"The message I keep getting from one of the writers is its a waste of time and money to dance with a teacher."

It all depends on the circumstances. There really are a lot of people wasting money paying teachers to dance with them in ways that aren't doing much to improve their dancing - there is a whole industry structured around providing that. On the other hand, there are people paying teachers to instruct them in such a frame-on manner and learning good things from it.

Similarly, much of the money spent on paying teachers to dance with their students in pro/am competitions is wasted. But some of it is the best option available to the student under the circumstances - especially those who may have taken up ballroom later in life. And in a very few cases, it can be a good way for someone to get the dancing and competing experience they need to move between two clusters of the adult amateur population (one consisting of relative beginners, the other of those who are professional in all but name, with comparatively fewer anywhere in between).

Anonymous. We have to take into consideration that for some , mainly the ladies because of the lack of male dancers,, if they want to dance a little more seriously there is no other option but to dance Pro/Am. They then are part of this world of dancing. Can that be bad. To some money is no object. I could site this case of this lady who pays all the bills. She and her Professional partner flew like some 10.000 miles each way to the USA and back to compete in a comp held in Ohio. Like I said she pays the bills. If thats what she wants to do then I and others should mind our own business. In the words of the film. That's Dancing.

"We have to take into consideration that for some , mainly the ladies because of the lack of male dancers,, if they want to dance a little more seriously there is no other option but to dance Pro/Am."

That's what I was alluding to when I wrote:

"some of it is the best option available to the student under the circumstances - especially those who may have taken up ballroom later in life."

However, it can't be ignored that this effective expectation that ladies in a certain age bracket will do pro/am if they want to dance doesn't exactly help with the development amateur men in that age bracket. There probably wouldn't be enough of them to go around anyway, but the assumption tends to limit the interest.

"To some money is no object. I could site this case of this lady who pays all the bills. She and her Professional partner flew like some 10.000 miles each way to the USA and back to compete in a comp held in Ohio."

People paying premium prices at top competitions presumably are somewhat aware of the range of options, and so if they choose the most costly form of pro/am that's their right. The concern/criticism is more when forms of pro/am that are outrageously overpriced for their value are pushed on students who are too new or too isolated in a small town to know that they are getting taken for a ride (financially speaking).
An issue that came up earlier in the debate is that the parts of the dance industry that practice this may be not only uninterested, but actually incapable of effectively training an amateur couple - if a middle aged husband and wife walk in the door, they get steered into separate pro/am not only because it's more lucrative, but because the knowledge to develop them together and help them navigate the challenges they would face is actually lacking.

The one major portion of this never ending debate ( no winners ), is to realise that in all schools that teach 1 on 1, that 95 % of the student body NEVER get involved in the world of comp.
Pragmatism rules.. there will never be enough male partners to meet the demands thrust upon ALL schools; I have the same problem in my classes here.

The "system" fulfills a need, like it or not.. I would prefer to teach only couples ( all pros would ) but in the real world ( unless you are dealing with top Comp couples ) there would not be sufficient business ( it is a business ) to sustain full time employment.

That has been the problem with the system in the UK for ever. ( with few exceptions )and even in class work, most teachers here will not take singles .

I assume that by "all pros" you mean those in the UK.

There are many pros around here who teach nothing but singles. There are, in fact, some who make their living taking the same four or five women to competition after competition.

There may be no winners in this debate but there certainly are losers: the students who spend a lot of money and still don't learn to dance.



jj

First, i should define the word " Prof. "...

that is not to say that those that teach 1 on 1 and are paid for their services, are not pros,.. but.. we need to split that into 2 categ... the Qualif. in all divisions teachers, who may be in a situation where it is not necessary, and those who are on the bottom rung of the ladder... and yes... I have NEVER met a Prof. in all my 50 plus yrs of teaching, that would prefer 1 on 1 to a couple.. do we do it , yes..because sometimes circumstance dictates .

To answer your Q about the UK.. the majority ( Im guessing ) still do not teach 1 on 1 .

Terence2. Dancing 1 to 1 is fine. But it is not possible to see the mistakes dancing 1 to 1. It takes a third person to do this. Going by feel alone is not good enough to produce a competent dancer.

"Terence2. Dancing 1 to 1 is fine. But it is not possible to see the mistakes dancing 1 to 1. It takes a third person to do this. Going by feel alone is not good enough to produce a competent dancer."

It depends on what the mistake is.

Very often it is readily apparent that something is wrong, but it may take seeing from the outside to identify precisely what the root cause is. Fortunately there are many ways to accomplish that - mirrors, videos, borrowing another teacher for a minute (a commonly traded favor, regardless if the students are a single or a couple), or scheduling a second teacher to participate.

jofjonesboro. "Ten Cents A Dance". A song written by Rogers and Hart in 1930 about a Taxi Dancer.
You are perfectly correct in what you have written. But the point is they are dancing. I would believe they are also enjoying themselves having there lessons and competing. Short of there being no Pro/Am comps in the USA it is here to stay, as I beleive it is in Japan. I doubt it will ever be popular where I live, and Terence might tell us the situation in the UK. I never see in Australia or the UK any results being published for any Pro/Am competition. German Teacher might let us know what goes on in Germany. Are there any Russians or Italians who can add to this.

"But the point is they are dancing. I would believe they are also enjoying themselves having there lessons and competing. Short of there being no Pro/Am comps in the USA it is here to stay"

The whole essence of the thread is however that there are both ethical and unethical practices going on under the name of pro/am. It comes in so many different forms that categorical statements are essentially impossible.