Dance Instructor Training Offering

IndyLady said:
Anecdotal here, but one of my instructors, who is partnered with another instructor with an extensive ballet background, has mentioned that the ballet background is often an impediment to properly partnering or connecting with one's partner,

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He/she, got that right
 
Partner Dancer said:
What do you think is the reason for this? Do they usually quit or are let go? If due to quitting, is it because they "couldn't" pick up the Ballroom stuff, or they thought the teaching methodology was too lame, or they realized it was mostly a sale verses dance job, or for some other cause.
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All I have to go on here is what I suspect, because it's my own impediment, too. Too many years of training in the exact opposite way of moving the body that I'm supposed to in the Latin dances - years of ballet. I cannot speak to the similarities or differences with smooth/standard - although I had an instructor tell me once that with my background smooth was probably a smarter choice than rhythm...

Here's a few (and these are just mine, and some of this may end up being semantics):
  • Ballet is UP UP UP. Rhythm is down down down. HA - rhythm is actually upper block UP and lower block down. :rolleyes:
  • In ballet, turns are done in a block - every part at the same time, with the exception of the head. In rhythm/latin, one part of the body turns first and the other part follows. The body should not move as one block. I've been dancing rhythm since 2009 and I'm pretty sure I still haven't gotten this unprogrammed. (LOL "ballet Stockholm syndrome")
  • In ballet, we turn on a releve, and in rhythm/latin, heels are allowed to "scrape the ground," or at least that's how I've thought about it. I've gotten yelled at because I'm "popping" up onto my demi pointe in my turns. So I have had to train myself to "turn lower."
So the ballet dancers who leave, I think they don't realize how different the dances are technically, and these in particular maybe didn't want to "start at the ground up" in learning a new style. One trainee, who was around for about eight months, did a bolero showcase, and she was lovely. It was very contemporary. But there was nothing bolero about it.

But it could also be that teaching at a ballroom studio, as a newbie, is not as much of a "dance job," as this person might have expected. Teaching dance to children in a regular dance studio is going to be very different from teaching a couple in their 50s to dance. Those of you who are ballroom instructors, and have made a living at it, can see past the boredom of teaching the merengue for hours upon hours to people who are hanging on you and can't find the beat because there are so many other elements to the job that you love. So if a long-term-student-of-ballet-but-newbie-to-ballroom comes in without really understanding how "it works," I can see how "teaching ballroom" might not feel "like dancing." And therefore, this job, to that person, may not find teaching ballroom a "dance job."

Or something. :)
 
Yeah... the hardest thing for me in ballet class is not standing like a standard dancer. I have trouble staying in the ballet neutral with my back, because it feels like I'm leaning forward. Other things that are hard, thanks to ballroom: putting my heels on the floor in jumps (especially fast ones in 5th), and remembering to spot (because I can quite easily turn a clean single pirouette without that). I imagine that it would be the same, but in reverse, for someone with extensive ballet training trying ballroom.

@IndyLady I also have trouble with the let-go-and-follow thing, but that has more to do with how long it takes me to really trust people... I've been working with pro for years, and I still struggle to not default to 'pull in and do it yourself' when I'm stressed. It could be ballet training, or it could just be her ;)

To OP: There have been some really good points in this thread. Something else to consider: do you know a pro that you could talk with to get the benefit of their hindsight? I've considered turning pro on-and-off for about a year, and one non-competitive pro said something that really stuck with me: "I wish I'd known what it would be like before I made the decision. I didn't realize that I wouldn't really ever get to dance anymore. I might have chosen differently." I like teaching, but I love dancing... so going for teaching over dancing wouldn't be the right choice for me - at least not right now.

Your choice may be different... just make sure it's an informed one :)
 
s2k said:
I can see how "teaching ballroom" might not feel "like dancing." And therefore, this job, to that person, may not find teaching ballroom a "dance job."
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To conflate "dancing " and "teaching" , is a common mistake by those who have come into the profession, and been given the wrong impression , how they are separate entities .
  1. ... The system in the UK ( used to be ), for an individual who wanted to turn pro, was akin to an indentured profession. For the 1st exam ( Assoc. ) training in a recognised dance school, for a minimum of one year .

  1. The majority ( if not all ) of applicants, had already gone thru medal tests .
  2. ....Pretty much all trainees, were only going for one exam, in either BR or Latin
 
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s2k said:
All I have to go on here is what I suspect, because it's my own impediment, too. Too many years of training in the exact opposite way of moving the body that I'm supposed to in the Latin dances - years of ballet. I cannot speak to the similarities or differences with smooth/standard - although I had an instructor tell me once that with my background smooth was probably a smarter choice than rhythm...

Here's a few (and these are just mine, and some of this may end up being semantics):
  • Ballet is UP UP UP. Rhythm is down down down. HA - rhythm is actually upper block UP and lower block down. :rolleyes:
  • In ballet, turns are done in a block - every part at the same time, with the exception of the head. In rhythm/latin, one part of the body turns first and the other part follows. The body should not move as one block. I've been dancing rhythm since 2009 and I'm pretty sure I still haven't gotten this unprogrammed. (LOL "ballet Stockholm syndrome")
  • In ballet, we turn on a releve, and in rhythm/latin, heels are allowed to "scrape the ground," or at least that's how I've thought about it. I've gotten yelled at because I'm "popping" up onto my demi pointe in my turns. So I have had to train myself to "turn lower."
:)
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Agree - I had some ballet training years before starting ballroom and encounter the same issues with rhythm. But I've gone back to it recently and feel there is little better for improving posture, core strength and strength and articulation of the feet. So imo opinion it's overall worth it now that my understanding of rhythm is coming along. And it helps with smooth a lot, although there as well I was way too up at first.
 
Hi guys, I spoke with the studio manager last night and thought I'd update everyone.

So after reading everyone's comments here, which I do appreciate, I had some pretty tough questions to ask him. I feel like these got me some honest answers too. I asked him about the sales aspect of the job, the time commitment, being able to dance at other studios, fraternization policies, etc. There definitely is a contract, but some of the points are negotiable. I actually asked him for a copy to take home so I could peruse it further. I haven't signed anything yet, as I still want to chew on some of the fat, so to speak.

I was able to negotiate a position that would allow me, at a minimum, to only go to one instruction session a week. Now if I wanted to get serious about learning to dance, I would put in as much effort as possible, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't obligated to be in the studio all of the time. I also managed to whittle down the amount of time I would spend instructing at the studio upon me becoming a certified teacher. If I do sign, I'm only obligated to instruct there at a one year minimum.

I carefully considered some of the input you guys gave me, and my biggest issue was having dance become an onerous task for me. I didn't want to learn to dread something that has been such a pleasant experience for me so far. The thing is, I do really want to learn how to dance! I have the time, but shelling out the money for private lessons is a chore. However, this opportunity does present itself as a fiscally seamless way for me to obtain grace on the ballroom dance floor.

Probably, my second main issue with the job is the sales aspect. You know, I really kinda grilled him down with interrogatives to try to get an idea of what I'd be getting myself into. He basically said that I would be learning how to present the product to try to hook people in, and then he would close all of the sales. Now, I didn't get the fine details, but this does seem rather in-genuine. When I was 18, not too terribly long ago, I almost fell for one of those Multi-Level Marketing schemes. A friend of mine tried to get me to buy into it, a good friend! Ever since I have become incredibly skeptical of business and sales, and I just couldn't see myself being a part of that, especially when it comes to the emotions one develops when dancing. The propinquity that students and instructors develop, physical and psychological, seems like it could be an easy thing to manipulate and present as genuine when it really is false and only upheld to earn the students money.

That's all I can think of for now. I'm still working through my morning coffee, and I danced all night at a concert last night so I'm still kind of recuperating.

I do want to say this: THANK YOU everyone for all of your responses. I feel like this crowd is a rather welcoming one and that you guys only wanted to help. To be perfectly honest, I didn't like some of your responses, but I realized that's a good thing. That just means you guys were telling me the truth that no one else would've been able to direct me towards. And reflecting upon everyone's words, it was fantastic input. I still have a lot to think about. Regardless, enjoy your Saturday everybody! I know I will.
 
TripDubSki said:
Probably, my second main issue with the job is the sales aspect. You know, I really kinda grilled him down with interrogatives to try to get an idea of what I'd be getting myself into. He basically said that I would be learning how to present the product to try to hook people in, and then he would close all of the sales. Now, I didn't get the fine details, but this does seem rather in-genuine. ... Ever since I have become incredibly skeptical of business and sales, and I just couldn't see myself being a part of that, especially when it comes to the emotions one develops when dancing. The propinquity that students and instructors develop, physical and psychological, seems like it could be an easy thing to manipulate and present as genuine when it really is false and only upheld to earn the students money.
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Yeah. So this happened to me. My instructor hooked me in, and then the manager closed the sale, but that's also how my car salesman did it, too, last time I bought a car. I mean, the amount of money exchanging hands with a car dealer and the dance studio can often deal with similar monetary amounts. If that system works, why reinvent the wheel?

And that's also how the same studio bilked a buddy of mine out of his $20,000 IRA. I blame him more than I blame them - he is a grown --- man, so that's on him. It was very easy to push the gorgeous female dance instructor on him based on how they read him and he handed over his retirement money because he liked the attention, found it intoxicating, and he wanted as much of it as he could get. Bless his heart. I've watched that happen two more times at this studio - once to a woman, the other to another man - but that doesn't happen to everyone. You're right, it can be easy to manipulate those who easily succumb to being manipulated. But that doesn't mean YOU have to be THAT instructor. You can be the instructor you want to be.

Therefore, you may also want to find out what sort of sales quota you'll be expected to fill. You'll probably be asked to do paperwork that shows how often you cold call, follow up on messages left on the studio machine, follow up on students who you haven't seen in a while, follow up on students who are still in the "trial program" and get them to join the bronze program. Having had that sort of job once in my life (I worked at a gym), that was the part that was so. not. fun. for me, I had no idea that part of the job existed.

I'm pulling for you! Good luck!
 
A studio that asked you to become a teacher in their chain and then lets you only commit to one hour a week of training speaks volumes about how they view their students. I would run like crazy from a studio that would put 'teachers' with this little training in front of the students and charge a price that could be spent on experienced and quality teachers. This is a 'contract mill"...
 
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Bailamosdance said:
A studio that asked you to become a teacher in their chain and then lets you only commit to one hour a week of training speaks volumes about how they view their students. I would run like crazy from a studio that would put 'teachers' with this little training in front of the students and charge a price that could be spent on experienced and quality teachers. This is a 'contract mill"...
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Ditto. I remember when I had a similar offer right out of undergrad - it was at least a 4 night a week commitment for at least 2-3 hours between the classes and shadowing someone.

That was a contract mill too.
 
Bailamosdance said:
A studio that asked you to become a teacher in their chain and then lets you only commit to one hour a week of training speaks volumes about how they view their students. I would run like crazy from a studio that would put 'teachers' with this little training in front of the students and charge a price that could be spent on experienced and quality teachers. This is a 'contract mill"...
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Agreed.

But I'd also like to point out the manager of the studio at which OP is investigating says he only needs to be there "at a one year minimum." Which speaks volumes about how they view their teachers and how little they may care about turning said person into an "experienced and quality teacher." Doesn't sound like they're willing to invest in a trainee. /shrugs
 
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