Top Teacher Awards

Status
Not open for further replies.
I don't really understand this "pressuring the student" thing. It's not like anyone can make me spend money I don't have. In a completely hypothetical situation, if an instructor told me I have to dance a minimum of 100 heats with them so they could get top teacher, and I could only afford 20, I wouldn't be competing for a while. I'd save money, until I could dance what is required by the pro, if I felt the value was worth it. I currently dance 1-3 pro-am comps a year. That is all I can afford. If my pro wants the top teacher award, good for her, the best I can contribute to her pool is about 20 heats. She can take it or leave it. I will have no hard feelings either way. It's the pro's business, it's my money, and I realize I'm a small potatoes pro-am student.
 
Mengu said:
In a completely hypothetical situation, if an instructor told me I have to dance a minimum of 100 heats with them so they could get top teacher, and I could only afford 20, I wouldn't be competing for a while.
Click to expand...

Somehow, I doubt that's how the pressure would be applied.
 
each situation is different....and should be evaluated that way...it is true that no student is forced to dance that many heats...it is also true that not every area has a plethora of high quality instructors from which to choose such that a student who wants to be really good may feel a great deal of pressure to pacify a stern instructor for whom that sort of thing is a priority. They may go to financial extremes to avoid unpleasantness for not agreeing to dance a number of heats because they may not feel that they have skilled options geographically available....for me, I liked to dance numerous heats but not beyond my capacity to do them well, but sometimes I did because I didn't want to experience the fallout....I am not blaming anyone but I do feel that those top teacher goals did impact my performance at times and I didn't always feel as though there was a better option...shrug...That being said, as a general rule, I strongly dislike threads like this because they always feel a bit like specialized whining threads...whether it be the top teacher/student threads, the sand bagging threads, the judging politics threads, the dancing cost threads, etc....We aren't in dance heaven...this isn't where all kinds of fairness and ideal circumstances abide....you accept what you can't change, you change what you can, and you don't waste good practice time whining about it....(my modification of the serenity prayer)
 
as to instructors requiring comps....I have had instructors who didn't care, I have had instructors who required a few particular comps and expected numerous heats there....I have had instructors who would pretty much go wherever I wanted if they could and I have had instructors who had definite comps that they wanted to do each year and definite ones where, due to marks or past issues, they would not go under any circumstance....for me, the key has always been candor...if you know what you are signing on for, you can weigh the pros and cons...unfortunately many folks don't know which questions to ask when they choose a pro and then are too invested to make a change by the time they become aware of practices they don't care for
 
I will say one good thing for the top teacher stuff....it can get an instructor who otherwise has has no previous notice, greater attention...what they do with it is another matter....but it can get you noticed
 
Most ams get that blurry, distant look in their eyes when they are confronted with questions like "how can you dance 100 heats and maintain quality of dance"...
 
my experience was that, at least at a higher level, I couldn't do more than 5 sets consecutive without a drop in quality on some of the dances...and, if you were at a big comp with numerous callbacks, it just wasn't wise to do more per style, per day, particularly if the multis were later, because I'd be so sore... it was not common to see people who were doing a lot to dial it back and barely dance in the beginning sets...may be smart as the pro...I don't know...but as the person paying for the dancing, I want to dance my best each time I pay to dance.
 
Bailamosdance said:
No, I mean 100 heats a day, or in the case of one person, bragging about 500....
Click to expand...

Yikes to both of those (assuming the 500 is over 2-3 days even).

50 is my physical limit. I'm aware of someone that danced ~150 in one day (no young pup either).... it's one of the reasons (among others) I don't do that studio event... that is way too much time on the floor potentially watching one person. I believe this person was signed up for about 100 heats at the last comp I went to... and when the instructor found out that most of them were scheduled on Day 1, the instructor convinced (coerced?) the student to sign up for 45 more the next day.
 
the most I ever did was once I did about 320 over 4 days...and it was way too much especially because it was at a comp with numerous callbacks...due to the callbacks, even over 4 days it was bloody feet and blisters and the last style definitely paid...like I said, if you are mailing it in I suppose there is no real limit to how many I could do...but why?...I mean, the pro has a financial incentive, but it never amounts to much for the student.....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top