Point taken...mastery was a bad choice of words. I mean he isn't working on technique, and I want to work on technique and when I ask he says my technique is fine, and I know it isn't. For example...he has introduced me to the Margarita 7 times, each time like I have never heard of it before. Same thing with guapacha timing...and asked for almost $10,000 in the last month...it seems excesive.

It is excessive. I'd stop taking lessons from him.

And you don't have to move anywhere to get decent dance instruction (although you may have to drive a ways if there is no one very near you). There are many thousands of people who take their dancing seriously and work hard to improve their technique, with no plans to make it to the top of professional dancing and without sacrificing everything else in their lives.

Besides going to a local competition, you can also check the Dance Directory here and on accessdance.com for independent studios in your city.

Belle. I am not saying you do this. There are people in the dancing world who have moved body and soul to another part of the country or even another part of the world. There was a couple featured as part of a profile in an International IDSF competition. how the parents of this girl sent her from Siberia to Moscow to further her dancing career and to find a partner. It was cute how in broken English she said Nobody speak me. What she meant was she new nobody. But before i packed my bags and moved to Europe or anywhere else i would get an experts advice and ask Do you think i am good enough. If they say yes then go for it.

"But before i packed my bags and moved to Europe or anywhere else i would get an experts advice and ask Do you think i am good enough. If they say yes then go for it.":

Nonsense.

If you are a younger adult, physically fit, and determined, you are good enough to achieve international note, PROVIDED that you get yourself to a good teacher and really, really work hard.

Your ability to do that is not something that can be evaluated until someone actually sees you attempt it. The people who succede are not those with the theoretical best potential; they are those who lead the lives most practical for enabling their dancing.

Nobody's dreams are ruined by being a bad dancer; only by being a bad student, or being forced by life circumstances to drop out.

Anonymouse I think you have missed the point by not understanding your own writting. You wrote provided you get yourself to a good teacher. Where are the good teachers. If they are not where you live and the competitions are also not where you live what do you do. Read the original thread.
This is a real live account. This couple had moderate success , they were a married couple which made it easier. They moved lock stock and barrel to a city 700 miles away. The profession involved in this told me personaly. After they had made all the arrangements he was asked for his opinion. He said i didn't have the heart to tell them that in his opinion they just weren't good enough. They went and stayed for a couple of years, then came back home. They gave up dancing completely after turning profession for a spell. I've never seen them as a spectator at a competition ever since they got back. They don't teach either. The professional said the main reason why he didn't think it was a good idea was they were doing Latin and she was getting heavier by the minute. She had a weight problem and was turning into a barrel. Also if as a lady your legs are towards the thin side or skinny. Don't do Latin as a competitor. Hard comment ,yes . Reality also yes.

"Anonymouse I think you have missed the point by not understanding your own writting. You wrote provided you get yourself to a good teacher. Where are the good teachers. If they are not where you live and the competitions are also not where you live what do you do. Read the original thread."

In a word, you move where they are.

Without taking that chance, and trying things with the kind of teacher who has a history of creating champions, there is no way to improve on the kind of go/no-go deteremination that a non-expert could make: do you have the time? the general physical fitness? the deteremination? Simple questions like that are all that can be asked until the experiment is tried.

"He said i didn't have the heart to tell them that in his opinion they just weren't good enough."

In that case he is eaither incompetent as a teacher, or he mis-spoke and what he really meant to say is "they are not committed enough".

The point of a teacher is not to tell someone how to do what they are a supposed "natural" at, it is to teach them how to do what they DO NOT know how to.

"They gave up dancing completely after turning profession for a spell."

Then they didn't have the "need" to succede, without which high level achievement is impossible. If you can walk away, then it's not for you.

"She had a weight problem and was turning into a barrel."

Physical fitness is a requirement, any bloke off the street can tell you that. It can also be addressed in most cases.

There's a competition in Phoenix in September, the Galaxy Dance Festival (google to find its website).

Check the schedule and find out when dancers at your level will be competing and go as a spectator. The program will tell you which pros are from your area. Watch them and their students and see whose dancing you like and whose students place best. Go to the instructor you like best.

John Berry!! He is in the Phoenix area, and very good at creating champions. He has won numerous national top teacher awards. I dont know how full he is right now, but it would be worth looking him up.

Email: berrydance@cox.net

I agree. My daughters did high level competitive gymnastics for 17 years and a good deal of their practice time was spent on basics. Boring as it may be, I love when my teacher drills basics, I know that he understands the importance of this and in the long run it will make me a better competitor. Judges of all kinds appreciate great technique

Jim Maranto is in the Phoenix area as well. I know that he has worked with partners of varying heights and has created MANY MANY champion level dancers. I also know from experience, that his teaching methods are sound and even though I only get sporadic coaching from him, he has a memory that won't quit and he remembers EVEYTHING he's ever said!!! He and his former professional partner (with whom he won two US titles) teach out of the Academy of Ballroom Dance.