how are your lessons going? thread II

Status
Not open for further replies.
i know i've been awol for quite some time......returned after 2 comps to studio 3 weeks ago and Pro says "let's move to OPEN"......I think i ran to the clothes closet and hid for my entire lesson after he said that! lol, wink.
not really, so started working on completely changing Waltz to total open choreography.
If they had a pretzel category I would probably win.
 
I'm coming out of a protracted illness that involved missing a competition. Plus, I got sick right after some great coachings that I really wanted to follow through on right away. I'm also preparing for a first-ever-for-me showcase, which at this studio involves a theater, stage, seated audience, lights, etc. I'm having to devote much more lesson time, practice time, etc. to preparing for it than I had intended: the choreography is great, but a bit tricky for me to learn, and given my propensity for stage fright, I know I need to be over-prepared for it. Once I accepted reality, however, I've really been enjoying my lessons. Pro is being very nice and very patient with me. I still don't feel fully human, but hope that I will by next week. I also hope that once my brain kicks in, we'll be able to spend part of the lessons on other dances, but that remains to be seen.
 
Had a great coaching on the open waltz Pro has started with me. Getting dizzy from all the spins may not be so bad .......worked on open FT with coach and for a very odd reason,,,,,FT feels like complete freedom! Yea!!!!
 
Ugh, rounds with a headache... on the upside, I didn't die.

And I now know that if I feel like doing nothing but lying down in a cool, dark, quiet room and being unconscious on comp day I can gut out successive rounds that are "not bad at all"... so, yay?

(Totally could have done without learning this though.)
 
lessons are going well! latin is finally progressing. Rhythm continues to do well. My struggle is, oddly enough, motivation. I think because I accomplished a main goal late last year (OSB+doing well at OSB) and just recently accomplished another, i'm not as motivated to practice or go to lessons. When i do, i love the lessons and the practice even, but i'm definitely lazier about it. it could be because my bank account is finally looking better and i'm enjoying it looking that way as well!

I'm doing a big showcase number for the first time in a few years, because i want to - but i don't get to do the song i really want (stupid theme).

i don't want to stop, but i dunno, sometimes lately i'm kinda like "i have dance again tonight? sheesh"
 
Lessons last week were all show-case oriented, and I now know about 2/3 of it--with a few questions here and there. I also have two incredibly valuable videos. One is Pro dancing my part solo counting out the timing and the other is him dancing my part with New(er) Guy leading to the music. I got a much better understanding of how the two roles fit together, which is particularly important because there are lots of places where I should really be leading my partner into a turn. Hard to do that when I didn't really know where he should be going or which direction he should be turning. ;)

There's one part that we haven't gotten to that was put in at my request. It's about 14 beats that Pro used with more partner in his professional tango routines. I had asked a couple of years ago if it was something I could learn to do and Pro had said yes; when I watch him and NG do it yesterday, I wondered what I had done to myself. I know the pattern, but doing it at speed is another matter. :rolleyes: I'll guess I'll find out next week.
 
I had back-to-back lessons last week that were like night and day.

First one was outstanding - had visiting coach (scheduled impromptu that morning) pick apart our bolero comp amalgamation. I knew it needed more volume and be more bolero-y and he knew exactly what fixes to make. Can't wait to work on implementing the advice going forward.

Second lesson was brutal. Different instructor - we are working on a short Showcase performance in a different genre. At the previous lesson, I had tried to make some delicate suggestions about things I didn't feel were working (as opposed to bluntly telling him what I thought sucked... you're welcome) but he wasn't receptive at all and I started getting the sullen teenager treatment. I talked briefly with the manager (not intentionally, it was a chance conversation) who was very interested in getting things worked out and talked to him afterwards. So I walked into this week's lesson greeted by the announcement that either I need to pick a different song (after 3 lessons on this one), or else he can't accommodate my suggestions (which basically amounted to not making it look like a repetitive exercise video). I could see we were talking past each other so I went with option B. With no improvement in temperament. At one point I asked a clarifying question of which count something fell on ("is this at the end of 6 or on 7/8") and the response was, "You're the star of the show, whatever you want." Anyway, I'm going to grit my teeth and make it through the next six weeks until Showcase.
 
IndyLady said:
I had back-to-back lessons last week that were like night and day.

First one was outstanding - had visiting coach (scheduled impromptu that morning) pick apart our bolero comp amalgamation. I knew it needed more volume and be more bolero-y and he knew exactly what fixes to make. Can't wait to work on implementing the advice going forward.

Second lesson was brutal. Different instructor - we are working on a short Showcase performance in a different genre. At the previous lesson, I had tried to make some delicate suggestions about things I didn't feel were working (as opposed to bluntly telling him what I thought sucked... you're welcome) but he wasn't receptive at all and I started getting the sullen teenager treatment. I talked briefly with the manager (not intentionally, it was a chance conversation) who was very interested in getting things worked out and talked to him afterwards. So I walked into this week's lesson greeted by the announcement that either I need to pick a different song (after 3 lessons on this one), or else he can't accommodate my suggestions (which basically amounted to not making it look like a repetitive exercise video). I could see we were talking past each other so I went with option B. With no improvement in temperament. At one point I asked a clarifying question of which count something fell on ("is this at the end of 6 or on 7/8") and the response was, "You're the star of the show, whatever you want." Anyway, I'm going to grit my teeth and make it through the next six weeks until Showcase.
Click to expand...
ick, that showcase lesson sounds not fun. I've had those types of lessons before.
 
So I am currently in a new am am partnership doing university and BDC comps at a beginner level. I went to a new coach on thursday to get a different jive and get an opinion on the partnership match. It went surprisingly well. We worked on chasse in jive as well as getting a solid routine together.
I asked my partner to try a different coach as he has be struggling with some of the teachers as he has ASD but this new coach clocked straight away and if it wasnt working she would change the tact which for me as well as him.
 
IndyLady said:
I had back-to-back lessons last week that were like night and day.

First one was outstanding - had visiting coach (scheduled impromptu that morning) pick apart our bolero comp amalgamation. I knew it needed more volume and be more bolero-y and he knew exactly what fixes to make. Can't wait to work on implementing the advice going forward.

Second lesson was brutal. Different instructor - we are working on a short Showcase performance in a different genre. At the previous lesson, I had tried to make some delicate suggestions about things I didn't feel were working (as opposed to bluntly telling him what I thought sucked... you're welcome) but he wasn't receptive at all and I started getting the sullen teenager treatment. I talked briefly with the manager (not intentionally, it was a chance conversation) who was very interested in getting things worked out and talked to him afterwards. So I walked into this week's lesson greeted by the announcement that either I need to pick a different song (after 3 lessons on this one), or else he can't accommodate my suggestions (which basically amounted to not making it look like a repetitive exercise video). I could see we were talking past each other so I went with option B. With no improvement in temperament. At one point I asked a clarifying question of which count something fell on ("is this at the end of 6 or on 7/8") and the response was, "You're the star of the show, whatever you want." Anyway, I'm going to grit my teeth and make it through the next six weeks until Showcase.
Click to expand...

I'm sure I don't have all the details, but based on what you've posted, if it were me, I wouldn't want any more lessons from that second instructor, at least not for a while. And I wouldn't want to work on or dance in a showcase with him either. Dance lessons (and showcases) are too expensive for gritting teeth and waiting it out. Sorry you are in that situation, I'm guessing you feel stuck.
 
raindance said:
I'm sure I don't have all the details, but based on what you've posted, if it were me, I wouldn't want any more lessons from that second instructor, at least not for a while. And I wouldn't want to work on or dance in a showcase with him either. Dance lessons (and showcases) are too expensive for gritting teeth and waiting it out. Sorry you are in that situation, I'm guessing you feel stuck.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm trying to be patient. He's a relatively new instructor (ballroom) and young, but has an extensive background in the other genre I'm interested in and dances it incredibly. On the one hand I should trust he knows way more than I do in his field (which I've only dabbled in here and there) so I'm probably overstepping my bounds with my "feedback". OTOH this isn't my first rodeo and I'm not as willing to settle for what I think can be better. We'll see how the coming weeks go.
 
IndyLady said:
Yeah, I'm trying to be patient. He's a relatively new instructor (ballroom) and young, but has an extensive background in the other genre I'm interested in and dances it incredibly. On the one hand I should trust he knows way more than I do in his field (which I've only dabbled in here and there) so I'm probably overstepping my bounds with my "feedback". OTOH this isn't my first rodeo and I'm not as willing to settle for what I think can be better. We'll see how the coming weeks go.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like he is a great dancer but not yet a good teacher. Hopefully he'll learn eventually about the teaching end. Good for you for giving him a chance, while also watching out for yourself. Hope it goes better than expected.
 
My dancing has been "good", but kind of all over the place lately. Went through a period of traveling a lot for work, so lessons were more sporadic. But I ended up doing a competition - all 10 dances. Some went well, some.... not so well. But it's definitely clearer what needs focused and what I've actually assimilated into my body/muscles.

I'm also doing more salsa. I know it's distracting me from my making progress in the ballroom, but it's just more fun at the moment. And a lot of the underlying movement - looser frame, more into the floor - are areas I need to work on in Latin, so I'm convincing myself that it's helpful. :)
 
Another week of showcase lessons. The last third of the choreography broke my brain, but I now know all of it as long as one doesn't mind a small pause now and again. It was quite a relief in today's lessons to start working on (a tiny bit of) technique.

There's one place where I need to move the leader's arm--not throw it away, but lift it and go under it. I got to say something to New(er) Guy that has been said to me many times: "Why are you making me arm wrestle you?":rofl:
 
only one lesson earlier this week and no practices. lessons were due to studio drama that i'm not going to rehash here and practices were due to work, kids' activities and a bit of stress over said drama. Hoping things settle down on Monday at the studio and trying to get some practice done this weekend. concerts and birthday celebrations for a friend are eating into that tho.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top