How to swap teachers...diplomatically?

dancingirldancing said:
WaltzElf, are you just walking your steps everytime and all the time or is it an occasional thing ?
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Unless we have a competition on the weekend, then yes, we walk our steps. Without precise footwork you're never going to be able to perform the arm movements or body lines properly anyway.

ETA: His comments are never constructive it goes like this 'I dont think that you will be able to do this step/comp for a long long time' (duh I have been DOING them for years). Instead of 'Let's see how we can work together to enable you to do this or that'.
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We're also constantly pulling out figures that we can't do at our stage of development, and avoiding competitions we're not ready for. If we were messing around we could probably do a 10 pivot sequence for a waltz. It wouldn't be very good quality and it wouldn't win us competitions, though. Our teacher's told us that. We accept it.

Blunt "say it like it is" teachers are good.
 
But how do you tell the difference whether he meant well or he just wants to stunt your development ?

Especially when my other 2 teachers do not agree with him.

What makes HIM the right one ?

FYI, I never push my teachers to give me harder steps. They danced with me when they first take me then they assess where I was at.

They just happen to have different conclusion from this one.

I do a lot of coaching just on the basic but very productive and effective coaching not just literally walking the step.

I dont even mind not being let to do a competition or another but I absolutely hate to be pushed to do the ones I dont want which he does all the time.

Anyway, in short I am not happy and I think that is all that matter.

He may be GOD of dancing for all I know.

I don't want to be dead before I am even ready to attend some sort of decent comp.
 
WaltzElf said:
Blunt "say it like it is" teachers are good.
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Good for you maybe--good for me maybe--but teachers who always "say it like it is" and don't get the effect they want are not effective teachers. There are times to say it like it is, and times to not do that. Just trying to provide another perspective...
 
dancingirldancing said:
But how do you tell the difference whether he meant well or he just wants to stunt your development ?

Especially when my other 2 teachers do not agree with him.

What makes HIM the right one ?

FYI, I never push my teachers to give me harder steps. They danced with me when they first take me then they assess where I was at.

They just happen to have different conclusion from this one.

I do a lot of coaching just on the basic but very productive and effective coaching not just literally walking the step.

I dont even mind not being let to do a competition or another but I absolutely hate to be pushed to do the ones I dont want which he does all the time.

Anyway, in short I am not happy and I think that is all that matter.

He may be GOD of dancing for all I know.

I don't want to be dead before I am even ready to attend some sort of decent comp.
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A) really...gold steps aren't harder than bronze ones...
B) a good dancer knows whether or not their teacher is a "God of dancing"...the fact that there are no technical details being elucidated here tells me that either he or you or both of you are missing something very important
 
Well, he is skilled alright .... just because someone knows something does not mean that he may want to share it with you ?

Oh GOD of dancing on the other hand is a whole different level IMHO.

Not sure about that....
 
Josh said:
Good for you maybe--good for me maybe--but teachers who always "say it like it is" and don't get the effect they want are not effective teachers. There are times to say it like it is, and times to not do that. Just trying to provide another perspective...
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I would agree 100% - sometimes blunt can hurt and stunt development. But we're not talking about something big here - if a teacher can't say "you're not ready for this step/ this comp" than either the teacher is severly socially stunted and should take some "bedside manners" classes (unlikely, in Australia at least, pro dancers have been dancers long enough that they are social critters), or (more likely) the student is being very sensitive.

I mean, one of my teachers has no qualms whatsoever about telling someone they're "too fat" or "dressing unattractively." If that hurt someone, I can understand, but "you're not ready for this?" That's the job of any good teacher, IMO.
 
Okay I dont want to start an argument.

Let's assume:

Me --> Crap beginner level dancer with no talent asking too much
Him --> Excellent teacher

Basic Point --> He made me miserable, dancing is supposedly making me happy

Conclusion --> Will find another teacher who will take crappy dancer like me and treat me with a little bit more respect

That is it.

I will call him today actually.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
dancingirldancing said:
Okay I dont want to start an argument.

Let's assume:

Me --> Crap beginner level dancer with no talent asking too much
Him --> Excellent teacher

Basic Point --> He made me miserable, dancing is supposedly making me happy

Conclusion --> Will find another teacher who will take crappy dancer like me and treat me with a little bit more respect

That is it.

I will call him today actually.

Thanks for the feedback.
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The question is - if he's a good teacher (and no one can say either way, since we've never seen you dance or him teach), which is more important to you? Dancing well, or being pandered to with an overly soft touch (again, making huge hypotheticals here and assuming you're being very sensitive about certain things).

I would argue that dancing well and watching yourself improve is where the happiness in dancing comes from (that and the relationship you have with your partner, but that's a personal point of contention for me). If I stopped improving, then, and only then, would I consider myself unhappy with my teacher, regardless of how hard they are on me.
 
Problem --> I am not improving

I used to be on gymnastic team so taking crap is my forte.

Not taking let down upon let down.

Maybe actually I can cope better if he is hard on me THEN tell me I am no good rather than never saying anything to me THEN tell me I am no good.

Eg. Your spin turn is crap you need to do this and that to correct it hence you are not ready for this comp.

I really dont want to start argument here.
 
dancingirldancing said:
Problem --> I am not improving

I used to be on gymnastic team so taking crap is my forte.

Not taking let down upon let down.
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So then the question becomes why are you not improving?

It might be the teacher, yes. However, there is still one other question - what is the calibre of the competition couples that he teaches? If he has level 4 or 5 couples who are loyal to him, then it's likely not. If however, he doesn't, then it's a good sign that his ability to teach to a high level of proficiency is limited.

It's not an absolute measure of a teacher, of course, but it's a good way to get a guideline.
 
I would really want to keep it confidential. Ballroom scene in Australia is pretty small. I am sure he would hear about it eventually.

And considering I want to stay in the same studio with a different teacher I dont think it will be wise.
 
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