Instructors - your HONEST opinion - how can they improve?

[Claire_Brummell]

Hi Everyone,

Another thread has prompted me to post this – being a salsa instructor myself, I’m always interested in people’s opinions of them in general. I’m always looking to improve my lessons and the experience that I’m giving my students and I always ask them for feedback and to come to me if they have any problems. BUT having been in this position myself I know that this is not always possible – and that some people are too shy / embarrassed / don’t want to cause offence so are reluctant to comment. So this is where you come in.

I hope you don’t mind but I’d like to use you guys to get opinions, in general, on instructors – what do you like, what don’t you like, what do you wish they would do, what do you wish they wouldn’t do, what do you want to get out of a class / club, what are your reasons for taking salsa lessons – and how can the instructor help you to achieve these reasons, how could an instructor make the experience better for you, etc etc.

We’ve all been there – I know for a fact that there are salsa instructors who I’ve absolutely loved – and others who I can’t stand for various reasons – personality, teaching style, ego etc. At the time I probably wouldn’t have said anything – but hopefully since I’m putting this in a general context rather than asking you to comment on specific teachers I’m hoping that this will make it easier for you to comment. I would like you to be as complete and honest in your responses as possible (I don’t think any of my students are on here, but if you are feel free to be as honest as you like!!)

I hope that at least the fact that I care about the experience being a good one for my students and that they actually take something away from the classes, in terms of having a fun time (after all salsa over and above anything else is supposed to be enjoyable!) as well as being able to remember and re-create the moves when they head out on the dance floor, sets me apart from someone who is motivated solely by money or personal prestige, but I also know that you never stop learning – and that the only thing that will really make me a good instructor is to never stop seeking to improve myself for my students.

Any advice / opinions / suggestions that you guys can offer me here would be greatly appreciated, by myself and I’m sure by extension my students in time!!

Hugs

Claire xx

[Sabor]

and will u pay us $$ for advice?

[Claire_Brummell]

I will pay anyone who gives me advice the same amount that I get paid for posting my advice on the forums... :wink: :lol:

[Sabor]

let me re-phrase then..

will u pay for useful advice? 8)

LOL! j/k

[Claire_Brummell]

Who said the advice had to be useful? :wink:

My speciality is useless information...although you appear to have already gathered that... :lol:

[Sabor]

false!.. u must have me confused with one of my other personalities :P

[Claire_Brummell]

Damn...so near and yet so far... :lol:

[yola]

Back on topic:
first requirement besides knowing your stuff is being genuinly interested in your student's progress.
but simply by posting this question you've proven you meet that requirement. :wink:

[Claire_Brummell]

Thanks Yola - much appreciated :D

[cookie]

i don't know about help, but i know what i dislike about some lessons i do

i like an instructor who acknowledges that the women have paid for these lessons as much as the men and so are deserving of some guidance, too.

Many lessons tend to be only teaching the man a new move, omitting the footwork for the ladies, tips that might make the turn easier, say, ... and also, mysteriously, omitting exactly how men should LEAD each move clearly and unambiguously.

and my other gripe is that it tends to be men who teach and they teach from a man's point of view. How's about giving us help on spins, turns, etc rather than just 'moves' for the men to memorise?

The bits of a move that are tricky for a man to execute tend to be repeated and practised in the lesson a few times but stuff that is tricky for the lady?
[Instructor] "ok and then it's just a double spin for the lady, ok? ...right, next bit is......" hold on rewind, can we practice that double spin a few times before moving on? hello?


things I consider vital in a lesson:

counting through each beat (not 123, 123, 123, 123 as i have seen in one lesson yikes!) and giving clear instructions as to what happens on those crucial 3 and 4 beats where the signal has to be clear for the lady.

breaking down the footwork on tricky moves for men AND women

caring about how much your students are learning and progressing, which includes talking to the instructor of the level above to find out what your students need to know before moving up and perhaps arranging with this instructor when to move students up and so they adjust their level to accommodate these newcomers.

as well as telling us what to do, also give clear indications of what NOT to do. I found SuperMario's advice of "guys, don't do this... and when i say "don't do this" i mean DON'T Do it, ok? to be helpful in breaking common mistakes people are oblivious they might be making.

if you see a one or two people in the group who cannot even do the rudimentary elements you're choosing to teach (e.g. cannot even do a cross body lead for an intermediate lesson) don't be afraid to move them to improvers, rather than slow up the WHOLE group for these newbies.

Praise as well as correct. Knowing what you did right is a source of learning, too.

just some of my ideas.... i am sure others can add to the list

[Claire_Brummell]

Hi Cookie,

Thanks for this - I'm very pleased to say that most of what you cover off here I already attempt to do in my classes anyway - having been a follower myself I have a great empathy for followers, both the lack of attention in the lessons and their need to understand the leads and that the leads are being adequately learnt by the leads in order to produce good dancers for them to dance with!!

The other thing I try and do to make it more interesting for the ladies is to give styling tips as I go through, so on the simple moves (for them) they have something that they can work ok too...

Thanks so much for your input :D

[itorres]

What I have seen is that some people dance fairly well and think "In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king!" Then they advertise themselves as teachers and the poor students don't know he sucks. :roll:

In order to be a teacher you must know the material thoroughly and be able to transmit it. You must know teaching methodology, what diferrent styles of teaching are better with different students. Verbal, visual, kinesthetic?

One thing I see lacking most often is an understanding of rudimentary musical theory. You need to know about measures, phrases, downbeat, identifying the "1", how the "clave" hits fall on the 8 beat phrase, and such.

Often a teacher will not mention any numbered beats on breaking down a step. They'll dance it and then explain the step in terms of "step, slide, point, touch, back..." they have no idea what beat they're on. :? Others use the numbers incorrectly. They may say on the "8" while it's really on the "and".

The other day I saw a guy give a free lesson in a club (how could he charge?). He dances breaking on the 2 and he was using a timing CD calling out 1-2-3, 5-6-7! :shock:

So in order to break or step on the 2 he was explaining the basic as slightly closing with the right foot on 1, break on the 2 with left, rock back to right on 3... This is NY on 2 Eddie Torres style (Break on 2 but step on 1-2-3,5-6-7)and he doesn't know it. That's not what the teacher dances, he breaks on 2 stepping 2-3-4,6-7-8 as he did when demonstrating the step to music. Later when demonstrating turns with music he was on 3!

This sort of thing mortifies me. Because I see that clearly given my music bacground, but people look at him as the teacher and me a beginner. So how dare I suggest he is "wrong"? Of course, when it comes to music theory and ear for it - I'm ahead of him.

Someone may be a wonderful dancer and win competitions but that doesn't make him a good teacher.

Well that's it for now.

[Claire_Brummell]

Hi Ivan,

Thanks for your insight - much appreciated. I know exactly what you mean - even a good dancer might not necessarily be a good teacher, but a mediocre dancer definately won't be!!

Luckily for me my background is in music - I was a musician before I was a dancer, I used to sing semi-pro and was the in-house vocal trainer at the studio I used to manage. I think that having a sound musical understanding and an in built musical counter helps so much!

In my opinion, you need to understand that different people learn in different ways - look at the class and if someone isn't getting it explain it in a different way so that they might grasp it too. Luckily for me as I dance as a lead and a follower when I teach a class I (as long time and situation allows) I rotate the women to ensure that they have got it and to give them pointerst to make it easier for them, but I also then rotate myself round the guys as a follower to ensure that they are leading it correctly and to give them pointers on leading it better. Sometimes you actually have to show the leads what is required by doing it to them, so that they can FEEL what tension / pressure / lead is necessary as sometimes showing / explaining just isn't enough. If after some time people still are not getting it then I will ask them to come and find me after the lesson so that I can go through it with them 1 on 1 so that I can find the way of teaching them that they will understand and grasp - just so that I don't hold the class up for everyone else.

As far as counting goes - I always start with counting the beats out for the class and only when we get to the end might I switch to calling the steps (in rhythm of the beats) to remind them of the elements of the routine while they are trying to commit it to memory!!

I agree - even as a teacher it is very difficult to criticise someone else's style or method of teaching and tell them that they are 'wrong' even if you can see mistakes that they are making - which is why I posted this here so that people have a chance to explain their frustrations, opinions ans suggestions so that I at least can try and improve myself :D

Luckily I have a good friend who is one of my students and he is brutally honest with me - if he thinks I was crap he would tell me - if he thinks I did ok but would like to see changes he would tell me - and if I did well he would tell me too...I was just after a wider opinion of instructors in general so I might learn from others' mistakes :D

[Shooshoo]

I have a great instructor. Been dancing since 7 months. I'll tell you what I like and dislike in group lessons:

Like:
- he loves his job and makes dancing so much fun
- he loves teaching and has lots of patience
- he's dedicated to the lesson
- he makes the environment comfortable (e.g trading partners while practising (since i have no partner))

Could be improved:
- when the level of the people isn't the same, the class can get boring (probably frustrating to the ones behind).
- it would be nice to know the syllabus of the level (i'm a bit academic)
- doesn't compliment enough. Even if I'm not that good, I would like to be critized in a constructive way. What do I need to improve, what I'm good at, etc.

I've started taking some private lessons with him now, so I'll see how that goes.
I think loving your job is the most important thing, cause that will be conveyed to your students.

[Claire_Brummell]

This is great - thank you so much for your feedback Shooshoo :D

[Josh]

Claire,

I absolutely love my salsa teacher -- don't know where I'd be without her. In fact, most of the teachers at my studio are just amazing. The most important thing to me, for private lessons, is that she makes me feel comfortable, which can be tough since she is a beautiful dancer (can be intimidating) of 11+ years who is very polished and much better than I am (also can be intimidating). But she keeps things light, funny, enjoyable so that I always feel at ease and comfortable with her. To me this is most important because if someone is not comfortable, he or she simply cannot learn as well.

As for people enjoying your instruction, one big factor is personalities. Some people, sad to say, may not like your personality as well as others, as charming and awesome as you are! However, I'm sure far more people are absolutely crazy about you and love your class. If people are drawn to you and your personalities click well together, that will affect their opinion of your class quite a bit. Also, I think respect plays a big factor. If you really know your stuff and can help them fix problems consistently, they will believe in you more and more, and this will build their confidence in you and their respect for you will increase, enabling you to really lead them...

[Claire_Brummell]

Some people, sad to say, may not like your personality as well as others, as charming and awesome as you are!

Oooh...you smooth talker!! :wink:

I totally agree with you - and as much as I hope people like my personality and enjoy my class - I'm sure there are some people who I probably drive nuts!! My approach is to try and be as approachable as possible and make the lesson enjoyable and fun. The thing that I feel some teachers don't do at the moment is to break down the component parts enough for both leads and followers and the positive feedback I've had from some students has come from my ability to explain these fully including the lead and the signals the follower should be looking for as well as the arm and footwork. I'm definately making progress as in the last couple of weeks I've had more questions and feedback than ever which is great because it means that people feel comfortable enough to ask if they don't get something and they feel happy that I'll be able to help them if they ask the question. All in all I've had more laughter, banter and good feeling in my classes of late so things seem to be getting even better - and more importantly people are staying to dance and seem to be 'getting' the moves better than they did when I took over the class which is great.

As long as things keep improving for them, I'll be happy :D

[Josh]

That's great that you're showing your students details on patterns and throwing in some technique and lead/follow tips. There is no substitute for private instruction with things like leading, but I always appreciated so much when my instructors would tell me what to do differently for a lead to make it better :D It sounds to me like your students are comfortable with you (they can approach you), and they trust/respect you (they are coming to you to ask questions, relying on you for the answer). IMHO, it all comes down to that!

How long have you been teaching? I am closing in on my first complete year of salsa dancing (or dancing any kind of dance for that matter). I would love to quit my job in a few years (I'm a software engineer, which I love so much except that I don't interact with people as much as I'd like, and I don't have much opportunity to instruct others, which I love doing) and become a dance teacher. Obviously I'll need quite a few more years of experience, but it gives me something to shoot for--or am I just crazy? :roll:

[SurfSalsa]

Our teacher teaches group classes as follows:
- He first does the footwork (of the whole routine, not shines) with the gents and ladies in separate groups facing each other. He does the footwork until everyone has it smooth and on music.
- Then he illustrates the leads and followers' roles
- Then he "assembles" the routine by rotating partners, giving lots of tips for leading and following, building it up, and adding music about 3/4 way through.
- Towards the end he sometimes adds styling hints and tips and variations.
- If the numbers are almost even, and there is time left, he'll add a rueda-type CBL-with-left-turn pass-the-follower-on and play a weakest link type game - running through the routine a number of times without stopping - quite fun and challenging, as you can't fall behind, then you're out! Every 3 or 4 "outs!" he would restart with the whole group...

The great thing about this approach is that for us single-tasking leads the footwork is already in your head by the time you get to the handholds and the leads. I found most of the London instructors I went to built the whole routine up - footword and leads in one go. Sure a CBL is CBL is a CBL, and on intermediate level you should do it eyes closed, but when it gets to more intricate footwork, this approach works very well.

[Claire_Brummell]

Thanks for your input Martin! :D

[Claire_Brummell]

How long have you been teaching? I am closing in on my first complete year of salsa dancing (or dancing any kind of dance for that matter). I would love to quit my job in a few years (I'm a software engineer, which I love so much except that I don't interact with people as much as I'd like, and I don't have much opportunity to instruct others, which I love doing) and become a dance teacher. Obviously I'll need quite a few more years of experience, but it gives me something to shoot for--or am I just crazy? :roll:

I've actually been teaching as a follower for about 4-5 years (although I had a 2-3 year break in the middle of this) I've done a lot of training in my profession and actually 'fell into' teaching salsa - I was able to dance and because of my training background have an ability to be able to break down and teach pretty much anything as long as I have a handle on it myself. I was asked to start teaching because people saw me as a good dancer and approached me for advice / help on footwork, styling etc which I duly obliged with. I then started following for the guy that taught our class to show the routine, which then naturally lead on to my teaching the following for it. I then used to teach as a follower for various friends who were lead teachers at different locations. I've been teaching as a lead now for a little under a year - I decided I wanted to teach on my own, so began learning as a lead so that I could then teach it.

Being able to dance does not translate to being able to teach - there are places that offer courses on teaching salsa but everyone takes a different route - you need to be able to respond to the needs of the students - teach the same thing in different ways / explain in different ways, be able to demonstrate. If you do teach I would recommend partnering up with a follower who can teach (if you can't follow yourself) - often you can only find the mistakes students are making by dancing with them which you can then help to correct - you need to be able to have someone who knows what they're doing to rotate round the women AND the men to be able to offer personal feedback as well as pick up general problems the class are having. All in all you need to know you're stuff and be able to communicate that knowledge to others - and you'll know best how to do that (whether it's through a course or whatever).

Also have some good friends who will tell you honestly your mistakes and successes - you need to know when you're doing things wrong as well as when you're doing them right! :D

[Josh]

Good advice Claire, thanks! In my studio you can retake a class for free if you're taking a higher level class. So I'm in a level 4 salsa class right now and I go to 2 and 3 all the time. It's a good arrangement since it helps me reinforce what I know, and it also helps the instructor and other students in the class when someone who has already taken the class is there to add some experience to what is being taught. In these classes especially, those of us who have already taken it can sort of take on a small teaching role if other students have problems. So, I do this already--look for ways to improve myself, but also other students, and I'll at times point things out to them (not in a "know-it-all" way, but in a helpful way!). I'm naturally such a "people-person" that my desire to teach anything, but especially dance, is very strong. However, I temper my desire to teach with a desire to be very effective as a teacher, so in order for me to teach something, I force myself to really "know my stuff", as you said. So I know it will be years before I approach teaching, at least on a formal level. But that's my goal--it gives me something concrete to aim for!

[Claire_Brummell]

Good for you Josh - good luck with it! :D

[SurfSalsa]

To sort-of add to Josh's post, our teacher repeats the same routine Tuesdays and Thursdays, maybe with some slight variation some Thursdays, so you can revisit it if you don't have it quite taped.

I see some "transition" students do like Beginners on Tuesdays and Intermediate on Thursdays, or the similar for Intermediate and Advanced, and then sometimes revisit the lower level class the Thursday for a recap before their higher level class. (Would love to do that, but alas...)

However, the really nice thing is, they have "salsa clinic" at the beginning of every month, a two-hours session where he would run through the routines of the previous month, rehearse them, fix little problems, give advice, etc, and (this guy loves giving challenges to "raise the bar" as he calls it) then he strings them together one-by-one as he goes through them, with no basic in between. At first he would call some pointers, like "week 1", "prettzle", "copa", just to highlight the key moves that should trigger your memory... So at the end of the session you do this massive long intricate routine. Good for the memory, and a lot of fun!!

Went for the first time this past Saturday - really enjoyed it! - would not miss another "clinic" if I can help it!!

[Claire_Brummell]

Great Idea!

[azzey]

I am closing in on my first complete year of salsa dancing (or dancing any kind of dance for that matter). I would love to quit my job in a few years (I'm a software engineer, which I love so much except that I don't interact with people as much as I'd like, and I don't have much opportunity to instruct others, which I love doing) and become a dance teacher. Obviously I'll need quite a few more years of experience, but it gives me something to shoot for--or am I just crazy? :roll:

Funny you should say that, I'm a software engineer too and that's what I want to do! I've been dancing salsa for just over 3 years now (Cuban, NY and LA styles) and have spent the last two years learning as much about teaching salsa as I possibly can by observing different teachers methods/teaching content, doing research/reading up and teaching some dance partners.

I'm currently looking for a Pro-level teacher to take me under their wing to learn the craft along with the private lessons that I've started doing to keep improving my dancing. It's not hard to start up your own beginner class with a dance partner but getting that respect from people who already know you as a good dancer and making that transition to teacher is the hardest bit. In the words of my instructor "It's not so hard to teach, but they have to let you do it."

The thing I'm not sure about yet is whether I can afford to quit my career.

Thought you might be interested in my thoughts.

[azzey]

I am closing in on my first complete year of salsa dancing (or dancing any kind of dance for that matter). I would love to quit my job in a few years (I'm a software engineer, which I love so much except that I don't interact with people as much as I'd like, and I don't have much opportunity to instruct others, which I love doing) and become a dance teacher. Obviously I'll need quite a few more years of experience, but it gives me something to shoot for--or am I just crazy? :roll:

Funny you should say that, I'm a software engineer too and that's what I want to do! I've been dancing salsa for just over 3 years now (Cuban, NY and LA styles) and have spent the last two years learning as much about teaching salsa as I possibly can by observing different teachers methods/teaching content, doing research/reading up and teaching some dance partners.

I'm currently looking for a Pro-level teacher to take me under their wing to learn the craft along with the private lessons that I've started doing to keep improving my dancing. It's not hard to start up your own beginner class with a dance partner but getting that respect from people who already know you as a good dancer and making that transition to teacher is the hardest bit. In the words of my instructor "It's not so hard to teach, but they have to let you do it."

The thing I'm not sure about yet is whether I can afford to quit my career in the next few years.

Thought you might be interested in my thoughts.

Although to get good at any dance you have to dedicate yourself to a single dance style another thing I found useful is to learn a little of lots of other partner based dances to improve my leading and knowledge of the difference between salsa and other dances. e.g. Cuban Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, Bachata, Lambada, Tango and currently learning Ciroc and West Coast Swing.

I really like West Coast Swing, it's a lot like LA style Salsa.

[Josh]

Funny you should say that, I'm a software engineer too and that's what I want to do! I've been dancing salsa for just over 3 years now (Cuban, NY and LA styles) and have spent the last two years learning as much about teaching salsa as I possibly can by observing different teachers methods/teaching content, doing research/reading up and teaching some dance partners.

I'm currently looking for a Pro-level teacher to take me under their wing to learn the craft along with the private lessons that I've started doing to keep improving my dancing. It's not hard to start up your own beginner class with a dance partner but getting that respect from people who already know you as a good dancer and making that transition to teacher is the hardest bit. In the words of my instructor "It's not so hard to teach, but they have to let you do it."

The thing I'm not sure about yet is whether I can afford to quit my career.

Thought you might be interested in my thoughts.

You thought correctly :) To add another thread: my dance instructor used to be a programmer as well. Maybe all us nerds (not just developers but anyone who works in front of a computer all day) long for a change of pace from our sit-down kind of jobs and want more interaction with people, more moving around, etc. I love my job--don't get me wrong--it's just that, like you I'm sure, a change would be nice.

I completely agree with your instructor's comment. In any field, when you are taking the lead with instruction, people must view you as qualified to do so, otherwise they have no reason to really listen to you. Like another poster said, I think it would be helpful to know several dances. My respect (which was average) for a new instructor at my studio immediately got a lot higher when I saw her doing not only my salsa, which was what I saw her doing all the time, but also smooth dances, swing, cha-cha, etc., and looking proficient at them all.

[Josh]

Although to get good at any dance you have to dedicate yourself to a single dance style another thing I found useful is to learn a little of lots of other partner based dances to improve my leading and knowledge of the difference between salsa and other dances. e.g. Cuban Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, Bachata, Lambada, Tango and currently learning Ciroc and West Coast Swing.

I really like West Coast Swing, it's a lot like LA style Salsa.

Completely agreed! (see my post directly above for what I found to be the case at my studio)

[ash88]

[quote=azzey]

I really like West Coast Swing, it's a lot like LA style Salsa.

I just saw the clip of Jordan and Tatiana dancing West Coast swing (Classic 2005, see their website for the video @www.jordantatianaswing.com) and i think it looks absolutely awesome.

Similar patterns to salsa, but the footwork looks a little different.

[azzey]

[quote=azzey]

I really like West Coast Swing, it's a lot like LA style Salsa.

I just saw the clip of Jordan and Tatiana dancing West Coast swing (Classic 2005, see their website for the video @www.jordantatianaswing.com) and i think it looks absolutely awesome.

Similar patterns to salsa, but the footwork looks a little different.

Thanks for the clip. Don't have time to view it right now but I'll comment on it later. Yeah, the footwork is a *LOT* different! ..and some of the leads. For one thing the guy starts stepping back with his RIGHT foot instead of his LEFT (as in Salsa). This wasn't too bad for me since I've been doing a fair bit of Salsa dancing as a follower recently.

[SurfSalsa]

Funny you should say that, I'm a software engineer too...

all us nerds (not just developers but anyone who works in front of a computer all day) long for a change of pace from our sit-down kind of jobs and want more interaction with people, more moving around, etc. ...



Scary, guys, really scary... I'm in IT as well, data warehouse architect...

To pick up on the tread, our salsa teacher only teaches salsa, bachata and a bit of club cha-cha (but he has extensive ballroom and latin background - he used to be a teacher at the studio we go to for ballroom & latin, next point).

The teachers at our ballroom and latin studio have to know, be very good at, and teach something like 20 dances: from ballroom (tango, waltz, etc), through the latins (box rumba, international rumba, cha-cha, etc), swings (jive, WCS) through to social dances (two-step, boogie, etc...).

They do quite well at that, train themselves to death though... but the powers-in-be screwed it up when they added salsa to the mix. They tried to sexify the salsa to the extent that the basic looks more like lambada. Bad, very bad... that's why we take salsa at the club and ballroom, swing & latins at the studio (eight dances altogether for me; you can take more if you want... but you can only do exams or compete in ten. However, the further I go, the more I'd like to specialise in fewer dances and just be able to do the others socially...).

[itorres]

Funny you should say that, I'm a software engineer too...

all us nerds (not just developers but anyone who works in front of a computer all day) long for a change of pace from our sit-down kind of jobs and want more interaction with people, more moving around, etc. ...



Scary, guys, really scary... I'm in IT as well, data warehouse architect...



Ok, well... Me too! :P
I'm a Systems Analyst / Developer now independently Consulting.

I often see a connection between IT people and music - and now dancing. I think the analytical mind is very amused by music and dance. One starts looking for repetitive patterns, decomposing combinations into the basic buiding blocks, explaining why moves are done how they are done, finding the problem on a botched move, how many measures a combination should take, etc.

Heck, around here, sometimes when some Disco music plays the crowd in the club starts doing a sort of line dance ala Saturday Night Fever (The continental?)... I can't stand it because the routine takes an odd number of measures. :shock: Sort of changing the clave from Fwd to Back. Who else cares about this around me? :?

I wonder how many of us IT people/salseros are around? :)

[yola]

Heck, around here, sometimes when some Disco music plays the crowd in the club starts doing a sort of line dance ala Saturday Night Fever (The continental?)... I can't stand it because the routine takes an odd number of measures. :shock: Sort of changing the clave from Fwd to Back. Who else cares about this around me? :?

I wonder how many of us IT people/salseros are around? :)
i'm not in IT but i can't stand that either! i once took a line dance class, and we learnd a pattern consisting of 7 measures :shock: i was nót able to complete it and start with 1 on the 8th measure.... and the crowd danced on, completely regardless of the music....

[itorres]

we learnd a pattern consisting of 7 measures :shock: i was nót able to complete it and start with 1 on the 8th measure.... and the crowd danced on, completely regardless of the music....
Exactly!

How about the basic step for Swing which goes over Six counts! :shock:

Well, this thread is about instructors improving. :oops: So I'll tie this issue to my original comment about instructors needing to understand music, structure, beats, measures, time signatures and how they relate to the dance steps. How can they teach you that pattern?

[Claire_Brummell]

Hey All,

Just had to share this with you.

The last couple of weeks my class has been going from strength to strength - not in terms of ability (though this has been coming on in leaps and bounds :)), but in terms of:

- Gelling as a group
- Having fun / laughing in the classes
- Relaxing
- Trusting / approaching me with questions, both during and after the class
- Positive feedback on how much they're enjoying my classes and style of teaching

I've had several compliments recently which have been great and really have cemented my belief that I'm on my way to giving the students what they want and need from a teacher. However I was really touched last night by something that one of my students said. He's been coming to the classes for a couple of months now but always used to come, do the classes and go home. He had no confidence in his ability (even though he was doing well) and he was not taking the next steps of actually getting out there and dancing - so while he could walk through the steps in class he wasn't actually putting them into practise so he wasn't enjoying the dancing element of learning salsa.

Anyway a few weeks ago after the class he stayed chatting to someone, so I grabbed the opportunity and got him onto the dancefloor, where he looked like a rabbit caught in headlights. I said "it doesn't matter what you do, even if you only do mambo, coocaracha (sp?!), back basic, and a basic CBL just do what you're comfortable with, and you lead."

As we danced I encouraged him, and told him when he was doing well and then explained to him that this was what he needed, to get out and practise, that his problem was that he didn't have the confidence in himself, even though he's a very nice dancer and that by getting out there and dancing he would be able to improve that confidence. He laughed it off, but I told him that I was serious and that he'd soon see the difference if he danced more. At the end of the night he came and thanked me for taking the time with him to talk to him.

Over the last few weeks I've seen him dancing more and I've noticed his dancing improving, but also his personality coming out more and his general confidence growing.

So last night I was sat chatting to a couple of students when he came up and asked if he could have a word. He told me that he owed me a big thankyou and that he'd really listened to what I'd said to him and that I'd been totally right, that a lack of confidence had been his problem and that now he felt so much happier dancing, that he felt his dancing was improving and that his confidence had improved loads - mainly he's actually started to enjoy dancing and putting into practise what he's learning in the lessons. I told him that that was all down to him, that he was the one who'd made the effort and now he was seeing the benefit of it, I'd just given him a shove in the right direction. He said that he knew that he'd had to make the change in himself, but that it was because I'd taken the time and cared enough to talk to him about it that he'd gone about starting to make that change and for that he was thanking me.

I said that it wasn't necessary to thank me, that I was just so pleased that he was improving and that he was really starting to enjoy salsa - and that as long as he's getting what he wants to out of my classes, then that's what's important to me, but that I appreciated him taking the time to thank me and that I'm very proud of him for how well he's doing. I gave him a hug and he toddled off home a very happy bunny.

I can't tell you how good this felt - I was positively beaming. Not because it was an achievement for me (although that felt great too! :wink: ) but that I am doing what I set out to do, which is to encourage and introduce people to the world of salsa that I know, helping them to improve their dancing and confidence, and getting them to enjoy salsa as much as I do.

I'm so thrilled because this is the reason that I teach, and I can't tell you just how rewarding it is to see it happening before my eyes.

Just wanted to share this with you all :D

[Josh]

That's awesome Claire! I'm sure you will continue to have many more experiences like this one...!!

[Claire_Brummell]

Thanks Josh! I hope so.... :D

I've taught for a while now, but I'm always trying to improve myself, plus when starting somewhere new, you never know how you'll be received, so it's good when things like this happen :D