I remember reading something along this topic a while ago but given that i can't find it anymore, i think i'll ask the question again. My regular instructor is not going to be available for a couple of weeks and she has recommended a couple of instructors for me: two of them are student teachers and one is a fairly experienced teacher with a couple of competitive titles under her belt. My question is this: given that i'm a fairly new beginner, every instructor in the studio is probably qualified to teach me, do I need to be picky about instructors?
Do beginners need a high profile instructor?
- Thread starter lynn
- Start date
fascination
Site Moderator
IMO...only if you are competing
fascination
Site Moderator
i think if your instructor recommended them he/she probably already knows you won't have a problem picking up bad technique from them...in fact, it might be possible that some of those newer instructors were trained by your instructor....have seen that before...I know my instructor wouldn't recommend anyone new or otherwise who he felt would mess up "his work" :wink:
Genesius Redux
New Member
My feeling--at whatever level you are, and whatever your goals, get the best instructor you can. Technical proficiency is technical proficiency, whether for social dancing or competition.
Genesius Redux
New Member
Actually, and a lot of people on DF disagree with this, but I think that the best instruction for social dancing comes from really good competitors, because there really isn't any difference between the technique you use when you dance socially or competitively.
I see this all the time in a different context--I teach writing. And I'm a published writer with a lot of experience. Now you can make the argument that freshmen at a university don't need to learn writing from someone like me, that they can be taught perfectly well by people who don't have great writing credentials but can basically show them how to organize their papers. The thing is, I get students from the classes of people who aren't really working writers and they have all sorts of bad habits that I have to get rid of. Same thing among my acting students; some of them may not have aspirations beyond community theatre, but so what? Why would you settle for a bad acting coach just because you are mostly doing community theatre? Shouldn't community theatre be good as well?
You can always tell who the good teachers are. They're the ones who are out there actually competing. And at social dances, invariably the people who dance the most with the greatest number of partners are the ones who have been working toward competition.
End of sermon. Go in peace. 8)
GR
I see this all the time in a different context--I teach writing. And I'm a published writer with a lot of experience. Now you can make the argument that freshmen at a university don't need to learn writing from someone like me, that they can be taught perfectly well by people who don't have great writing credentials but can basically show them how to organize their papers. The thing is, I get students from the classes of people who aren't really working writers and they have all sorts of bad habits that I have to get rid of. Same thing among my acting students; some of them may not have aspirations beyond community theatre, but so what? Why would you settle for a bad acting coach just because you are mostly doing community theatre? Shouldn't community theatre be good as well?
You can always tell who the good teachers are. They're the ones who are out there actually competing. And at social dances, invariably the people who dance the most with the greatest number of partners are the ones who have been working toward competition.
End of sermon. Go in peace. 8)
GR
i agree there's no difference technically between a social & competitive dancer - i think the problem sometimes is in how a instructor chooses to teach the two. I've often find that social dance instructors choose to teach the "friendly" side of dancing - lots of variations, patterns, but not so much technique whereas competitive instructors are the opposite. I'm saying this is right or wrong, just perhaps the difference in teaching style arises because of different goals and needs.
jeez just go ahead and dance 
like a few of them have already said,if ur not worried about dancing professionally just go ahead and listen to what ur instructor tells u,im sure he or she knows fully well that when u come back,u will have a few differences in style and a couple of "bad habits" might have been picked up as well......oh well,just go down and have a blast i say!!!
like a few of them have already said,if ur not worried about dancing professionally just go ahead and listen to what ur instructor tells u,im sure he or she knows fully well that when u come back,u will have a few differences in style and a couple of "bad habits" might have been picked up as well......oh well,just go down and have a blast i say!!!
fascination
Site Moderator
I agree w/ all of the previous posts even if they seem to contradict mine i.e. it doesn't matter UNLESS it matters to you...yes, of course you can benefit from a top notch instructor even if you don't compete, and yes you are going to get more out of them....but mY point, as in the case of my huband for instance...is that if you don't care to learn all of the finer aspects of the particular moves then as others have said very often an instructor will teach you the move in an entirely different way which is good enough for you if you don't want to work as hard and remember 25 different peices of technique for one step....ie...my husband "I don't DOOOOOO..CBM.....I don't CARE if it's a heel or a toe, etc..."...I certainly want the best and would even if I wasn't competing .....but that can take some of the fun out of it and everyone's goals are different....this is why my instructor's group lessons especially in his specialty tend to be small...b/c alot of people don't want to have to work that hard...I suspect it DOES matter to you Lynn, based upon your other posts, but again, I don't think your instructor would have recommend people who would messup their work....
saludas
New Member
I feel beginners are satisfied with overall lower level instructors because beginners rate quality either based on the 'fun factor', how easily they appear to transmit step patters, or most common, because the belief that since the instructor appears to know so much more than them, that the instructor is 'good enough' and it appears that there is so much to learn from the instructor.
After a few months, though, most beginners drop out or become satisfied with the level they are at, and either drift into low commitment / low difficulty areas like group classes or Proam, as it appears to them that their step patterns (that are now in muscle memory) have made them dancers, and compared to the others they are surrounded by, that they are 'advanced'.
It's too bad, because even tho there is a longer road ahead that does not offer as immediate a result as what they have had in the past, it is MUCH more satisfying to learn technique, as this makes dancing feel entirely different and (IMHO) much more enjoyable.
The problem is, that good social coaches are not usually much more than that, and can't usually easily manage the transition from 'group classer' to 'student of dance'. Even when it's a local pro teaching a bronze foxtrot class, it's not the transitional coaching needed to (for instance) make the leader's posture an issue, or the follower's understanding of shape a consistency.
I think it's that intermediate coach that is what a beginner needs. Problem is, most beginners seem to stop at 'good enough for the social' levels.
After a few months, though, most beginners drop out or become satisfied with the level they are at, and either drift into low commitment / low difficulty areas like group classes or Proam, as it appears to them that their step patterns (that are now in muscle memory) have made them dancers, and compared to the others they are surrounded by, that they are 'advanced'.
It's too bad, because even tho there is a longer road ahead that does not offer as immediate a result as what they have had in the past, it is MUCH more satisfying to learn technique, as this makes dancing feel entirely different and (IMHO) much more enjoyable.
The problem is, that good social coaches are not usually much more than that, and can't usually easily manage the transition from 'group classer' to 'student of dance'. Even when it's a local pro teaching a bronze foxtrot class, it's not the transitional coaching needed to (for instance) make the leader's posture an issue, or the follower's understanding of shape a consistency.
I think it's that intermediate coach that is what a beginner needs. Problem is, most beginners seem to stop at 'good enough for the social' levels.
fascination
Site Moderator
of course its not really a problem if the person's goal is to be a servicable social dancer...it isn't always a shame that a person doesn't want to be as good as possible if it is an aspect of that person's life that is way out on the periphery of what they value most...and I won't even address your once again harsh view of pro am
Thank you all for your suggestions. I have been taking lessons for a couple of months and frankly, what I really want to work on is the techniques and not patterns - like building a house, you have to have a good foundation before you can add all the fancy things. For me, the fun factor isn't an issue at all - learning takes hard work, dancing is no exception. Unless I'm some natural born dancer who can pretty much whip through to become the next world champ in a millisecond, i'm prepared to work hard.
fascination
Site Moderator
totally agree lynn...besides..if you know the technique and know how to follow...the patterns stop being so important....