Part Two: (Some of this has been edited to preserve anonymity...)
“I fear I might miss or forget something, but I'll try to address it all. Again, sorry for the lengthy message :/ Well, so, most of the teachers in my local scene do it only part-time. They usually have another occupation that puts bread on the table and I guess Lindy is something they get extra money from? There are really few teachers who rely solely on classes as a source of income - maybe 2 out of... 20, or so?
As for talking with them about my financial situation - there really isn't much I can do. I help every time with the break-down/set-up if I'm one of the few that stayed till the end or came early. And there's already someone taking care of the entrance fees and all that. As for the lessons - I agree there's always something to get out of it, and I sure as hell don't think I'm perfect or I know it all. But there's only so much Tandems or Texas Tommies I can take before I get bored to the core.
So now I had to pay a monthly fee to register again and wait for audition week to come. Even though I was told I can just transfer and that particular teacher was, and still is, aware of my abilities as a dancer. Another thing I forgot to mention is, there really isn't much room for progress. When I started out, I wished to be a teacher one day or at least be good enough to compete and/or perform.
But there's this group of "chosen ones", and no matter how hard you try, I think you'll never be part of 'the clique'. Maybe I'm wrong and looking at it only from my POV, and that's why I'm really glad I contacted you and you answered. I can see the other side of the coin now, or at least begin to grasp the idea that my teachers might not all be evil. I'm still not 100% sure what to do, but even if I quit I'll do my best to replace the classes with some at-home practice time. So thank you!^^”
No need to apologize for lengthy messages, I can be pretty verbose myself.
Rarely, in our community, (in my experience), are instructors paid for the amount of work they do. When I teach a beginner class, I spend roughly 2 hours to put that material together outside of the time I am actually teaching it. (And that’s after about 8 years of teaching those kinds of classes, it used to take longer.) When it’s an intermediate/advanced or progressive lesson series, that takes more time. When an instructor is paid for that hour of teaching, there’s a lot of work going into it outside of that one hour and that’s more or less unpaid labor. This doesn’t even begin to include the amount of time I have spent working on my own dancing, or paying for classes or private lessons so I can improve so I have a better foundation to teach from. Or the amount of time I have spent working on teaching techniques, practicing with partners so our dynamic is good, working events for free just to get my name out there, and I don’t even teach as a primary way of engaging with the community. I’m primarily an organizer. But a lot of local teachers don’t get paid anything, because the money isn’t there after paying for the venue, advertising costs, supplies, etc. So, unless there’s something more going on, or the community is vastly different where you are, I’d bet that no matter how much they make from teaching, it’s not enough for the work they have done to get there or continue to do every week.
If financial consideration isn’t possible and volunteering isn’t an option, that’s really unfortunate. I understand that there’s only so many free or discounted passes you can give out, as an organizer, but I’d always lean to the side of giving more away and figuring out how people can contribute in other ways, (at least locally, this is a little more complicated with large events).
If the instructor told you that you could move up, they should honor that, unless something drastic has changed, and then they should discuss that with you.
I also really identify with having a hard time making friends and trying to break into the inner circle. I’ll tell you that what I found when I got there in my local community was a lot of people with self-doubt and social anxiety who danced with each other because they had come up together and were comfortable. People who worried that expectations of their dancing were too high and who felt like they had to be at some unattainable best when dancing with people they weren’t close friends with. Also people who were overworked and had poured themselves into a community that they rarely got to participate in because they were so busy or tired from organizing, teaching, djing, promoting, etc. There were some assholes, sure, but that wasn’t really the bulk of it.
As far as progressing, I’d say that something that made a big difference for me was figuring out my priorities with the dance, (which sometimes change from event to event). My overall goal is that I want to help people find their voice in the dance and I want to express my own and empower others to do the same. I don’t have to teach to make that happen, but sometimes I do and that’s always really rewarding. I want to connect people to a community that I love and I want to foster a safer community that welcomes people from all kinds of backgrounds so the dance floor is filled with all kinds of unique voices.
For me, this meant that I don’t take private lessons very often anymore, I commit hard to class material for the hour I am there before putting it in my back pocket and evaluating it for myself later, I avoid teachers who critique stylistic choices or teach their style as truth, I seek out teachers who encourage self-discovery. I also avoid learning from or hiring teachers who use exclusive or offensive language or have problematic behavior and I make more of an effort to connect with people on and off the dance floor.
This is all kind of off topic, but I guess my point is that I think it’s important to determine your own priorities for the dance, outside of other people’s expectations, and then figure out which choices to make that support your goals.
If your goal is to learn and improve, then figuring out a way to practice at home, identifying people to practice with, and seeking out classes and teachers that you feel comfortable and challenged in is important.
If your goal is to be social and make friends, then connecting with people off of the dance floor and putting forth regular effort to hang out, as well as asking for lots of dances with lots of different people is important.
If teaching is a goal, then a practice/teaching partner is going to become important, but so is taking classes on material you are already comfortable with so that you can evaluate *how* it’s being taught and working on your own dancing and message for your students.
If performing is a goal, then choreographing your own mini routines, videoing your dancing, evaluating it, improving it, finding someone who will give you feedback, and then putting yourself out there are all good steps to take.
Our community is a lot of things to a lot of people, but it’s rarely all things for everyone and it really helped me to figure out what I wanted from it and then start putting my efforts in that direction.
Do you have a question? Want advice or just to get my opinion? Send it in and I’ll do my best to respond!
