Private lessons - How time is spent

[DancingShoes]

Welcome Tiny.dancer! I'm about 1 1/2 yrs into private instruction and at first all I could see was dollars going to waste. Not so. As long as my pro is talking dance I listen and try to apply. Then correction and more coaching. Sometimes the mirror, sometimes explanations. I'm one who needs to hear something several times before it sinks in. I'll try what I'm learning at studio parties with other pros and they help with reinforcement which is great help. The other pros are always helping the students.

I've had a coach who was only interested in steps and not a lot of "coaching". Learning weight shifts and upper body alignment needs a little explanation, IMO. As long as your time is spent learning to dance and not talking about their comps it's all good.

 

[Wolfgang]

Difficult to diagnose from afar - agreed.
However, going by my experiences, teachers who spend an extraordinary amount talking rather than doing/showing do so for two reasons:
a)They are full of themselves.
b) They like your money and are marking time.

 

[kathyt cupcake]

We have one coach who usually talks and then demonstrates or talks as she demonstrates, but will actually show us what she wants us to do most of the time (for the visual learners out there). She will also do hilarious moderately exaggerated imitations of the things we are doing wrong.

We have another coach who does a lot a lot a lot more talking (for the verbal learners out there) and only occasionally off topic, but she has explained that she is trying to give us the building blocks/concepts for the dances rather than just choreography and steps. I don't think she's trying to bamboozle us and her demos are really good, and I think we actually learn a lot from the talking.

 

[QPO]

I think there always needs to be a balance, coaches need to give advice and often if you have been seeing someone for a length of time generally dance conversation can creep in. but this is also my decision and I can say well enough back to the job at hand. but I feel confident to say that some people dont

 

[fascination]

I agree with fasc...difficult to diagnose from afar. Questions come to mind...Is he the sort that just likes to hear himself speak and is taking the long way around? Is he wasting time on non-dance-related chit-chat? Or is this bonafide taking the time to address some technique fundamentals important at the beginning? Did you at any point express to him that you wanted to emphasize technique? That in itself is an invite to more talk.

I made that request early on and we spent many months in deep technique without much real dancing, but there was always physical demonstration with me of what we were working on. More recently, when I left off with my lessons, it was mostly all dancing with very little chit-chat.

Different phases, changing objectives, evolving points along the continuum of learning will naturally change the talk/dancing ratio, IME.

Also, am remembering my first instructor was very "schmoozy" and talked a great portion of each lesson on stuff that wasn't dance-related. My current pro (tho it's been months since last lesson...) has never done that. Quite unthinkable, really.

lol...what is this schmoozy phenomenon of which you speak?...:nope:

 

[BasicsFirst]

There's a coach at our studio with perhaps the longest list of accolades (and our Latin coach thinks he/she is the BEST for Standard!) I won't go to this one coach however, for your very same issue... they talk too much, and I'm a "hands on" type of learner. Tell/show me once and let me try it 3 - 5 times (or MORE), not tell me five different ways and then tell me I'm wrong on my first attempt and come up with five new ways of telling me the same thing.

 

[taylor1990]

I usually make students talk and dance at the same time. If I really need to explain something or maybe demonstrate for them how a step is done, then I might stop them for a moment, but I like to have my students talk and dance at the same time because it means that the dance is becoming more natural to them if they can do it. It means they can actually dance without having to think about the step as much. Your instructor should deffinately be able to do so as well, and since you are paying for the lessons, you should be getting what you want out of them.