First, I would be familiar with a bota fogo with my solo pracice and watching dvd's. To refine my bota foga's, I would get my teacher to show me the detailed technique and go over it in a lesson a few times until I feel that I've got it--then I write down some memory tips or tape it. I practice it solo over and over until the next lesson. Then I get the teacher to look at it the next several lessons or so and try to eventually put it into my dancing. I'll also look at my dvd latin technique discs to confirm the correctness. I do lots of technique practice solo--especially if I feel like I am doing it correctly. This way I don't spend lesson time doing drills.

I spend time thinking about my weaknesses and what I want to improve 1st or what dance I want to work on. At the beginning of the lesson I will discuss my strategy with the teacher and--we agree or disagree--then we apply it in the lesson. It does takes thought, preparation, and thinking about what priorities you want to improve on. I have several advanced dancers that I may network with too. I don't just show up for a lesson and say what will we work on today.

Most of my dance goals are geared to an upcoming competition. I discuss my dancer plans and goals in detail with my teacher often. And I will modify them accordingly. For example, I am trying to figure if my upcoming showcase is taking too much time away from my competition routines and preparation. I may stop or delay the showcase.