Disappearing Dance Instructor

Kits said:
Thanks for your responses. This is really painful. I wish I knew were my instructor went to, if he did go to any other location. I found out today he was termed due to behavior. Which is just so hard to believe.
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:shock:

Yeah, you likely dodged a bullet there.
 
I kinda had an opposite experience, it was the studio that was a problem and not the instructors. But because ours is a small town, I had no problem locating the instructor who was fired (the fact that we were using same gym made it extra easy, but we had other points of connection, too). He went independent and so I worked with him for another couple of years. And I can tell you, that really sucked to show up to a lesson and to find out that the person who was supposed to be teaching you doesn't work here anymore.
 
I can't remember how many times I heard students say "I will not be able to get over my old instructor"...But after a month or 2 after they have given their new teacher a chance they become just as happy again. I have seen this over and over again.
 
Leonid Turetsky said:
I can't remember how many times I heard students say "I will not be able to get over my old instructor"...But after a month or 2 after they have given their new teacher a chance they become just as happy again. I have seen this over and over again.
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IMV, the new teacher should be at least as qualified as the previous one. When I was offered an almost brand-new 6 week wonder as a replacement for someone with a few years of teaching experience, I demanded a refund on unused lessons and got it.
 
Chris Stratton said:
While the claim of bad behavior could be true, it could also be a legitimate disagreement trumped up as insubordination.
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Agreed. It could be anything--from showing up 15 minutes late one too many times, to having a disagreement with management which management didn't take kindly and considered as insubordination, to actual insubordination which could have been truly justified (management clearly in the wrong) or not...to truly bad behavior. There is no way of knowing.
 
and, just because a serious offense may be unimaginable to one's starry eyed newer student doesn't mean that it is objectively shocking or unexpected...no one knows...the fact remains that an instructor with commeasurate skill needs to be provided otherwise a person on package has some grounds for discontent
 
Peaches said:
Agreed. It could be anything--from showing up 15 minutes late one too many times, to having a disagreement with management which management didn't take kindly and considered as insubordination, to actual insubordination which could have been truly justified (management clearly in the wrong) or not...to truly bad behavior. There is no way of knowing.
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One thing to consider though - how often are sudden disappearances of teaching staff from the studio? If it happens once in a while (like every few years, and only long-time students would remember it), I would be inclined to give the management benefit of the doubt. If it happens every few months, well, to me that would kinda point to management problem.
 
My very first instructor didn't disappear overnight, she did inform us that she'd me moving to another state and talked with us about what direction we wanted to move in and made some recommendations to us while always assuring us that it was our decision to make about where to go from there. We were very apprehensive about moving to a new instructor, but after we did we realized that our previous instructor, while pleasant, wasn't going to be able to help us get to where we wanted to be. We could tell that the quality of instruction from our new instructor was much better and I've been with the same instructor ever since (my husband has moved on to another instructor, but does still take lessons with me and my instructor on occasion.)

Anyway, the point is, as much as you might love your former instructor, you may find that a new instructor offers you a level of instruction that you didn't know was lacking with your previous instructor or perhaps just a different way of teaching you that you hadn't previously experienced. Just go into the whole thing with an open mind, prepared to learn.
 
Iolane said:
Anyway, the point is, as much as you might love your former instructor, you may find that a new instructor offers you a level of instruction that you didn't know was lacking with your previous instructor or perhaps just a different way of teaching you that you hadn't previously experienced. Just go into the whole thing with an open mind, prepared to learn.
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Thanks. I'll remember that tonight with my first lesson with Possible-new-instructor-A.
 
Kits, life in general is a series of comings and goings; therefore so is one's dance life, when you've been in it for a while. Each instructor and coach imparting something of themselves upon you for the rest of your time on earth--and so much of it to be treasured when they or you move on. I feel like the creation of several wonderful teachers...

I sympathize with you, Kits. Such is life: there are things like people going away that can sometimes make you feel down. But I am so glad that you're movin' forward, and trying the new teachers. The joy of dance is so worth it! Best wishes to you! :)
 
tanya_the_dancer said:
IMV, the new teacher should be at least as qualified as the previous one. When I was offered an almost brand-new 6 week wonder as a replacement for someone with a few years of teaching experience, I demanded a refund on unused lessons and got it.
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Tanya, you hit the bullseye with this one. The quality of the replacement matters a lot. Just to quote another thread slightly out of context, not everyone on DF lives in NY, Boston, Montréal or <insert large metro area with a thriving dance scene> I don't know how many potential teachers the OP has at her studio to replace her instructor, but when I lost mine, there was ONE count it, ONE female instructor with anything close to the experience level of my original teacher at the studio. Apart from a few 6-week wonders, there are also two student-turned teachers, one of whom is going to be a GREAT teacher one day (I can see that) but that day is not today. So all the posts by people in the vein of "you're going to find a new teacher and it's going to be the best thing that happened to you" have to be taken with a large grain of salt. That would depend on a lot of variables. Are there many instructors with similar qualifications available? Are there other venues/studios with similar level teachers around? In my case, there are a grand total of 3 studios I know of, in my metro area, that even teach American Style! (most Independents are heavily into International and competitive international at that--nothing wrong with that, I am going to try IS but if I wanted to stay AS, my options would be extremely limited.) I am giving my new teacher the benefit of the doubt, but it's simplistic to assume that just anyone can replace the very first dance teacher you ever had--in my case, the first person that I ever danced with, having started from absolute zero. So I respectfully disagree with the DFers who think losing your instructor is no big deal. Sorry for hijacking your thread, Kits!
 
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