Go Pro or Stay Am?

A

azntwice

Member
Something interesting about the partner search process that I've noticed is that many amateur women are looking for partners, and many professional men are also looking. However, due to the amateur/professional divide, they usually end up not trying out. Does anyone have any thoughts or theories as to why a woman shouldn't turn professional to find a partner? After all, the pro/am line is getting pretty blurred these days.
 
Being nowhere near that level, the only big negative I can think of is not being able to (quickly, easily) go back to am if the pro partnership doesn't work out.

If you are near that level - talk to your coaches about your options. I would think they would have good insight on your dancing and on the change you are considering.
 
I will say that if you don't go winning anything major there is precedence for being able to switch back to amateur.
 
Do they have pro/am dancing where you are, and does it fit in your budget? That might be a good way to "try out" the partnership before you commit to turning pro. As DM says, it's possible to go back, but it may not be easy and it might involve sitting out competitions for a while.
 
azntwice said:
Does anyone have any thoughts or theories as to why a woman shouldn't turn professional to find a partner? After all, the pro/am line is getting pretty blurred these days.
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A lot of them do. I see quite a few partner search ads that are seeking an open amateur partner, but that indicate willingess to consider turning pro for the right match.

My big reason why I wouldn't want to: given when I started (making my current age a little higher than I'd like) and the time I'd still need to put in to be ready to make the switch (because I am not there yet), a competitive pro career would be so short. On the am side, there's healthy and stiff competition in the senior ranks. So for me or someone in my situation, turning pro would mean saying goodbye to any competition focus, and I'd be turning pro to teach, dance pro-am, and put on the odd show/compete locally... none of which are what I want as my focus right now, and all of which defeat the purpose of going pro to find a competitive partner.
 
FancyFeet said:
A lot of them do. I see quite a few partner search ads that are seeking an open amateur partner, but that indicate willingess to consider turning pro for the right match.

My big reason why I wouldn't want to: given when I started (making my current age a little higher than I'd like) and the time I'd still need to put in to be ready to make the switch (because I am not there yet), a competitive pro career would be so short. On the am side, there's healthy and stiff competition in the senior ranks. So for me or someone in my situation, turning pro would mean saying goodbye to any competition focus, and I'd be turning pro to teach, dance pro-am, and put on the odd show/compete locally... none of which are what I want as my focus right now, and all of which defeat the purpose of going pro to find a competitive partner.
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That just about covered everything I was going to say. Maybe the only addition being that it is extremely difficult for a woman to get by teaching dance... I'll stick to my real professional career.

If you really wanted to teach later you can look into DVIDA certs anyway.
 
FancyFeet said:
A lot of them do. I see quite a few partner search ads that are seeking an open amateur partner, but that indicate willingness to consider turning pro for the right match.

My big reason why I wouldn't want to: given when I started (making my current age a little higher than I'd like) and the time I'd still need to put in to be ready to make the switch (because I am not there yet), a competitive pro career would be so short. On the am side, there's healthy and stiff competition in the senior ranks. So for me or someone in my situation, turning pro would mean saying goodbye to any competition focus, and I'd be turning pro to teach, dance pro-am, and put on the odd show/compete locally... none of which are what I want as my focus right now, and all of which defeat the purpose of going pro to find a competitive partner.
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Starting to seriously revisit this line of thinking... turning pro is starting to look like viable option with everything else that's been happening lately. I find myself increasingly wondering if my (purely hypothetical) student's successes would make me happy, because I'm not finding a lot of that in my own dancing at the moment.

I've had an inquiry e-mail to the owners of a local studio looking for instructors sitting in me "drafts" folder for days.
 
I would that think looking for happiness in someone else's work in lieu of your own work would be an error.
 
It's not looking for happiness in someone else's work. It's redefining my own work. I love sharing what I know and seeing the 'aha' moment happen on the other side, and in my current situation, I don't get to do it (unless it's done with close friends, in secret). I'm wondering if that love will or could mean more to me than working on my own stuff.

I'm taking the time to think about it, because IMHO if I can't be genuinely content with the success of my hypothetical students, then teaching isn't for me. I've seen the teachers for whom teaching is a necessary evil, and should I make the move, I have no intention of ever being one of them.
 
FancyFeet said:
My big reason why I wouldn't want to: given when I started (making my current age a little higher than I'd like) and the time I'd still need to put in to be ready to make the switch (because I am not there yet), a competitive pro career would be so short. On the am side, there's healthy and stiff competition in the senior ranks. So for me or someone in my situation, turning pro would mean saying goodbye to any competition focus, and I'd be turning pro to teach, dance pro-am, and put on the odd show/compete locally... none of which are what I want as my focus right now, and all of which defeat the purpose of going pro to find a competitive partner.
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I have an acquaintance (we have mutual friends) who has her own business as a dietician, but she competes in the professional division. I think she teaches, but it's minimal - maybe a class or two and maybe a few private students. My point is, competing as a professional doesn't mean you have to give up a "regular" job or even teach at all, unless your regular job significantly hinders practice time with your partner and your ability to obtain good coaching. "Professional" is just a competition classification :).
 
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