Dancing with different instructors

Your primary teacher being the studio owner does shed some light on the situation. It is beneficial under many circumstances to take at least some lessons with different teachers. It is also possible that it is financially beneficial for the studio for somebody other than the owner to be teaching some of your lessons. It depends on how the employee instructors are compensated and how much else the owner has to do.

My primary teacher is one of the co-owners of the studio. It is unquestionably beneficial for the owners that I take lessons from other teachers as well; that does not negate the fact that the lessons with the other teachers are good for my dancing.
 
If your teacher is the owner, that does change the whole tone of this discussion. But you are still a paying customer, so do discuss your concerns.

(Is "teachers are vendors, not besties" pinned to the newb info?)
 
Sooziq said:
Hi, I'm new and am looking for thoughts/insight on something that is bothering me...but maybe shouldn't be, not sure. I have been dancing for just over a year, private lessons with the same instructor. We have an amazing rapport. Recently he advised he wants me to dance with another instructor 50% of the time (I go 90 min...so would be 45/45). Even told me who. He says it will make me a better dancer, but I can't help shake the feeling that he's "dumping" me. It also bothers me that the decision was made for me...that it is happening, the instructor and frequency. I am so upset that I don't even want to go to my next lesson which will now be split (old/new instructors)
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He is "dumping" you, in the sense that this kind of arrangement mostly
benefits the studio. If you have an amazing rapport, then it's probably
not a personality/teaching-and-learning-style conflict, but just a better
set-up to free up your old instructor's time and obligations and make it
easier for the studio to provide a substitute.

It is to the advantage of studios to have instructors operate "generically"
so that students are attached to the studio, not any instructor, and can
have their lesson schedules juggled more easily. Pretty much the same
business model as of the chain hair salons. More instructors also means
more options for (more) entries at comps.

1) Is it normal to have lessons with other instructors? Is it really for growth?
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It's "normal" enough, for the reasons mentioned above.

At the 1-year mark, the confusion/inconsistency of teaching is apt to
stunt more than aid growth.

More experienced students may be able to absorb input from different
instructors and sort out the discrepancies. Some students thrive on
having different private instructors (and pro partners in comps).

2) Should it upset me as much as it has? I'm paying a lot of money...should the decision not be mine?
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Different people react differently, but being highly upset is certainly a
legitimate reaction. Many people don't take bait-and-switch kindly.

Of course it's your decision, as it's your money.

3) How should I address this with my instructor (current one)?
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Tell your instructor you'd try a couple of lessons to see how it works
for you, but if you don't care for it, you'd like to go back to the old
arrangement or cut back to just 1 lesson (or leave the studio if
they can't accept that the customer is always right [as far as
money is concerned]).

Standing your ground early sets up a good precedence, as it tells
the studio you're no floor mat, especially in future negotiations.
 
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Partner Dancer said:
At the 1-year mark, the confusion/inconsistency of teaching is apt to
stunt more than aid growth.
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While I don't disagree completely with the above statement, I do want to throw in that if the owner is doing a good job of training his staff, this may not be the case. It's one reason that what I do works for me.
 
I completely agree with Rise and with Loki - this is not a typical situation. He's dumping you shifting you to a different instructor because as the studio owner, he probably doesn't really teach as much as he's handling studio business. I practice at a studio where the owner has maybe four students/couples and they're all silver. He has taught two group classes in the past year and that's only because of scheduling conflicts with staff. When he does DWTS, if his celeb partner decides to stay on, eventually he shifts them to a staffer best suited for their needs. I've seen this happen so many times over the past eight years, this "shifting."
 
It is absolutely normal to take lessons with as many instructors as YOU want, but it has to be your decision.


I would be extremely upset as you are.



If it is not the only studio where you live, I would ask for my money back and start searching for other alternatives, perhaps, independent instructor of YOUR choice.


It could be wording in your lesson package that they can switch instructors, though.

Check that first. If the studio owner is a true professional, I hope he would not hold you to that , and will return the money. It is not a good atmosphere.

You are paying for private lessons. It has to be your choice.


I used to pay for package in NYC large studio, but I only wanted to dance with one specific instructor. Only once, when my teacher could not make it, I was offered a lesson with another instructor for half price. (My teacher could not make it that day, and I already was on my way to the studio).
 
Having two instructors can go wrong as I've discovered. A year ago, I casually began taking lessons with a second instructor. My plan was to add to what I had, and hopefully improve my dancing. I had in no way planned to give up my current instructor, who I've been with for 4 years and is the best fit for me. This was clearly conveyed to the second instructor. Second instructor seemed like a nice guy who had a lot to offer. Things started heading south pretty quickly. Second instructor began trying to take over my dance time. He wanted me to commit to comps with him. He became petulant when I mentioned that was not what I had intended. He also kept trying to manipulate me by saying he had other students, from whom he was taking time away to dance with me. This is due to distance involved- I told him it's his choice how he makes time for all his students. If he feels traveling to lessons for me is not worth it, he was not obligated to continue to do so. We only had a handful of lessons, but the whole thing has become a mess. I finally sent him an email saying it won't work for us, and thanked him for his time, wished him well etc....it was a pretty clear email. After 2 weeks, he texted me to say that he will be at a studio nearby, and I could drop by if I like, to dance or to talk. I did not go. ... this story is just to show how it can also go wrong when one tries to have 2 instructors.
 
sbrnsmith said:
After 2 weeks, he texted me to say that he will be at a studio nearby, and I could drop by if I like, to dance or to talk. I did not go. ... this story is just to show how it can also go wrong when one tries to have 2 instructors.
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My takeaway was different. I think that this issue was more about instructor #2 than having two instructors at a time. Sounds like instructor #2 is a control freak and you would have issues even if he were your only instructor.

A friend of mine is a showcase girl. Last month she performed 3 showcases at an event with 3 different instructors. At the same event. I'm not hearing any reports of conflict. It can work.
 
snapdancer said:
My takeaway was different. I think that this issue was more about instructor #2 than having two instructors at a time. Sounds like instructor #2 is a control freak and you would have issues even if he were your only instructor.

A friend of mine is a showcase girl. Last month she performed 3 showcases at an event with 3 different instructors. At the same event. I'm not hearing any reports of conflict. It can work.
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Agree with this. I'm not the friend in question here (to the best of my knowledge), but same for me re: bolded - I performed routines (5 total) with 3 different instructors at the most recent Showcase. There was no issue between them. Of course, they were all at the same studio and it is the norm at my studio to have two instructors, so the culture was not inherently conducive to conflict.
 
I used to perform many showcases at the different studios with three independent teachers, and one "studio" teacher.
All routines were different. The teachers knew about each other and just concentrated on my dancing with them.
As far as I know there were not any conflicts.
 
wrt sbrn's situation: that sounds more to me like #2 thought he had a chance to become #1...because while I think many are fine with being #2, I don't know of many who would travel to a student for whom they are number 2 unless they thought there was a chance of competing or they had a lot of debt...sounds to me like he wanted to see how likely she was to make him number one by pressuring her and he lost the bet and/or just felt like if she wasn't going to compete, she wasn't worth the trip
 
I've been doing this dance thing for almost 2 years now. At the 1 year mark, I was encouraged to try a different instructor for different types of dance. After 2-3 months with instructor #2, I switched back to the original instructor, even for the other type of dances. Here's what I learned.

1. Instructor #2 was great at teaching steps, but not so much technique.
2. Instructor #1 always wanted technique perfect before moving on and always explained why and made me feel what the follower should feel (which is helpful as a lead).

So when I switched back to instructor #1, she made me change a few things and I found it quite easy. It was like having "steps for beginners" and then "technique classes".

Now on the same note, I just learned instructor #1 is moving out of province, and I still have a couple of privates left. Initial reaction was "cool, I'm happy for you". Instructor #2 is no longer there. I'm doing this for fun though. However, while I know they are being paid to be friendly and all, I still feel like we have a bit of a friendship, so I was kind of sad. We sometimes chat after she is done work, go for a coffee or something. I still want to maintain our friendship (if you can call it that). Would it be normal for a former student and instructor to have a friendship?
 
Newdancer81 said:
1. Instructor #2 was great at teaching steps, but not so much technique.
2. Instructor #1 always wanted technique perfect before moving on and always explained why and made me feel what the follower should feel (which is helpful as a lead).
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My approach is to learn steps in group classes, and focus on technique in privates so I can dance the steps instead of just stepping them.
 
I'm friends with my former smooth pro who is in AZ. We still see each other at galaxy and talk on the phone periodically. I miss her. Amazing woman
 
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