That is the first time I heard that all teachers of FA or AM has competition experience. I guess it all varies by location a lot.

If that is the norm in your area I will have to revise my opinion on the chains.

I will still have issue with the promotion of Pro-Am dancing though. It makes learning expensive and prevents the formation of (amateur) dance partnerships.

Matyas
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Sorry for the misunderstanding Matyas I will clarify about the AM studio I am referring to...not ALL of the instructors compete or have competition experience before they begin teaching. We have 3 instructors that compete-both as professionals and pro/am. The other instructors do not compete nor did they compete prior to becoming teachers.

I've been a student at an Arthur Murray studio for about 2 years and my own personal observations of "teachers in training" at the AM studio where I attend are as follows... there has been about 6 teachers(male and female combined)that were hired and 5 have been terminated in that time period. Having said that, I believe those terminated were not meeting the expectations of the owner/manager for example, students didn't want them as their teacher, they did not get along well with staff/supervisors, they couldn't learn to dance or teach dance quickly enough etc. or the image they presented didn't fit the AM image.

The one teacher (still employed) was an AM student about 1 year before getting hired as a teacher in training. Other teachers working there long term (also those competing) it seems were previous AM students for a few years with lots of previous dance experience(ballet, jazz etc) and then applied to become teachers and have been working about 5 years since they were hired.

You must remember that AM is a profit driven business and you will be expected to progress quickly, work very hard, and your pay will be very little given that you are getting $$$'s worth of dance lessons.You probably won't be subsidized by the studio to compete as a pro for at least a few years(or until you are able to generate adequate $$$ for the business)

Didn't you get terms of employment by your AM supervisor about expectations?Also remember, you must have had enough skill/personality that they were willing to invest in you by hiring you in the first place. I think if you're a hard worker, motivated, likable and have the ability to dance and learn quickly you will be successful.
Good luck!

This posting causes me to question the quality of instruction at studios such as this one. Given the relatively high cost of dance lessons, is it really fair for studios to "subject" their students to instructors who are anything other than experienced, excellent teachers and former or current competitors??

I have no problem with newbie instructors like these teaching, so long as

1) Their students know that the teacher is just a recent graduate of the training program and hasn't been teaching or competing for long (if at all).

2) The prices are lower for newbie teachers than for experienced ones.

If the conditions above aren't met, then to me it seems like a kind of secret rip off. In high-profile hair salons, for instance, the "apprentice" stylists charge less than the top star stylists. After all, you're paying for someone's experience, and the lower price would be a way to entice someone to try a potentially talented new teacher or stylist.

There are a lot of people out there who don't know and don't really care if their teacher has competed or how well they did, so a teacher's competition record is not the sole measure of their worth as a teacher -- particularly for some social dancers and "wedding couples" who come in for six weeks and then never enter a dance studio again.

This last post had good points about the value of dance lessons from these new instructors... and also just because one is a great and/or experienced competitior does NOT necessarily make them a good teacher of dance!!!

At my studio, usually the new trained teachers get the students who purchase the introductory(1/2 price) package and depending on the goals,abilities and/or number of lessons that that student agrees to if they sign up for another contract may determine whether they move to a more experienced teacher or remain with the new instructor. I've seen new students that have previous dance experience and purchase huge #'s of lessons will ask to have a more experienced teacher, or more than likely the studio automatically assigns them to one. But as the other post mentions, if the contract is just for social dance or enough dance experience for a wedding...the new instructors are perfectly capable to teach.

Well everyone has to start somewhere. As I said I would not be teaching for several months, I will go through extensive training and camps. also I do have dance experience, just not professional. I have begun training on the side with a professional and former dance professor at the USABDA and have purchased many videos and studied many dance sites. Keep in mind also that people who have extensive competition experience usually do not teach in studios as they make more money performing or owning their own studio with a staff that teaches. I think I will be top quality and would not dare charge unless I felt 100% competant by the standards set by USABDA and hope your message doesn't discourage others to train in franchise studios with trainees like me.

What standards for teachers has USABDA set? I'm just curious -- I've heard there's a certification exam, but I don't know anyone who has taken it.

I am too new to answer but I hope some other experienced instructors can answer, I start training Monday, but am going to a USADBA sponsered social dance and teaching event tommorow.

What an interesting topic. Thanks for starting it.
My wife and I are just starting out, and we decided on an AM studio. We couldn't be happier. I don't know where our teachers are on the scale of things -- but they kick out butts when it comes to dancing! We are doing real well too. I think it is encouraging for them when they get students that they think can, well, do it. We are doing our study at the Woodland Hills studio in California. Perhaps it is exceptional; I know that the franchise owners are coming from one of the top ranked AM spots. But all our teachers are tremendous (and amazingly lovely!). We consider the experience well worth what we are spending (signed up for 1 year of bronze instruction). Another thing we like about the AM experience is that we always have a place to go dancing on our date night where we can really dance! We have our instruction and then stick around for the party. I can't tell you how worthwhile this is to us. We would have spent the money going to dinner, or a show, or a movie -- instead, we rhumba. Our romance has gone up tremendously, and we are getting some dang good exercise.

So, if you are on the AM track, my best wishes. You are providing an important service that helps people like my wife and I. Good for you!