Multiple Teachers

A

Addicted2Rhinestones

New Member
Ok, I wanted to get some thoughts on people who learn from different teachers. My teacher is the pro that I compete with and I am more than 100 MILLION PERCENT happy with him. He has all the good qualities (and maybe more) mentioned in that "why you love your pro/coach/teacher" thread. However, there are two problems. 1. I want to get coached/taught more and his schedule is insanely full. 2. I'm not super happy being at my studio all the time.

What are the benefits of having more than one teacher? Why do some pople do it? Is your pro still your "main" teacher? And how in the WORLD would you break it to them that you're being taught by someone else???
 
Addicted2Rhinestones said:
Ok, I wanted to get some thoughts on people who learn from different teachers. My teacher is the pro that I compete with and I am more than 100 MILLION PERCENT happy with him. He has all the good qualities (and maybe more) mentioned in that "why you love your pro/coach/teacher" thread. However, there are two problems. 1. I want to get coached/taught more and his schedule is insanely full. 2. I'm not super happy being at my studio all the time.

What are the benefits of having more than one teacher? Why do some pople do it? Is your pro still your "main" teacher? And how in the WORLD would you break it to them that you're being taught by someone else???
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Ha! You seemed like you have the exactly same problem. I would like to hear from people too.
 
Do you already have additional teachers picked out?

If not, you could say just what you've said here (about how much you enjoy working with him/want to keep working with him, but that you would like to spend more time taking lessons than his schedule allows) and ask him to suggest someone who would be a good compliment to his teaching. You would probably get someone who's teaching isn't drastically different and conflicting, and you'd have the added bonus of keeping your pro in the loop and involved with the process.
 
A2R, there may already be some threads on this topic IIRC...

I have one primary pro who I work with 98% of the time, but I have used another pro from time to time over the last 8 months. My pro is male; the other pro is female which I thought might be helpful for a variety of reasons (ladies perspective on styling, body movement, etc). Have also used this other pro for choreography recently. I "broke it" to main pro by being honest about why I thought it would be beneficial for me/my dancing. Because of the choreography component, he has also become part of the lessons with the other pro and is 'on board'.

Many use a 2nd pro for a 2nd style, which I have also done in the past.
 
jjs914 said:
Do you already have additional teachers picked out?

If not, you could say just what you've said here (about how much you enjoy working with him/want to keep working with him, but that you would like to spend more time taking lessons than his schedule allows) and ask him to suggest someone who would be a good compliment to his teaching. You would probably get someone who's teaching isn't drastically different and conflicting, and you'd have the added bonus of keeping your pro in the loop and involved with the process.
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Good advice....
 
We have two coaches; both are well-schooled in both Int. and Am., but one prefers mainly Int, the other Am. We get advice and help from both and use what gets the best results for us.

It's good to get multiple viewpoints, and our coaches are more than open to us using whichever advice works best. The end result is what matters.
 
I dance with two different pros. Now, admittedly, this started because the one I was with first doesn't teach Smooth and Standard. He could. He just doesn't want to. (Some other students and I have agreed while maybe we could get him to do Smooth if we asked on a good day, him competing pro-am Standard would be one of the signs of the End Times.) It's also easy because they teach at the same studio (in fact, own it.) So there's no tension about different teachers. What is helpful, especially now that Smooth Pro and I are doing some Rhythm for San Diego, is they have very different teaching styles and they look at things differently. They see different things so I get feedback about stuff from one that the other might have let go in favor of fixing something else. As there's a lot about my dancing that needs fixing there is PLENTY for each of them to pick at!

I don't think a teacher is going to be offended that you want to get more instruction if it's clear that this is mostly about you wanting more time than he's capable of providing--you're not dumping him or getting a second opinion like you think he's not adequate. You're supplementing.
 
Hey thanks for all the advice!

jjs914 - Def agee with you about speaking to him and being honest about it as I don't like hiding things or beating around the bush anyway. Since I want to get a female teacher, I do have a teacher (just in mind) but I will def as him for his suggestions as well, that's a great point!

njdancegirl - Yup, I was thinking exactly that. I have a male teacher, now want to get a female for styling etc.

jwlinson - That's a good way to put it...the end result :)

danceronice - Yes, I def don't want him to think that which is why I wanted to put this question out there to see what is done generally. I seriously love his teaching and adore him. I also think he's a pretty strong pro to be partnered with.
 
My partner and I recently "broke it" to our main coach--we were breaking not only that we wanted other teachers, but also that for financial reasons this meant we needed to take from her only once every two weeks.

It was fine. She took it even better than we thought. Most coaches have probably had multiple coaches themselves and understand the value of hearing from multiple people. It's just a good thing to do and your coach probably understands.
 
indeed, most coaches (especially if they care genuinely about your dancing and not only about the money) encourage that you take from other people... it helps to be looked at by a different pair of eyes!
 
I travel so much that I've taken lessons in several other cities; it's either that or do without a lesson for weeks. And I can't do that! I ask my teacher if he knows someone in whatever city I'm going to, and usually take his advice, if I can. If I can't take his advice, then I tell him about it when I get home. Full disclosure: that's my policy, and it works.

It's a win-win; new perspective on my dancing, and discussion with my teacher when I get home, to integrate anything I learned out of town.
 
I have two main coaches, and they don't teach exactly the same way, but it gives me two different focuses, since one coach really emphasizes clear legwork and footwork, while the other begins work from the core always. I took lessons from someone else once who really helped me on my upper body. What I find is that different coaches see your work in various ways, and so they can complement one another.
 
If you have fair teachers within a studio, they should actually encourage you to learn from different teachers from time to time.
 
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