School of Madison Ballet Virtual Learning Guide

School Director Rachelle Fochs talks you though getting your space ready and Setting up Zoom for classes at home.

Get your tech ready

Using a Television connected to your phone, tablet, or computer is the best way to get the most out of your virtual classes. To do this you would use the device as the camera/host for the meeting and mirror the device onto your TV. We recommend setting up your device to see the dancer’s whole body. At barre either straight on or sideways; in centre straight on or “en face.” Below is a guide to how you can set up your device to mirror to a TV.

Note: A phone will work in this set-up, but the mirror image will be the same as the device so you will waste a lot of space on the TV when using a phone in the vertical view.  A Laptop or tablet will give you more screen space and a better experience.

I plan to use Apple/iOS

Airplay works great.  If you need to buy a TV, one with airplay built in like the 43” Samsung UHD (in stock at the westside BestBuy $270) is recommended.  You may find a better price online or elsewhere.  Plug it in, enter your wifi and password and off you go.  No other cables or devices required.

If you already have a TV but it doesn’t include airplay, a Wifi to HDMI device ($40) will get you the same wireless experience.  These are designed for sharing in conference rooms and you can find lots of different models on Amazon that support IOS airplay.  Many support both Apple and Android devices (since both device types could show up in a conference room.)

A potentially more cost-effective option if you already have some of these parts is to use a lightning to HDMI adapter to make a wired connection to the TV.  This will require a few more parts and some wires to manage, so if you don't have any of them the Wifi to HDMI might actually be less expensive.

  • Lightning to HDMI adapter ($55 for Apple's version or $15-20 on Amazon for a non-Apple model)

  • HDMI Cable ($10-$25)

  • Lightning cable ($10-$20) or just use one you already have for charging

I plan to use an Android device

Chromecast is your tool here.  Some TVs have this built in or you can get a dongle for $30.

I am using a phone or tablet

A tablet tripod ($25-$40) will help you aim your camera in this set-up and is an optional piece to consider.   Lots of feature options here but you will find one that meets your needs is rather cost effective. 

If your tablet is smaller, our neighbors at The Camera Company have this on sale for $20 - check your tablet size though as it will not fit larger tablets ...

I am using a Laptop

Your best bet here is to use an HDMI cable to connect the laptop to your TV.  Another option is to use a conference room Wifi dongle that supports the operating system of your laptop (Windows, Chrome, Apple) which is available via Amazon as well

If you have any questions, please reach out to SMB@madisonballet.org.