I was hoping you'd pipe in! I happen to be another "example" of a pro/am who can "keep up" with my professional partner (thanks to patience, diligence, skill, and intelligence). There are many more.

Okay, so I pipe in...knowing full well the danger to my own life. LOL.

This is an experiential not a factual account of my dancing experience.

I had four flipping lousy, sucky terrible pros. In the middle of that I still advanced and made progress because it mattered to me, and I snuck in coachings with a great female dancer who reworked some of my bad habits. I was very concerned because the pro I was affiliated with after my first year was a trainer for studios in the area and so I ended up driving wherever he was teaching that day. SADLY the teachers at this chain thought I was a pro coming in to coach them. This did not increase my confidence about who the chain had hired for dancers.

I left mid-contract because I wasn't happy for a number of reasons, including the fact that I wasn't making progress.

I moved to an Independent after a ton of research and found my current pro. He has several women who are mediocre and they are dancing with him because they like to dance. I have no problem with that. When I started dancing with him I was the WORST person in the studio. I had no idea where to place my feet, I had bad everything, and my dancing was absolutely sloppy. After 8 months of drilling and feet that range from bruised to bloody after a lesson and more homework after that I would say I'm a good dancer. He refuses to lead something I can't do myself. If I can't keep my own balance or perform a skill we drill until it's in place.

He doesn't just use the mirrors, he KNOWS when my knee has flexed, when I'm on the wrong foot, when I haven't got my toes turned out and he's brutal. I have also under his training become a very good dancer, with sharp crisp turns, good lines, and a solid understanding of my steps and his steps. I put in a solid 3-5 hours of practice for every lesson I take with him, by myself because he has trained me to be able to perform without someone's steadying hand. If I don't practice, he knows and do you think he's pleasant about it?

Can a pro teach an amateur? Yes. Do most of them bother? Absolutely not.

To be honest under the pressure my pro puts on me, most women would quit. So its a matter of how many women who are doing pro/am really want the bother of learning and how many just want the company?

To learn to dance at a higher level than normal one must be willing to break down old ideas that are wrong and replace them with those that are right. I saw a program on cable about the late Margo Fontaine the British ballet star and at one time the worlds best. She was over 40 when she was finally satisfied with the way she did a certain move. Which made me feel a little better when I was told that on an Overturned Spin Turn which, I've been doing for more years than I care to remember, I was lowering the heel on the fourth step too early as well as not giving a clear space for the lady to step into to. Oh well. Back to the drawing board once again.

Hold on..I'm reading my post and I want to change something.

I said I was a good dancer. Yulia is a good dancer. I'm okay...with a lot to learn.

Okay...Yulia is a GREAT dancer. I'm not even on the same planet.

Just wanted to clarify that point because I sound like a narcissist and an ignorant idiot. I have an ocean yet to achieve and all of us know that even the most simple skills can take years to perfect.

I'm sure there are pros out there who do not bother to properly teach their students. Mine is an exception to that. His goal is to help me become the best dancer I can be. He emphasizes the importance of developing the skills and technique to be an active 'half-of-the-whole.' He insists I learn to maintain my own balance and implusion, and not rely on my partner to "haul" me around the dance floor. I'm finally on my way toward those goals. In his words, I'm... "beginning to dance like a dancer."

Luckily for me, my pro is not at all "brutal"...*S* He's a polite, considerate, and precise teacher who has the patience of a saint, and NEVER lets me get away with anything. I couldn't be happier.

And, yes....when the time comes, I will be considering pro/am competition.