Making a choice

[KevinL]

I live near Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, all of 50,000 people. There are very few dance instructors in Vermont, although given the population I think we do well. Very few people do any kind of competition, and very few people do private lessons, so almost everyone learns to dance in group classes. Generally people take all their classes from one instructor, and if you watch people dance it is obvious who their instructor is based on the way they dance, and what they do.

That certainly isn't the case everywhere, though. In other areas serious dancers take private lessons, and even switch between teachers for different styles. What are the advantages of switching between instructors? What are the disadvantages? How do you choose the right instructor for you, either in group classes or private lessons?

Kevin

[cl5814]

In other areas serious dancers take private lessons, and even switch between teachers for different styles. What are the advantages of switching between instructors? What are the disadvantages? How do you choose the right instructor for you, either in group classes or private lessons?

Kevin

New instructor, new way of looking at things. Switching to a new instructor can be hard since they always have a preferred style for a certain step. You might have to learn the step the way they prefer. They might explain some things better than your previous instructor.
Having switched between instructors quite frequently in the last few months, for several reasons, i now take the approach of giving my expectations to the instructor even before taking the initial private lesson. I try to get the same feedback from the instructor, if he/she wants you to practice on a daily basis for 2 hours and you can not commit to it, then lessons with that instructor will not work. Having tried the brand name studios and the independent studios and now i am with an independent instructor. I get the feeling that the independent instructor get/maintains students due to word of mouth of other students. They seem to care more about keeping the student happy than satisfying the studio's policies. They also tend to do "pay-as-you-go" lesson policy so you are never tied to any contract. Then, the instructor that tries to sell himself/herself with a long list of qualifications/certifications might also not be the right instructor for you, they might have all the knowledge in the world but can not explain it in such a way that makes sense to you.
I am not against the long list of qualifications, in fact i like it for showing that the instructor is really committed to his/her career, but again it might not be the best instructor for you.
I also think that the student's goals need to be taken into consideration when deciding on a instructor. Certain instructors are just more geared towards social dancers than competition dancers.

[pygmalion]

That's a cool, and assertive, approach, cl5814. 8) :)

[dancin_feet]

For me it's about personal style. I don't care how many / few official certifications or qualifications the instructor has. If I take a class with them and I feel uncomfortable, it's not going to work. There is one instructor at our studio who I just don't mesh with. She is a great person and a fantastic instructor, but her style just doesn't mesh with mine. I don't feel that I get anything from a class taught by her. The same steps from other instructors and I'll gain some sort of extra knowledge.

Changing instructors from time to time is beneficial I think, because you tend to get used to your instructor and they you, so small step and technique pointers can get missed. Another instructor will pick up on this and correct it before it becomes a problem.

[robin]

I don't think there's any need to "switch" coaches if you have an excellent coach. I think it's very important to have one coach that knows you and your partner, your history and your goals.

However, a good, competitive coach in my opinion has to realise the value of other teachers and should advise their students on who to possibly take additional lessons from. No teacher can do it all, and there's always value in a different point of view.

I would always be wary of a coach who seems to try to "protect" their students by not letting them get in touch with other teachers / telling them to have another 150 lessons before they compete or that they should take the gold bar 3 level 4 exam before thinking about doing anything more exciting...

In the end it all depends on what your goals are but i think to be successful as an amateur dancer it's best to have a permanent coach (say at least an hour every other weak) who also advises on other teachers for certain things (e.g. some teachers are renowned for posture, others for characterisation of the dances / choreopgraphy / performance /... noone is the best at everything). It's time to switch coaches if they're not helping you achieve your goals anymore...

Robin

PS i have no idea how it'd work with a Pro/Am partnership. That sort of thing doesn't seem to exist in the UK... how in the world can you afford to pay someone every time you want to practice with your partner???