Does the sex of the instructor matter?

Learn ladies styling subtle follow and intricate footwork from a woman
Learn Lead and general follow from a man
Exceptions to the rules apply when the instructor has had extensive training in the opposite sex.
 
opendoor said:
I (leader) only had female teachers. With a male I would always be in competition and thus unbalanced.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I feel the same way a lot of times. I can listen to some of the older guys who have been dancing for decades, and really know what they are talking about though.
 
If I'm a follow it doesn't matter of what gender is my instructor - he/she should be a great leader.

The best private tango lessons I had were with Jenny Gil and Frank Obregon (wonderful people besides being tango champions - they NEVER brag about that). When you dance with Frank, Jenny is watching and afterwards both of them give you feedback. That's the best way of learning to my view.
So happy they are back to Stockholm for a few workshops.
 
Well, that's really 'a question'. I'm not sure the sex of instructor affects your learning except you got a feeling of... Somebody said, even not in dancing, that he or she feel easier or more effective in learning with the different sex instructor or teacher. It's likely caused by a phenomenon "pleasant psychology" between two different straight sex people. :)

By the rule 'man lead & woman follow', I think male has a bit of advantage than female when student is female. However, it's relatively because the instructor must have a qualification enough for training.

The most important is methodology, in my opinion. The instructor knows how to express a difficult thing as easier language, or in another way, he/she put him/herself in the shoes of learner to know what difficulty the learner has to face and guides him/her to overcome that etc...
 
I wrote an article about this topic around 2 years ago (I'll include the link below.)

I think most people should have both sexes for instructors if they are partner dancing. There are a few instructors who do know both sides very well, but few do both sides outside of teaching. Meaning if they go social dancing, they primarily spend the time in one role or the other.

And if you find someone who does both well, then after 6-18 months, find another quality instructor to provide you different points of view. I'm not a fan of only having only one instructor must past a year or two, as each instructor brings different points of view and experiences to the lessons.

Here's the article if you want my extended POV:
http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/07/same-sex-or-different-for-privates.html
 
I've found that you need variety when learning. I started learning from a female instructor. While she was a good teacher and I learned a lot from her, it wasn't until I started taking classes lead by a male instructor, that I really improved my styling and lead techniques.

I think it is generally important to be taught by someone of the same sex, as they share the same perspective on the dance as you. But equally its important to see things from the other side. As a lead, if I understand how the follower expects to be lead, it can only make me a better dancer.

I'd also advocate what others have already said here, you should try to attend classes taught by different teachers. This is for the reason why you should mix up partners when in a class. If you don't have variety you can start to stagnate, pick up bad habits, and eventually find yourself repeating routines. The classes I use to attend had regular guest teachers that would do wonders to spice up my dancing repertoire.
 
I have only had a male instructor. Once, during a group class, two females tried to lead me, and they failed miserably...so I guess it all depends on the skill level.
 
hi, im a man and my teacher too. i think it depends weather he can teach u both or not.
i tried both, man and lady figures with him (doing figures as lady help u out figuring how u have to handle as man ;) )
i feel good because he can teach me both, and i can handle any woman very soft now, or at least this is what they say (also anna ziradu said this :O)
 
I would take ladies styling from my instructors’ wives from time to time, but my regular lessons are with male instructors.
 
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