how many of ht professionals and studio owners that use this site got there start (fisrt job lessons etc...)at a chain studio? and where do you think your life would have been without that start?

Hey, put this in your pipe and smoke it: If it weren't for Arthur Murray, there would be no Ballroomdancers.com.

Need any more testimonial than that?

Jonathan

sounds good

Most of the good independent teachers I have met, started in chains. Some had been with the chains a long time before going independent. We took lessons at FADS for over 5 years and were pleased with the teachers.

One teacher with no dance background, that started at the studio, ended up placing in American rythym less than 6 years after starting at the studio and being on dancing with the stars. They obviously taught Jesse more than basics .

Finally..............some good defense for the chains..........I am a very happy Fads student...........I have the best teacher!

APPLAUSE

I started at AM. Didn't like their high pressure sales tactics. It wasn't uncommon to sign up students on $10,000 contracts for 100 lessons. I regret that I took part in getting some students to sign large contracts that they couldn't really afford.

I went independent, but will admit that I use most of what I learned about dancing (the steps) from AM to teach my students. Although the AM training that I received on styling and technique was weak.

When I was a teacher at AM, I received little outside training from the Pros that would come to visit for private coachings. We did have different Pros that would come about once every 2 months. Signing up of competition students and long term AM teachers for lessons with the Pros took priority over newly trained AM teachers or new students. So I didn't receive any private training from the Pros during my first year of teaching at AM.

It wasn't until I became independent that I was exposed to lots of other Pros, which I was then able to progress much quicker on styling and technique.

For the Amat among you, there are 2 options for you if you live in the states ( and in some foreign countries ) Chain and Indies.

Chains, train for free, with contractual obligations-- Indies--YOU pay for training .

The quality, depends on the area in which you live, and the genre in which you wish to qualify .

Ive personally trained hundreds of chain school teachers ( as well as Indies ), and your point about visiting pros, is not the same in all schools. I always managed to work with the newer staff on my visits ( I usually asked for it )

I would concede, however, that the majority of trainees are not given adequate training initially, beyond an Interm. bronze level.
Many yrs ago, dance training was on a daily basis .
Some larger schools still have that regimen .- smaller schools,do not have the facility for that ,on a regular basis .

What really amazes me ?-- how the American teacher resents ( chain school )paying for his own training .
When I began coaching in the states ,many yrs ago , it was very rare if any teacher asked for private
lessons.
The notable exception-- 2 couples in a large chain, took with me on a regular basis-- both went on to be US champions ( and one was 3rd in the world )they had passed on from my hands by that time .

terence2

Not all training is free in the chain school. I only received free training from the other instructors employed in the studio at AM. When ever we had a visiting Pro for private coachings, we had to pay for the training if it was for one on one privates or if I was paired up with another instructor. The only exception is that when your student signed up for one of these private coachings with a visiting Pro, the students paid for the lesson and I just stood in as their partner while the Pro observed us dancing together. But the coaching by the Pro was mainly focused on the students.

Occasionally, the owner would pay for a lecture by the visiting Pro (musicology, so forth) for the instructors. But the owner never paid for the instructors to have one on one privates with a visiting Pro. You stated that it was rare for teachers to ask for private lessons, it because not all of us can afford to since we had to pay for the lessons.

Training for instructors (beyond the 8 week or however long they promised) at chains school is not really practicable. Sure everyone says they work as a team and will help each other out, but when it comes down to it there's almost always some obstacle, ie. lack of time from the head instructor, scheduling conflicts, differences in goals, etc. Beyond that 8 weeks, there is no mandate for the more experienced and advance instructors to train the rookies to dance better. What training the rookies will get would be more focused on selling their services. If the rookies wanted to get more dance training they have to either talk their current students into buying coaching lessons from visiting couches or pay for lessons from the coaches themselves. And most of them won't make that monetary investments since they don't make enough $$$ and their prospect is uncertain.