Frog Goose
Building a methodology-focused bachata school in Da Nang.
By the time I started Frog Goose, I was already an experienced bachata dancer and had seen how the dance was taught across different schools. A recurring problem was that students could learn more and more moves without developing strong enough foundations, then have to relearn basic mechanics later. I co-founded Frog Goose to build that progression more deliberately from the beginning, and I led the education side: levels, curriculum, teaching, teacher development and handoff.
The problem
I wanted to build a more deliberate, foundations-first way to teach bachata, with progression that could hold together across classes and levels.
What I did
I co-founded Frog Goose and led the education side: curriculum architecture, live teaching and iteration, teacher development, and the final handoff.
Where it ended
The school ran paid classes and workshops, developed additional teaching capacity, and I completed the operational handoff before leaving in September 2026.
Role
Co-founder · Head of Education
Period
2024 to Sep 2026
Collaboration
From the start, we divided responsibilities deliberately. I focused on education, program development and selected event and operating decisions; my co-founder led most marketing, pricing, admin and accounting.
01 · Foundations first
Building stronger foundations earlier in the learning process.
The school was built around technique, fundamentals and a clearer progression than the move-focused teaching I had seen in many places. The early curriculum was still rough. Learning goals, movement lists, class ideas and scheduling decisions all lived next to each other, but the direction was clear.
Beginner classes needed to establish timing, balance, basic movement mechanics and clear communication with a partner so later material had something stable to build on. At higher levels, the goal was to help dancers adapt movements they already knew, respond more deliberately to the music and make clearer choices with a partner instead of continually adding new combinations.
Learning progression
Intro
Timing, balance and basic partner communication.
Foundations
Connection, preparation, direction and movement principles.
Advanced
Adapt known material and make clearer choices with a partner.
Master
Musicality, creativity and more independent decision-making.
02 · Live iteration
Iterating the curriculum through live classes.
As Frog Goose developed, I separated what a level was for from the individual moves that might be used to teach it. Later versions distinguished purpose, learning goals and possible lesson material. Teachers could choose different exercises while keeping the progression coherent.
The curriculum kept changing through live classes: what learners understood, where they repeatedly got stuck, which foundations were missing and which exercises produced a clearer result.
“Super patient.” “Great energy.”
Lior · student
“Transformative for my dancing.”
Beha · private student
03 · Teacher development
Developing other teachers to use the system.
Teacher development became a larger part of my work as the school grew. With the instructor who joined during my final transition, the progression was deliberate. He first observed how I prepared and broke down a class. He then taught with assigned learning goals and direct feedback. By the end of the month, I was giving him a topic and asking him to build his own lesson plan, with me available to question and review it.
Teacher handoff
Observe
Watch preparation, breakdowns and how learner difficulties are handled.
Teach with support
Work from explicit learning goals, teach live and receive feedback.
Plan independently
Take a topic, build the lesson plan and use me as reviewer.
04 · Handoff
Preparing the education system for handoff.
The final transition was expected to take two or three months and compressed into only a few weeks. I reorganized the active curriculum into a framework teachers could plan from, trained the incoming instructor through shadowing, supported teaching and independent planning, and handed over the remaining education and operating responsibilities.
By the end of August he had joined the Frog Goose team chat and was coordinating practical setup directly with my co-founder. I redirected operational questions to her as I stepped back. I left Frog Goose in September 2026, and the school continued with its next teachers and class plans after my departure.
Shai Deutsch 