One thing I have noticed in NY is that amateur couples usually have one main coach but take lessons with a lot of the pros. This is not discouraged at all since all the pros take lessons with a lot of established coaches. This approach makes these amateur couples top-notch!
Pro-Am students find one pro and stick with them unless they move, etc. That pro becomes your partner and if you have the right pro, that's how they work with you (like a partnership). They push technique and showmanship because how well you do in Pro-Am competitions is directly related to them; getting other Pro-Am students, along with establishing their reputations. So, taking groups gives you an oppotunity to see how well someone teaches or observe other pros practicing with their Pro-Am students.
<dancer not from Boston>
Posted
As an experienced dancer taking a minimum of 3 privates a week - and working with multiple coaches throughout some time - THERE WAS NOT ONE COACH whom I have taken lessons from WHO DID NOT CRITICISE IN SOME SHAPE OR FORM the approach of the other teachers that I tried to implement. And in fact, the same techer can give you two opposite suggestions during the same week - do not be surprised. Oh, today you are looking too straight - bend, oh - now you are too bent, straighten out - sounds familiar? It will be up to you in the long run to figure out what is the matter of personal style, what is the matter of technique, and what is the matter of adjusting to the new person that you are dancing with. My guess is that your teacher in Boston was a great teacher and yes, to become better, you will have to learn other approaches as well - it is all part of improving.
quote: I have been lucky enough to train in New York with some very skilled coaches (from all over the world), many of whom also coach the world's top dancers (just anonymously confirming their credibility). Initially, I took lessons here in Boston with the teacher/studio-owner in question, but the New York coaches have been very discouraging about the technique I learned here, specifically from the teacher in question - pointedly so. I have had to spend signifcant time making corrections. I'm glad to do so, and one might say that the initial fault lies with me, but the same experience has befallen four or five of this Boston coach's other couples - those willing to travel to NY. And, three of the NY coaches have expressed open exasperation with the instruction of said teacher - many of them quite familiar with him.
<just checking in>
Posted
Boy, do you sound angry. I know whom you are talking about - excellent teacher, excellent dancer, and a struggling business owner. I wish I could take lessons from him and go to compete with him, but being quite far I simply can not. He really tries to get his students to be better dancers and build a dancing community. But business is business and franchising model by now really outlived itself. So why pour a bucket of dirt on the teacher who tried to teach you the best he could? If you do not like how he does things - go other places. It is your choice, after all.
quote:I started at one of those infamous franchise studios...
quote:...My suspicion is that college comps are one thing and the "next-level" of amateur is another. Yes, this teacher is the coach of a relatively succesful New England college team, but it's a case of the big fish in a small pond. And that's lovely, but any MIT dancer who takes dancing further, will be forced to revisit Dance Boot Camp 101...
I am sorry to see that "Also form Boston" sees the need to belittle the achievements of the MIT Ballroom Dance Team and the collegiate scene in general because of her personal issues against a teacher.
Very few collegiate dancers go to "Adult" Competitions. However, those that do tend to fare well. Look at the results of Yankee Classic 2004. In the amateur syllabus division, the collegiate dancers do as well as if not better than the non-collegiate dancers.
The difference lies in the open levels. Most collegiate dancers only begin dancing when they arrive at school whereas many of the other dancers may have danced for many years. In addition to that, there are very few college students that can afford to pay for the number of privates that their non-collegiate counterparts do. Certainly if you look at the pro-am portions of competitions, there are very few collegiate dancers, but those types of competitions are simply prohibitively expensive.
Although it is difficult to make a direct comparison, by extrapolation, it would seem that at least in the amateur syllabus levels, the more accomplished dancers in collegiate comps are not inferior to their adult counterparts.
Although using the word "relative" to qualify the success of our team is technically correct, it has a diminutive implication which I suspect was intentional. Our results in competitions (INCLUDING the Yankee Classic) are at http://mitbdt.mit.edu/DanceFloor/discuss.pl?id=143 . I would dare say that the qualification of "relative" is not necessary.
quote:the New York coaches have been very discouraging about the technique I learned here, specifically from the teacher in question
One of the couples on our team takes lessons regularly in New York from someone who is highly regarded as a coach and STILL contines to take lessons from our coach here. This suggests that there is some value in what our coach has to say, contrary to the impression "Also in Boston" is trying to portray.
Different teacher have different teaching styles and no style is appropriate for everybody. Just because it doesn't work for a few individuals doesn't mean it is bad instruction.
quote:I would consider this to be mistreatment of his college students as well, since any profit should have been farmed back to the team.
This quote is referring to the sale of VIP tickets. I had already discussed this once before. Suffice to say there was no mistreatment as the potential profits by the studios buying tickets was intended to be the incentive for them to buy them in the first place.
quote:...as previously described. I know.
"I know"???? I'd like to request that "Fed up" and "Also from Boston" (and whatever other names they may want to go by) stop making inaccurate claims involving the MIT Ballroom Dance Team. You obviously have an interest in the dance world but I find it intriguing how two middle aged women with no ties to the collegiate dance scene can claim that they know more about us than we do.
And if you decide to continue with your defamation of any teacher, leave us out of it.
um, i'm confused. i didn't know MIT had a main coach. i thought i read in past posts that there were a number of different teachers including warren dew who started this program at MIT?
<latin only>
Posted
quote:Originally posted by catchup: um, i'm confused. i didn't know MIT had a main coach. i thought i read in past posts that there were a number of different teachers?
MIT uses a variety of coaches to cover various areas of training, both paid professionals and advanced team members/affiliates. Last I heard the the latin program had a single professional who approaches the status of head coach for purposes of that style.
I'm from NY and a friend of mine who goes on dance forums all the time told me about the topics being discussed here.
I've been dancing International Latin for over ten years in Manhattan, with the last six of those years in Pro-Am Open. I've always danced with current professionals. Here are a just a few of the advantages of dancing with a "current" professional. Over the years styles have changed, some minor, some major and my teachers have always been on the cutting edge of those changes. Some changes have even occurred in the way syllabus steps are danced. Yet another and extremely important advantage is, current professionals are always receiving coaching from top-level people. For instance, over the past year my teacher has had coaching with Colin James in Poland, Donnie Burns, Alan Thornsburg and Shirley Ballas in London. Those of you "in the know" realize that these people are among the top coaches in the world of Latin dance. All that information is then, over time passed onto me. You can't believe how important this is to your dancing technique unless you've experienced it.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that retired professionals can't do the same thing, but is yours? Only you can answer that question by asking them whom they take lessons with, how often and how long have they been receiving coaching. If they are keeping their skills up by taking lessons throughout the years with major coaches, then they too can be just as informed and up-to-date.
Another advantage with taking lessons with a "current" professional is, they are "still dancing." When a teacher is dancing daily with a partner, they are taking all the information they receive, putting it into practical application and experiencing the same things you do when applying information. Again, better for you!
Of course there is one disadvantage for me, such as, my teacher being in Europe during a major Pro-Am competition. Even this isn't the end of the world given there are so many competitions to chose from.
Bottom line; enjoy your dancing! Make sure you are getting value for your money, which is up-to-date informed instruction.
<kudo>
Posted
I must say that I'm really enjoying reading dancescape again! For a while, some of the college kids seemed to take over.
I feel the same way about taking lessons as I do about learning in my profession. When I can, I take seminars and courses that are offered by independent consulting companies. There are a lot of experts in different fields and I try to listen to what each says, and then decide how that applies to my work.
I think it's the same with dancing. It's not like math where there is a right answer. It's learning from your own experience as well as others. I take from one main coach and supplement through visiting coaches, usually from those that he brings in. I like a more team approach and my main coach discusses with me my lessons and then gives me more input about it.
I really think that, especially for independent studios and even contract studios, there are a lot of teachers who do care, so I wouldn't be too hard on any coach.
quote:Originally posted by kudo: I must say that I'm really enjoying reading dancescape again! For a while, some of the college kids seemed to take over.
Hahhaha. Thing is, some of them weren't even kids (if kid is defined as college-age or lower). And I even think that some of them aren't even really gone.
