It takes many months to dance Tango POORLY

[Steve Pastor]

how do you respond to someone who doesnt respect what you are doing and slags you off in a practica he's running with your students

You could maintain your integrity and stay above it.
And if he comes up in a discussion, you could do your best to acknowledge him without trashing him or being dismissive. And, I think, you have to allow people to explore that path (by which I mean signing up with him) without judging them.
Maybe one day they will figure it out and come back to the fold.

Alex Krebs, Robert Hauk, Bill Alsup, Megan Pingree, all start off by telling people how many different ways there are to do AT, and even encourage people to take lessons from other instuctors.

This is all tough stuff to do (especially the "stay above it" part). But in the long run, I think it is the way to go.

 

[Zoopsia59]

Alex Krebs, Robert Hauk, Bill Alsup, Megan Pingree, all start off by telling people how many different ways there are to do AT, and even encourage people to take lessons from other instuctors..

This is pretty much what I do.. I can't "compete against" the local "organization" anyway. So its better for me and for any student I might have to not try to compete, but rather keep a cooperative relationship with the "organization".

My students get to learn figures and steps that I have no interest in trying to teach, and then I say "What have you been working on that's frustrating you?" and I get to break it down into the components and underlying principles that I prefer focusing on. Even if we don't get the particular step pattern that they wanted to learn perfected, there is always SOMETHING in what they were trying to do that gives me a jumping off point, and the student learns from it.

The organization brings in some really well known instructors and sometimes the instruction is far more than the students can take in. I can expand on what they were told so that they understand it better.

I try to see myself as a PIECE of their tango instruction, that compliments, expands, and clarifies what they are getting elsewhere. Its all I'll really be able to do in the conditions I have here anyway, but its a role I feel quite comfortable in. (and of course, I'm not trying to make my living solely from teaching tango... that helps!)

After all, I didn't have only one instructor... why should I expect that my students will?

 

[Angel HI]

Great advice, Steve.

I really relate to Zoop's post. Here is how I would write it (my changes in blue).......

My students get to learn figures and steps that they really can not do, and then they say, "Will you fix this that's frustrating me?", and I get to break it down into the components and underlying principles that they need to focus on.