How did you find your dance teacher(s)?

I'm curious about this, because I've been very fortunate in choosing dance instructors, both times I was in search mode. When I first started dancing, I went to a studio that I had driven by a thousand times. When I decided to start taking lessons, it seemed like the only natural place to go. And it was great, because the atmosphere was warm and frindly, and encouraged me to keep dancing. When I outgrew that studio, I was fortunate again. I did a web search, and found my current instructor. When I looked at the instructional philosophy on his web page, I figured it would be a good match. And it has been.

How did you find your teacher(s)?

Some of them I saw them performing/dancing socially and thought to myself, "I want to dance like them!" :lol:

Others I met from doing weekends and did their workshops based on googling aka researching them :wink:

I found my first teacher through pure dumb luck. Looking back, it was like hitting the dance sweepstakes, and I wish I had realized then just how lucky I was!

My next major teacher came at the suggestion of a minor teacher who I had a couple lessons with. Again, I was very lucky.

I don't recommend depending on luck. Talk to people around you and find out who likes who and who has a good reputation. Take a couple of trial lessons. See how that teacher's students look and how they do in competitions.

I was introduced to my first dance instructor by a friend who had been dancing for a half dozen years or so. And consider myself very fortunate!

Our first two teachers (intermediate Salsa, and then beginning Salsa & ECS) just came with the classes. Someone at work had arranged the first one to come in and the second set of classes were through the city.

Our next teacher we met when a friend of my wife took us to their dance club. That's where we had learned WCS and I'm back there now having resumed WCS.

My other teachers I found on the web. I Google'd for "Jitterbug Orange County" and found a swing info page that announced a Lindy workshop. I went and liked and have continued.

For the other one I Google'd about for Salsa teachers in Orange County and found a ballroom in Orange. Then recently when I felt it was time to return to Salsa, I checked through all the possibilities I could find and his was the one that fit my schedule. OK so far and the bilingual classes don't bother me; I end up responding in Spanish more often than not.

First ones PE course at Cornell and then others through swing dance network website and other local advertising.

Mine.....? The first official salsa teachers were the ONLY ones that existed, back then; so we didn't have much of a choice. In hindsight, they were fantastic dancers but not neccesarily great teachers .

Then I ended up with Fabio Robles, the one who was responsible for bringing 'street latin' into the public eyes. He is a salsa/tango/malambo dancer with ballroom training. IMHO was one of the few (at least at that time) who could breakdown the moves & teach both techniques & sabor at the same time.

These days I generally try to attend workshops of visiting international instructors......

salsachinita said:

Mine.....? The first official salsa teachers were the ONLY ones that existed, back then; so we didn't have much of a choice. In hindsight, they were fantastic dancers but not neccesarily great teachers .

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As a general rule, absolute beginners should have teachers who had once been absolute beginners themselves and still remember what it's like to be a beginner, even if just for the practical reason that they might remember why they were having the same problems their students are. Somebody to whom it either came naturally or who had been doing it since he was a kid would have a very difficult time even just understanding the problem a student is having let alone have a way to help ("But it's so simple. Why can't you do something so simple? It's so simple a little kid could do it. I could do it when I was 5!")

After finding my studio on the web and exchanging a few emails with its owner (Dan Rutherford), I finally called the studio to set up my very first lesson. When I called, Dan was the one who answered, so we had some friendly words before I said I wanted to set up a lesson. I guess he stopped to think for a moment about who I should be set up with, and eventually he said, "Okay, let me set you up with Jonah," and I've been wtih Jonah every since! I should add that I couldn't be happier with him as my teacher. =^__^=

Sakura Kitty :kitty:

well my mum just signed me up at the place, and i was lucky enough to have, by chance, been taught by "one of london's top choreographers" as the princple said, for Jazz and just as good teachers for ISTD syllabi work- (tap modern etc)