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 [Dance Tips - Menu]  

          (10/22/2007 22:34 wh)

How to Pick a Dance Instructor....

Dance Tip of the week:

Too often a dance instructor is chosen by observing them dance and making the decision based on their ability to dance. Choosing a teacher like this is like finding the best tennis pro to teach you a basic game or the best golf pro to teach you how to knock off 18 holes on Saturday. Learning how to dance and learning how to improve your dancing is done best when you have an instructor that you can learn from. The best dancer in the country may or may not be able to teach YOU. If you are looking to learn to or improve your dance try to follow the tips below.

1. Realize what level you are in. If you are a competitor and are seeking to hone and refine your skills you need a coach rather than a teacher. If you are a beginner you need a teacher who can relate to the basics and new dancers.

2. Determine what your immediate goal is in dancing. If you are interested in competition then you need a teacher or coach well versed in the skills needed to bring you up to a competition level. If your goal is to become a recreational or social dancer then you need to connect with someone who can explain lead/follow technique, floor craft and dance etiquette.

3. Be truthful about what how fast you can progress. Most dancers need a little pushing but too much can lead to a set back. Some students can handle twice weekly lessons. Most take lessons once weekly and a few can only take them infrequently. Don't waste money on more lessons before absorbing previous lessons.

4. Determine how much practice time you can afford to set aside. If you cannot practice at least two hours for each hour of lessons (more or less depending on the difficulty level) then you may need to consider taking group classes and workshops only. At least you can practice with a fellow student.

5. Is the teacher well prepared? A good instructor has a lesson plan prepared that has been proven to work within the allotted time. Lesson should include review and should progress.

6. Is the teacher a positive person? A teacher who can only tell you that you are doing badly will soon grow tiresome. A teacher who offers praise and constructive criticism will make lessons easier to handle. A teacher who yells at or threatens a student needs to be fired immediately.

7. Is the teacher clean and well groomed. I don't need to elaborate, but when you are taking lessons the fewer distractions the better.

8. Does the teacher know the subject? The teacher does not have to be the best dancer but they do need to be well versed in the dance field. They should not only know enough moves and patterns to keep the lessons moving but also should know the technique involved.

When Judy and I attend a competition, ball or showcase where there are demonstrations we always hear the comment when the best dancers are on the floor. "I wish I could take lessons from them" We don't! We want to take lessons from the teacher who taught that couple. Behind every great athlete or performer is a great coach. Seek them out.

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Thought for a day...Freedom is Never Free

Freedom is Never Free - Author unknown

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

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[ USABDA - A Good Dance Organization ] [ Shall We Dance? ] [ A Man's Dance Frame Affects You and Your Partner ] [ Dancing Can Be Soooo Technical - or Not... ] [ Dancing is Too Nice of an Activity Not to Enjoy It!!! ] [ Physics as applied to dancing: ] [ Music and Culture Shock. ] [ Do-it-Yourself Suede Sole Shoes. ] [ Dancing Fluid Motion. ] [ Words of advice and a puzzle ] [ Line of dance (LOD) and etiquette. ] [ Moving and turning with balance. ] [ Spice up your dancing - listen to the music ] [ Leading and following. ] [ The lady's role in dancing. ] [ connection between leader & follower ] [ Tips for better dancing. ] [ Learning to dance. ] [ Learn the language of dance. ] [ Moves, Patterns, and Choreography . ] [ Attitudes, in life and in dancing. ] [ Dance frame and posture ] [ Why go out dancing, and what are your goals. ] [ Social Dancing Improves Social Skills. ] [ Places to Dance, the good, the bad, and the ugly. ] [ How to practice for different dance levels. ] [ What, exactly, is a Country and Western dancer? ] [ Is that a Rumba, a Cha, or a NC2? ] [ Plateaus in learning ] [ Bad Habits for Men, Ladies, and Dance Places ] [ What is a dance event? ] [ Things to do and plan for at Weekend-Long Dance events. ] [ Things I have Learned in Dancing ] [ Taking care of your feet. ] [ Dance to the music. ] [ Keeping your Balance ] [ The Melody Sets the Mood ] [ Another dozen abstract thoughts somehow related to dancing ] [ Dancing the right way! (My point of view) ] [ New Dancers and Learning Dancers ] [ Dance Etiquette, from a Lady's point of view ] [ Close Encounters - of the Dancing Kind ] [ Couple dancing frustrations ] [ Moms and Dads ] [ Learning to Dance; Through the eyes of a beginner ] [ Dancing While Traveling: ] [ Slow Dancing: Not so easy ] [ Dangerous Drivers ] [ Syncopation ] [ Phrasing your dance to the music ] [ Phrasing your dance to the music ] [ Social dancing ] [ Defensive Dancing ] [ Be aware of dancers around you ] [ To really learn to dance; teach a beginner ] [ Dance with your body, not your feet ] [ Body Mechanics in Dancing: (Bipeds Dancing?) ] [ Slow learner? Fast Learner? ] [ What are you doing before the "one" beat? ] [ Our dancing universe is both smaller and larger... ] [ What's the next trend in couples dancing? ] [ Four steps to becoming a successful Social Dancer. ] [ Heel Turns in Waltz and Foxtrot ] [ Contra-Body Motion (CBM) and Contra-Body Movement Position (CBMP) in Dancin ] [ Isaac Newton's First Law of motion in Dancing ] [ More Things I Have Learned While Dancing, By Walter ] [ Strict Dance Tempo Music VS Social Dance Music ] [ Open Dance Group Lessons - Closed Dance Group Lessons ] [ Mastering West Coast Swing (WCS) Connections ] [ Elements of Couple Dancing ] [ Finding Dance Music for Practicing ] [ Country and Western Couple Dancing (men) ] [ Social Dancing Improves Social Skills (2) ] [ Memorial Day... Freedom isn't Free ] [ How to choose a dance instructor, Dance Tips, Norfolk, VA beach, Chesapeake, Southside Tidewater ] [ How do you appear to others ] [ Getting in your partners (and others) way ] [ Dance group etiquette: To ask or not? Mixing Dance Partners? ] [ Dance group etiquette: To ask or not? Mixing Dance Partners? (Part 2) ] [ Lead and Follow Reaction Time in Dancing ] [ Stationary, or "spot" dance turns: .. Watch that shoulder! ] [ Dance Group Classes... Bring a Friend, or Even Just a "Casual Acquaintance" Dancer ] [ Differences in How Dancers Approach Dancing. Enjoy Dancing! ] [ Ten Inexpensive ways to improve your dancing quickly! ] [ Ten ways to destroy your dancing quickly! ] [ Reliance - in Dancing - and in Life ] [ Dancing? I Probably Forgot Everything... ] [ Dancing your way to fitness and health. ]