suggestion? studio or instructor?

[standardgirl]

i am choosing between two studios for private lessons
and i want to compete pro/am
one has a better instructor, but he is really busy, and already has lots of students, he competes a lot
but the people in the studio are not "warm"
i just dont like the atmosphere in that studio

The other studio, everyone says hi, and people are a lot nicer
the instructor is also good, but competition record not as strong

any suggestion on which studio i should choose?

[dancin_feet]

Depends on what you want chiwenl. If you are serious about getting as far as you can, as quickly as possible, go with the seemingly better qualified instructor. If you want to have fun, but maybe not push as hard, go with the other instructor and studio. Bear in mind, though that just because he doesn't have the competition record behind him, that does not mean that he is not as good as the other instructor.

I would definitely lean towards the more social studio, but try them both out. You may find that their teaching style answers your question for you.

[tasche]

Usually most situations dont seem "warm" when your new to them. I could have said the same at my studio when I started but now I know everyone and things are good

[love2swing]

I agree with dancin feet. Give them both a shot and figure out which teaching style better suits you.

[Kitty]

better instructor with a strong record is good.

On the other hand, sometimes not so popular instructors are just as qualified, and sometimes less popular, less busy instructors can give you a better price for lessons. If you will be competing pro/am, lesson cost can be a big factor, because as I understand pro/am people don't have a partner to share the costs with, and need a lot of lessons since that is the only time they can practice their competitive routines with a partner, so the costs are even higher than for am/am people.

[standardgirl]

Will most instructors compete pro/am if asked by a student?
I am not sure if he has competed recently, I know he competed a while ago.

The other instructor is currently actively in pro/am competitions, but that also means he is busier, more students, less attention? less time avaliable?

And, of course, the people in the studio. Should this even be a factor? Should I care?

[Laura]

Another thing to look at if you are doing Pro/Am and the teachers are similar is what they charge for you at the competition itself. Some teachers have a flat-rate fee, some have a per-dance fee, it varies widely. I've heard of eveything from teachers who charge on a sliding scale so that it works out to as little as $8 or $12 per dance for them to compete with you to teachers who charge a $5,000 flat fee per weekend.

[Kitty]

So the other instructor doesn't compete?

My dance coach doesn't compete pro/am, but she competed as a pro with a pro partner a while ago and was doing well... I am aware that my coach stopped competing due to circumstances (divorce with her pro partner), and now she is out of shape since she had a baby 2 years ago. She is still a good competitive coach (at least for bronze, silver and gold levels) even though most of her students don't compete. I'm telling you this to give an example of how a good coach may not be currently competing and still be a good coach.
However, there are too many underqualified dance instructors out there, so it is better that you check if the less popular coach has competed himself before as a pro or as a top amateur. I feel that is important. If the coach doesn't compete pro/am, pro and never competed as an am, I would not stay with that coach if my goal was competition.

Although everything depends on your level too, of course.

[standardgirl]

He competed a lot before as am and pro and is a current judge, but he hasn't been competing lately. Any thoughts on that?

The other instructor is currnetly competing pro/am and pro.

[Kitty]

I've heard of eveything from teachers who charge on a sliding scale so that it works out to as little as $8 or $12 per dance for them to compete with you to teachers who charge a $5,000 flat fee per weekend.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:


$5000!!!!!

This is less than total of what I'm planning on spending on dancing in 2 years! By the time I will spend $5000 on lessons and shoes I'll probably be gold or pre-champ! What are those teachers thinking?!

This price thing would definitely be a factor in choosing a teacher.

[Kitty]

He competed a lot before as am and pro and is a current judge, but he hasn't been competing lately. Any thoughts on that?

The other instructor is currnetly competing pro/am and pro.


If he is a judge and competed before he is certainly qualified.
you could compare their results as competitors, but for lower levels probably doesn't even matter in this case.

I would go for the price and teacher's personality. The studio atmosphere is not important in my opinion: as tasche said, how you feel in the studio might change after you go there for a while...

[standardgirl]

He competed a lot before as am and pro and is a current judge, but he hasn't been competing lately. Any thoughts on that?



If he is a judge and competed before he is certainly qualified.
you could compare their results as competitors, but for lower levels probably doesn't even matter in this case.


Is is likely that he will compete pro/am? I mean, he hasn't been competing for a while. Shold I just ask him? What if he said no, then I will be like sorry, can't take lesson with you? But I know I am still going to see him quite often in the future, and this will be weird. Any idea?

[Kitty]

Is is likely that he will compete pro/am? I mean, he hasn't been competing for a while. Shold I just ask him? What if he said no, then I will be like sorry, can't take lesson with you? But I know I am still going to see him quite often in the future, and this will be weird. Any idea?

I would think he wouldn't refuse - coaches make a lot of money on competition, besides he would get a competitive student who takes a lot of lessons.
Maybe he wants to compete, but just doesn't have any interested students.
Even if he does, you shouldn't feel weird: he can't expect you to sign up for lessons before you figure out if they suit your goals, right?

At what level would you be competing?

[standardgirl]

At what level would you be competing?

silver, thanks Kitty, for all your suggestions

[Laura]

Will most instructors compete pro/am if asked by a student?

Difficult to say, you really have to ask.

The other instructor is currently actively in pro/am competitions, but that also means he is busier, more students, less attention? less time avaliable?

Well, how much time do you mean, which translates into how much money do you really want to spend. Some people take lessons every day because that way they can, in effect, practice with their teacher every day. Others take only one or two lessons a week and practice on their own and/or with a practice partner. Others take a few lessons and never do anything on their own. As you can see, there's a time/money trade off. Since your lessons are privates, there's no worries with the "more students/less attention" trade off unless he doesn't focus on giving individual attention during his lessons. And he should, because that's why you are paying for private lessons in the first place. As far as comps go, it's a bit crazier when the teacher has more students, you might not always get the kind of warm up time that you like, but that's the way it goes sometimes. And if you're expecting your teacher to be your social buddy at competitions, it's a lot easier if you DON'T have that expectation, that way petty jealousies about "he went out to lunch with them but not me" don't crop up.

And, of course, the people in the studio. Should this even be a factor? Should I care?

If you're getting a bad vibe and can't picture yourself coming back week after week, then that's a factor and you should care. If you just don't know anybody yet and so are feeling a little shy or lost, that will resolve after you've been dancing there a while and get to meet other people.

[Laura]

By the time I will spend $5000 on lessons and shoes I'll probably be gold or pre-champ! What are those teachers thinking?!

They are thinking that they have been a top US Pro finalist for a number of years and that is what it is worth it for them to dance with a student at a Pro/Am competition. And believe me, there are students with the time and money to devote to the hobby that are perfectly happy paying that amount, and they are getting what they pay for. Let's not turn this into a Pro/Am versus Amateur debate, though -- the dancers who do Pro/Am at the higest levels aren't dupes, they know what they're doing and they want to do it, and that is what it costs to play the Pro/Am game at the highest levels.

That said, there are studios who do obfuscate the costs of competitions and present their students with "packages" that cost this much or more so that the students can compete with some decent but frankly "no name" instructor. But that's not what I'm referring to here.

Believe me, the true Pro/Am costs are -- or at least can be -- a LOT more reasonable!!

[Laura]

Shold I just ask him? What if he said no, then I will be like sorry, can't take lesson with you? But I know I am still going to see him quite often in the future, and this will be weird. Any idea?

It's not weird, it's just business. Really, why should you take lessons from him if you want to dance in Pro/Am competitions but he doesn't? In my opinion it's a bit silly to take lessons from one teacher and then pay to practice with another so you compete with the second one, but I've heard that some people do that, too. I'm not saying that circumstances don't exist where that kind of arrangement is used, but in general you might as well just take from and pay for one private pro/am teacher on a regular week-in/week-out basis. I take lessons from other teachers from time to time to expand my knowledge, but my primary teacher is the one I dance in Pro/Am competitions with.

[pygmalion]

Let's not turn this into a Pro/Am versus Amateur debate, though -- the dancers who do Pro/Am at the higest levels aren't dupes, they know what they're doing and they want to do it, and that is what it costs to play the Pro/Am game at the highest levels.

That said, there are studios who do obfuscate the costs of competitions and present their students with "packages" that cost this much or more so that the students can compete with some decent but frankly "no name" instructor. But that's not what I'm referring to here.

Believe me, the true Pro/Am costs are -- or at least can be -- a LOT more reasonable!!

Laura. Thanks for being honest about you experience. That's what's good about places like DF. People can exchange inforation and opinions to help others. Thanks for being willing to say what you think. Yup. pro-am can be a racket, amied at duping innocent students. Or it can be a mutually beneficial arrangement for student and teacher. Students need to beware, I think.