Six Week Wonders

[samina]

am beginning to gather info about the various issues related to becoming a "six week wonder", and i believe there are quite a few on the boards here who know the ins and outs of that phenomenon. am hoping you will share whatever knowledge and feedback you have on the subject. i am wondering if following such a path would be a helpful choice toward achieving my own dance goals... there's a lot to consider in that at this point.

for starters, is this something that both of the major franchises tend to do, or is it more common in just one of them?

what kind of training is commonly provided, both prior to releasing a new instructor to teach as well as on-going. do we know if this tends to vary, or if there's a general trend?

i would imagine they do seek dancers with some experience for these positions... or naturally talented young people. feedback on that?

that's all for starters... tho i do have other questions in the back of my mind.

please feel free to interject your own concerns or questions on the subject.

 

[jump'n'jive]

i was a six week wonder 9 years ago. i had never danced before or even thought of it. i signed up for a training class at a fads and the rest is history. i will say i learned alot about sales and dealing with people moreso then dancing. the school that taught me, taught me the bare minium to actually start to teach people./ it wasnt until i actually liked dancing and decided i wanted to dance competitively that i start to care about theroy, technique etc...
the training was pretty basic. learn the mans and womens part. understand some basic theroy enough to explain it to someone else. started off teaching free lessons to current students to get comfortable with it. then it was strickly front end all new students.
i have been with fads and am and they both do the training courses. also now with the dvida ballroom dance teachers college its the same thing, except you have to pay for the ballroom dance college. i have trained and taught all three of the systems. i will say the six week wonders are only as good as the people training you. so if you are thinking about doing it, find someone very knowledgable thats hosting one and go that route. just be prepared for alot of sales techniques and personality training vs dancing.
i strongly believe that this industry is only as good as what you put into it. if you want the knowledge and want to be a good teacher you will seek the knowledge to do so. if you just want to be a better dancer, you will seek out the best coaches.

 

[samina]

thank you for that great feedback, jump'n'jive. i really appreciate it.

so lemme ask you... the trainings, are they done individually by each studio? or at a central training area for that franchise?

 

[samina]

thank you, larinda. i know that it was a great launching-off point for you.

what about one's contract with the studio... payment, hours, benefits... limits against studying outside the studio. is there a trend with these? for example, full-time commitment, always including the practice parties, usually including bennies... or not? do these instructors tend to be paid hourly or on salary?

are there things you would recommend especially watching out for when it comes to signing a contract. items you would recommend having added? wondering what years of hindsight and many years in the industry have taught the two of you (and other similar pros...)

ETA: not taking this as legal advice... just feedback from personal experience.

 

[JANATHOME]

I am not very good at the search function but I do remember some time back there was a thread which was about a fellow who was considering coming from out of country to teach at a FADS studio.... I recall this because at the time we danced at a FADS studio and found it to be pretty acurate. It had some very good information that might help you. Sorry, I just dont remember the name of the thread, perhaps someone else will.

 

[Terpsichorean Clod]

You might find some somewhat-related info here: Dancing with a six-week wonder.

 

[Terpsichorean Clod]

I am not very good at the search function but I do remember some time back there was a thread which was about a fellow who was considering coming from out of country to teach at a FADS studio.... I recall this because at the time we danced at a FADS studio and found it to be pretty acurate. It had some very good information that might help you. Sorry, I just dont remember the name of the thread, perhaps someone else will.

http://danceforums.com/showthread.php?p=334345

 

[Ray Sison]

You might find some somewhat-related info here: Dancing with a six-week wonder.

TC, you never cease to amaze us all with your ability to conjure up info from the coffers! :cheers:

 

[Angel HI]

I was fortunate... had a ballroom dancing, doctor dad, a violin/saxophone playing mom, a theatrical jazz dancing older brother. Got into BR accidentally while studying classical theatre. Most importantly, and more to the thread, had several great coaches, and a main coach who; was way ahead of her time, understood the difference/s in dance/dance movement, insisted that I learn music and kinesthetics, and told me after winning at a rather prestigious comp, to quit. She said that I was a very meticulous and knowledgable dancer, and though I loved to win, of course, did not have the winning attitude. she told me to be a coach. That's what I have trained for all of my career.

Incidentally, this is really good.....

...i strongly believe that this industry is only as good as what you put into it. if you want the knowledge and want to be a good teacher you will seek the knowledge to do so. if you just want to be a better dancer, you will seek out the best coaches.

 

[nimmity]

There's loads of information here and on other threads about student experiences of six-week wonders and their positives and negatives.

Can anyone tell us about what its like to BE a six-week wonder?
I'm looking into it having danced for a few years (so not a wonder in the true sense) and want to know what I could expect in terms of:

Training in teaching (I am a teacher but teaching dance is very different from teaching physics!)
dance training
Contracts (what if I hate it?)
Money (I know its bad but how bad?)
The differences between independent and franchise.

If there is a thread on this please just point me in the right direction!

 

[Terpsichorean Clod]

There's loads of information here and on other threads about student experiences of six-week wonders and their positives and negatives.

Can anyone tell us about what its like to BE a six-week wonder?
I'm looking into it having danced for a few years (so not a wonder in the true sense) and want to know what I could expect in terms of:

Training in teaching (I am a teacher but teaching dance is very different from teaching physics!)
dance training
Contracts (what if I hate it?)
Money (I know its bad but how bad?)
The differences between independent and franchise.

If there is a thread on this please just point me in the right direction!

I think you might find some useful links here: http://www.danceforums.com/showthread.php?p=546052.

 

[nimmity]

Wonderful, thank you.

 

[JANATHOME]

I am quite happy to be a student forever. However last yr my SIL was getting married and they did not have the funds for dance instruction. So I had a single lesson with my instuctor putting together a simple rumba for them with thier music. Instructor was great in giving me tips on how to teach them.

After dancing myself a good 15 years I found it was in fact quite difficult to teach someone, how to get all of my knowledge communicated to them.. How much or how little information to give. It gave me such an appreciation that to teach dance is an art in itself. I really dont know how anyone can acquire this skillset in 6 weeks!

 

[chachachacat]

Can anyone tell us about what its like to BE a six-week wonder?
YES

Training in teaching (I am a teacher but teaching dance is very different from teaching physics!)
dance training
Contracts (what if I hate it?)
Money (I know its bad but how bad?)
The differences between independent and franchise.

If there is a thread on this please just point me in the right direction!

Traning in teaching itself: there was a teacher's training manual that was very helpful. Also,the manager taught us the same way she would her students, with all her jokes and tricks. First studio I trained at - NADA. Most training is in sales, memorizing Free Intro. Lesson procedures and A/B (two free lessons.) They want verbatim parroting.
Contracts: Mainly for them, but unlikely they will take anyone to court.
Everyone steals students when they leave. If you hate it, you just quit.
Money: SUCKS. $5 per hour in the '80's.

Franchises are a good place to learn and train. You can't just pop into being an independent teacher. Independence is great, rent floor space, no manager, keep almost all your big fees. But there's no one feeding you students. It takes experience to go indy.

My training was 3 months, five nights a week, four hours a night. 10 steps in 10 dances. That's 250+ hours, not exactly a 6 week wonder.

But it was all worth it, working two jobs the first few years, because I love teaching dancing!