testament to the value of higher teaching qualifications, demonstrating how they can unlock new pathways in the creative industries – often shaped by the individual themselves. Lynsey’s commitment to mentoring and continuing professional development (CPD) highlights the importance of looking beyond the syllabus, embracing innovation, and developing skills that uplift both teachers and students. Her journey reflects the entrepreneurial spirit and professional growth that can inspire us to reimagine our own teaching practices and advance our careers. What inspired you to pursue a higher teaching qualification? Honestly, after teaching for a decade I started to feel like my classes had gone a bit stale! I was being diligent about getting the syllabus right, but I wanted to give more to my students. I started with just one Diploma in Dance Pedagogy (DDP) unit covering social and emotional development, and I loved it – the lecturer Siobhan is so knowledgeable, and gaining an understanding of the science behind things helped me to make sense of the behaviours and outcomes I saw in class. I decided to sign up for the rest of the course because I could see how all this extra knowledge was going to supercharge my teaching practice and help me get the best out of my students. The
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process of planning, recording and reflecting on my lessons really made me think about what and how I was teaching, and what I could do to improve. It took me more than three years to finish the course. In that time there was a pandemic, I got married, moved 300 miles from London to Cumbria, and had two babies – I’m heavily pregnant in nearly all my video submissions with one baby or the other! I’m massively grateful to Lucy McCrudden at Dance Mama for all her mentoring support, and to Julie Campbell, Head of Qualification Development at ISTD for keeping me trundling along and accommodating my ever-changing circumstances.
It’s one thing to be a great dancer, and another entirely to be a great teacher. What did you learn from the experience? The main thing I learned was how passionate I am about dance education! I got really fired up when we talked about the importance of dance and all the side benefits of learning to dance – social, emotional, physical and intellectual. I studied education at university but from a classroom teacher perspective (maths teaching in fact!) so I really enjoyed applying those theories to the dance studio and thinking through what all the academic stuff really means for dance teachers. The course also gave me more confidence in my teaching. I was applying new things as I learnt them and also reinforcing things I already did as good practice. I got so much value out of working with a mentor and getting regular feedback, it was great to put it in to practice straight away and I loved using reflective practice models to really think about my teaching skills. I set out to bring more to my dance classes than just getting the steps right, and I definitely feel like that’s what DDP has given me. My classes are more balanced now and I think more widely about what the students are getting out of being there, beyond learning the syllabus or getting ready for exams.
